Wallaces Hut

Out of all the huts in the Victorian Alpine region, Wallaces Hut is one of my favorites; its a hut I have visited on many occasions and is something I will never tire of.  Built in 1889 from slabs of snow gums with roof shingles made from woollybutt it is the oldest hut in the Alpine National Park.  Wallaces hut was frequently referred to as the Seldom Seen Inn as it is located among a grove of old snow gums, however it is easily accessed by a short walk from the Bogong High Plains Road approximately 7.5 km from the rocky valley dam wall at Falls Creek.

The photograph below was taken on a particularly chilly morning during late spring after a night of light snowfall.

An old Parks Victoria sign at the hut which has now been replaced gave an evocative description of the location.  I have repeated the text below.

It’s the 1890’s… David Wallace and his three sons Arthur, William and Stewart had recently built the “Seldom Seen Inn”.  They made the hut as a shelter for their visits, when they mustered their cattle off the high plains before the winter snow.

Sitting around the open fire with a cup of billy tea they’d recall their days.

Like when the lean-to door was left ajar and a cow got stuck inside and died!

Or when William was stuck here in bad weather and there was no dry firewood!

With numb hands, a knife and patience, a fire was made…necessity being the mother of invention.

No easy access through the high country in those days, just rough tracks made by cattle and the few bush characters who came here.

If ever you find yourself at Falls Creek take the time to visit Wallaces Hut, its certainly something you won’t regret.

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Huts on the Bogong High Plains

A couple of weeks ago I spent a few days in Falls Creek to do some photography.  Falls Creek is located in the Alpine National Park and provides a convenient starting point to explore the Bogong High Plains.  The high plains were used for many years by local families to graze cattle during the summer months; with several of these families building Huts for shelter after driving their cattle up onto the plains.  Other huts were purpose built as shelters for cross-country skiers and bushwalkers. Some of the huts date back to the 1880s.  The photos below show a small selection of huts.

This first hut is Cope Hut and was built in the late 1920s as a refuge for cross-country skiers, however in summer without any snow the area is covered with wildflowers.

This is Fitzgeralds hut and while the original hut which was built in 1903 was burnt down in the mid 1980s, it was rebuilt in the early 1990s in the original style.

Kellys Hut below is not an original cattlemens hut, this is an old SEC 1928 (electricity commission) hut that is on the site where a hut built by the Kelly family used to stand.

I saved the best for last.  This one is Wallaces Hut and is the oldest hut on the high plains being built in the late 1880s, it has survived numerous bushfires and after some recent maintenance is still going strong. 

Each time I visit these huts I feel as though I get to step back in time and witness how early pioneers lived in the high country.  If you ever get the chance to pay a visit to Falls Creek the huts are well worth visiting too, especially as most are within an easy day walk.

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