AUSTRALIA'S RUINED HIGH-COUNTRY HUTS
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KOSCIUSZKO NATIONAL PARK (NSW):
* Four Mile (1937) - was the only remaining complete mining hut on the old Kiandra goldfields and much loved by campers and bushwalkers. Slab walls and floors, stone fireplace, corrugated iron chimney.
* Round Mountain (1930s) - originally a linesman's hut with room for half-a-dozen bunks and fireplace. Rebuilt after fire damage in the 1940s as a summer stockman's residence.
* Brook's (1943) - constructed as a grazing hut with corrugated iron, mud mortared interior walls and timber floor. Rebuilt by volunteers after fires in 2003.
* Vickery's (1938) - one of two existing log cabins in Kosciuszko National Park and not far from the birthplace of author Miles Franklin at Talbingo. Almost totally destroyed.
* Fifteen Mile Spur twin huts (1950s/80s) - built by the Snowy Mountains authority for powerline maintenance. Both small with high-pitched rooves and pipe chimneys. More recently popular with cross-country skiers.
* Delaney's (1910) - built by the high country Delaney family of Buckenderry Station as a cattleman's hut. Weatherboard and slab walls, part dirt floor, iron clad chimney. Rebuilt after 2003 fires.
* Sawyer's (1900s) - became a popular rest stop and was originally a staging post for coaches. Badly damaged in 2003 and rebuilt.
* Happy's (1931) - an iron hut with woodshed annex and open fireplace. Popular in yesteryear with miners and cattlemen.
* O'Brien's (1952) - originally a grazier's hut with attached stables. Recently favoured as a campers' stopover and was used most weekends.
* Kiandra Courthouse (1890s) - heritage-listed, the stone-walled skillion-roofed building was also used as a chalet, post office, works depot and local pub where Mick Jagger once stayed. Severely damaged.
* Matthews Cottage (circa 1906) - a heritage listed, three-bedroom Kiandra cottage with street-facing verandah and picket fence was built using timber from local sawmills.
* Wolgal Lodge (1960) - purpose-built in Kiandra for skiing, horseriding and fishing trips. Constructed from from timber and corrugated iron, it had only recently undergone restoration.
* Pattison's - The last remaining homestead within the Kiandra precinct. Weatherboard, corrugated iron roof, wooden floors, brick chimney.
NAMADJI NATIONAL PARK (ACT):
* Demandering (1945) - constructed as a stockman's hut from sawn timber logs dragged to the site in the ACT's rugged southeast by convict grandson Bill Cotter.
* Max and Bert's (pre-WWI) - cattleman's hut built for periodic shelter by the Oldfield cousins. It's existence was a well-kept secret until its 'rediscovery' during an oral history project in 1991.
Australian Associated Press
