Bivouac Hut, Alpine Huts 1994-5 sheet 15 1

Victorian Alpine Huts survey, for Parks Victoria 1994-5.

This hut is located on Grazing Block 25 which was held by HB Duane around 1900 followed by FA & PH Howman of Eskdale in the 1920s who were later joined by JK Kelley{ 1092/121}. L Prichard of Mitta Mitta had it in the 1930s when the lease boundaries were disputed with adjoining leaseholder, Maddison. Maddison & Neilson took the block in 1934-5 but Prichard & Hodgkin won it back in the following year. Hodgkin & Yea of Eskdale took it in the early 1940s but by then the Soil Conservation Board was undertaking its investigation into erosion in the alps. In 1946 the Bogong High Plains Advisory Committee recommended that all leases be cancelled in the area and reissued with new conditions limiting stock numbers. The limit on this block was suggested at 350 cattle or horses (no sheep allowed) and the tenure was strictly 25 November to 30 April{ ibid. departmental note 9.10.46}. the area was also reduced from 8700 acres to 8100, along with a general redrawing of grazing block boundaries. The Soil Conservation Authority requested GB 24,25 be terminated at the end of 1956-7, allowing a years grace if fencing was carried out on the Eskdale Spur to exclude the Kiewa Scheme catchment. Grazing Block 25 was cancelled October 1957. The Ski Club of Victoria applied in April 1934 to erect a hut on the staircase spur. Its function would be to render a winter ascent of Mt Bogong easier so as to attract `the average ski runner who may consider conditions at the present time too difficult'{ HO 19905 applic. letter 11.4.34}. Except for three one day visits, this mountain has never been skied on' yet the club's members had established that there was `excellent extensive skiing' to be had on the mountain, being the highest point in Victoria. The Lands Department noted that the intended site was held under a grazing licence but otherwise they had no objection although they thought that the Tourist Committee could be consulted{ ibid.}. In July the club (via secretary, Ernest E Tyler) furnished the department with a map which showed the intended site, noting that they had other huts in mind which totalled three and hence hoped that they might achieve some discount on the annual fee of one guinea per hut (one at the top of staircase spur and another larger club chalet in Camp Valley). The club membership was then 500. `We deeply appreciate your action in this matter..members of the club feel sure that Mt Bogong will prove one of the best skiing mountains in the State..' The club journal outlined their plan for the mountain: 1. The placing of a "bivouac" on the Staircase Spur at 4800' 2. The clearance of snow gums from a portion of the spur 3. Erection of snow poles from a position above the "Gap" to Camp Valley. 4. The building of a Club hut in Camp Valley. 5. If it is found necessary at a later date, a second hut could be built on the staircase, "Bogong Gap" 6000 feet.{ Cleve Cole in `The Victorian Ski Year Book 1934', p121f} They were successful but the weather deterred erection of the hut immediately, meaning that the next target date was November 1934, with completion made in March 1935. The choice of site was guided by the hut's builder Walter Maddison and the financing of the hut's construction came from Tawonga residents and `city admirers of the mountain'. The hut was built using a split timber (woollybut) frame and corrugated iron cladding{ Stephenson (1982): 355f}. The snow poles would be next on the program along with the clearing of `a wide pathway' through the snow gums but lack of money would put this back another year. Cleve Cole wrote of this hut's construction as one of the improvements resulting from the Bogong Development Scheme. Cole wrote also of a typical ski journey up the mountain: `The approach to Bogong via the Staircase Spur commences at Tawonga which may be reached by rail to Bright or Wodonga. From the former a car would need to be hired; from the latter a regular mail and passenger service is conducted.' `An early start, say daybreak, should be made when private transport is used, as the 210 miles from Melbourne to Tawonga will take approximately seven hours. At the latter place horses are hired and a five-hour journey along Mountain Creek and up the Staircase Spur, a distance of ten miles, should bring you to the "bivouac" before nightfall. From here, weather permitting, an early start is recommended next day. The climb to the summit ridge, which involves an increase of 1700' in altitude, is sure to prove strenuous, and ample time should be allowed for the journey which will take at least three hours..' A photograph of a hut near this site (c1937) shows a gabled corrugated iron clad hut with a single doorway and a detached timber-framed fireplace at one end{ Stephenson: 217}. It was the scene of many bush-walks and ski tours to the summit of Mt Bogong and the place sought by Cleve Cole, Mick Hull and Howard Michell in August 1936 in their ill-fated journey from the summit. A similar unsuccessful bid was made from the second Bivouac Hut to the summit by Georgine Gadsen, John McRae and Ted Welch in 1943{ Stephenson: 212; Stephenson (1982): 270f}. The first bivouac had been destroyed in the 1939 fires and, being insured, was re-erected March 1939{ ibid. SCV letter 10.5.40}. By then the club had also erected Summit Hut (1938) and Cleve Cole Hut (1938), completing the development of three sites although their intended hut in Rocky Valley had not been built because of the club's interest in acquiring an SEC hut built some two years ago in that location. Cope Hut had been built by the Public Works Department for tourists but they were reluctant to continue maintenance of the hut. The SCV had been made an unofficial managers of the hut. By 1940 they planned another two huts, one at the head of the Bogong Creek and one at Bogong Gap but encountered a new attitude in the Lands Department. The department pointed out that in January 1938, an area had been withdrawn from occupation to serve the SEC's Kiewa scheme. The SCV was dismayed, querying if all hut occupancies were to be withdrawn on the mountain{ SCV letter 13.6.40}. nevertheless, by the late 1940s, the SCV held Bivouac, Summit, Cleve Cole, West Peak and Bogong Gap huts{ LDV note 3.1948}. The second Bivouac Hut was burnt, along with Maddison's (cattleman's hut, thought built 19th century, Camp Valley) and Summit huts in October 1978. Headlines included "Environmental Vandals on the Rampage" and "Alpine Huts Burned Down `Green group blamed'" highlighting the tension which had developed among user groups on the mountain. The claim was made by the Mt Bogong Club secretary, Keith Fizelle: `It appears they have been burned by somebody who does not think the huts should be on the mountain'{ `Sydney Morning Mail' 19.12.78: 3}. Ironically, the club had been seeking a replacement for Summit Hut since 1972 with little success because of the unfortunate precedent created by the erection of Michell Hut{ see HO 31617 SCA letter 27.4.72, submission 9.6.72}. The Lands Department handed over administration of the mountain to the National Parks Service in 1981 and this hut was replaced by the Service in that year{ ibid.: 233; NPS, `Bogong National Park' (1983): 45}. The NPS described the new hut as simple gabled hut 6x3m, clad with timber (treated with fire retardant) but the service had no plans to replace Maddison's or Summit huts{ NPS letter 2.9.80}. At that time it was heavily used by walkers and skiers and an important refuge{ ibid.}. The door and an air lock were at the north-west end and inside was a pot bell stove, the plan measuring 6x3m (actually 5mx3.3m), wall height 2.4m{ ibid.}. Tatnall's photograph shows a gabled hut (shallow pitch) clad with horizontal boarding (?) and equipped with deep eaves{ Tatnall photo #17, SLV}.

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