The Weekly Times recently published an article about the huts.

You can read the article by following this link

http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2013/01/04/555052_national-news.html

Huts of all shapes and sizes were built in the high country from the mid 1800s by cattle musterers, fishermen, miners, loggers, forest rangers and more recently ski and bushwalking groups. Most early ones were built using materials at hand, and with basic tools.  Many have long gone, but huts are still scattered all over the alpine and high country area of Victoria.

Many huts now have significant heritage value. They are a reminder of the struggles of our forebears to glean a living from a harsh land.

General deterioration means the huts are in need of regular maintenance, which Parks Victoria and DSE are not always resourced to provide.

The Victorian High Country Huts Association was founded after the major bushfires of February 2003, to try and preserve those remaining huts.

The Association's goal is to be a "voice" for the huts - to pull together the various individuals and groups with an interest in huts, to lobby government, raise funds and coordinate volunteer efforts.

We have divided the high country into 12 Hut "regions", each having around 10-15 huts. We try to appoint a volunteer "Hut Maintenance Officer" for each region. The HMO's role is to work with their local Rangers and communities to plan maintenance and restoration work.

We rely purely on our volunteers. Since 2003 we have helped to rebuild nearly 20 huts.

There are some 200 huts that need ongoing regular maintenance, otherwise they will not survive.

Except for a few on private leasehold, all huts remain unlocked, and freely accessible by all.  There is no booking system and no fee*

*Note : We do not condone use of huts for accommodation, as in most cases they do not meet Building Code of Australia requirements.

If you love or visit the huts, help us preserve them so that future generations can also enjoy them.  The best way to do this is by becoming a MEMBER of the Huts Association. There is a link to the membership form in the menu on the left.

Any questions, please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Also visit the website of our sister organisation in NSW, the Kosciuosko Huts Association

Black Snake Creek Hut

Rebuilt by the Nissan Four Wheel Drive Club of Vic. Inc.

The Nissan Four Wheel Drive Club of Vic. Inc. was contacted around August 2011 to enquire if there was any interest by club members to restore the very damaged existing hut. This hut was in a very poor state to the point of being dangerous as the main part of the roof had collapsed and rusty, jagged corrugated sheeting was hanging around head / eye height.

Initially a few Nissan interested members  met with two members of the DSE staff to discuss the restoration.  The Nissan club members voted to undertake the restoration and a subcommittee was established to plan the restoration.

DSE had agreed to supply the necessary timber and sheet metal but the idea was to use as much as we could of the existing hut.  Fortunately one of the neighbouring property owners heard that we were about to undergo  work on Black Snake Creek Hut and kindly offered to put a second lock on their property gate so that we could safely store any timber and materials needed to restore BSCH.

Due to the pre-existing structural damage, it was determined that it would be safer and more practical to raze the collapsing hut to the ground and completely rebuild it.

The initial work started around March 2012 to remove the existing sheet metal, dismantle the existing hut, sort these materials which would be reused for the new structure and level the floor, ready for the construction to commence another weekend..

We returned with more volunteers on the long weekend  at  Easter 2011 to start the rebuild.

A number of Nissan club members volunteered their time and Tony Rosel (a qualified builder) marked out the new holes for the main upright posts (which were hand dug) and generally supervised the structure rebuild. The main hut structure was completed over the 2012 Easter weekend with the sheet metal fixed on the roof, the chimney frame was built with sheet metal fixed, the fireplace was formed with wood shuttering and the concrete poured. The front side of the hut was fitted with corrugated sheet metal. At this point we had ran out of sheet metal and the “Lean too” had not been started.

Soon after Easter a few of the organising members were heading off on lengthy 4WD trips to the Canning, Kimberley etc. and so the rest of the sheet metal and the “lean too” was organised by Mick Melenhorst along with other Nissan members.

The only thing left to do now is the doors but we are concerned that if doors are made and fitted they may be vandalized as the existing hut has already been damaged by gun shots.

The last time our members visited the hut they found a big plastic bag full of rubbish  had been left along with the obligatory empty beer bottles.

On a previous visit our members found rotting scraps of a killed deer scattered around the hut, which they cleaned up and buried.

It is unfortunate that some members of the general public who are using this hut don’t respect the time and effort which was provided by volunteers.

A big thank you to ALL the Nissan Four Wheel Drive Club of Vic. Inc. members (including families) who were involved with the restoration of the Black Snake Creek Hut.

John Tomlinson

Nissan Four Wheel Drive Club of Vic. Inc.