McNamaras Hut (Dinner Plain), Alpine Huts 1994-5 sheet 22 9

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

The hut was reputedly built c1917 by members of the McNamara family on GB48 which was leased by the family until recently{ MP: 70, Stephenson: 333; Boadle (1983): 39}. Cabena lists the McNamara's grazing holdings as follows: Albert Edward (Bogong High Plains `R', 1902-8, and Cobungra SA50, 1902-14); Daniel (C22 1908-20 and C29, 1908); Patrick (C21, 1918-59 and Cobungra SA51, 1902-55); Thomas (Bogong High Plains `A', 1887-1908, C6 1908-10, Cobungra SA46, 1902-14); and T J (or Tommy) (C21, 1933-46 and C22, 1920-43){ Cabena: 164}. Roy Weston described the hut in the early 1930s as having a timber floor and sides, iron roof and double bunks at one end with the chimney at the other. The door was on the side and the plan measured 15x12'. The hut was located 7 miles from Young's Hut and was at 4900'{ Stephenson (1982): 288}. Cleve Cole also recorded this hut in the 1930s as measuring 15'x12' (4.5x3.7m, see below) with double shelf bunks at one end and fireplace at the other. Tor Holth illustrated the hut extensively in his 1980 book and devoted many pages to the family history, noting that TJ and Jack (a fine horseman) were the sons of Thomas & Anne McNamara also Pat and Ned (Edward?) were the sons of Michael McNamara{ Holth: 173-}. Another son, Charles, married Matilda Abraham and their family included (another) Jack, George and Charlie{ Holth: 173-.}. Charlie worked for his cousins Jack & TJ (Thomas) in the 1950s until their death meant he worked the cattle with other helpers such as Ian Gibson, choosing the Dinner Plain and this hut as his base{ Holth: 173-; Carroll}. Charlie described the hut: `She's a rough old hut but by God we have sheltered some rough nights in her. Built in 1917. Stan Johns architect and builder. Me uncle Mick (Michael) was here, Jack and TJ McNamara. Cut the snow gum logs over here and carted them on an old horse called Trip..It was rough built. They had to split things to put in between the logs and then they got sphagnum moss to put wet between the logs and it dries out- great stuff for pokin' up huts- one of the great things for pokin' up huts is wet newspaper - when it dries it's like cement.' `The chimney used to be right here.. Was made out of chock and logs like the hut is, built up with stones. For years all they had was a bag hung up (as a door), no windows. Old Jack sat just here and there's a chock sticken' out there and where he sat with his head against it he had it worn as shiny as buggery… (for the bark roof) If you strip off a standin' tree you cut it all around the bottom and you get hold of a forky stick with a knot in him so you can put your foot on that and you lean your fork against the tree to hold you up- you don't have ladders -you put your foot on the knob and hang on to [the tree] and chop it around up so high with your axe. Then you mark it down the side of the tree, zig zag a bit, open it up. Then you have the limb of a tree shaped like a boomerang with a curve and flattened on one side and you keep putting that around the tree, or you can have a couple of them, one at the top and one at the bottom, and that keeps pushin' the bark out. Of course he'll fold up again if its a good tree- stringy bark, that's the stuff to strip -- then you want to have a good lot of bark and leaves for a fire and you put [the strip] on like a funnel and put the fire up through him until it's charred and that sort of tempers it. It'll dry out and smoke it and make it tough as hell. Then when you spread it out she won't crack. Then you put it down and put some weights on it, stones or logs, and leave it and she'll flatten out. `If you get hold of a tree when the sap's up you can knock it off. It's up in the summer time when there's plenty of rain but then it gets dry and you might be only able to strip the tree on the south side where the sun don't get it{ ibid.}.' `When the bark was dry the pieces were laid on the rafters of the roof, slightly overlapping. A strip was placed along the apex of the ridge and another strip or little pieces like tiles laid along the top like a capping. Some cattlemen tacked the bark down and others wired heavy poles together and hung them horizontally from the ridge pole so that they rested on the bark some at the top, some halfway down and some at the bottom of the roof. Still others would hook logs with a fork at the top onto the ridge pole so that they hung down vertically onto the bark. Other logs could be laid across them horizontally, secured in forks or wired. Holes were sometimes bored through the bark so that it could be held to the rafters with pegs or greenhide'{ ibid. Holth's observations}. `"Bark makes a very good warm roof", said Charlie Rundell. Most cattlemen used bark from woollybutt trees as that was readily available but, said Sid Ryder, 'It isn't good bark as it didn't last very long', about ten years." `The bark roof on the McNamaras' Dinner Plain hut was eventually replaced with iron by Charlie and his son. `My son Peter and I extended [the hut]. That iron on the roof and on this chimney come from the power house at Cobungra that was built there at the time that they were generatin' electricity for the Cassilis mine. We packed that iron out to Young's hut and put the roof on it and when the old hut fell down we packed it back into Dinner Plain and put it on there. The malthoid linin' -- we put that on in 1951 -- bloody oath it made it warmer.' `No floor until one time it rained for three or four days and it got that boggy we stripped bark off the trees at the back of the hut to put on the floor so you could walk around. [Later] we packed the boards [for the floor] across from Horsehair. The door is out of the bedroom at Young's hut.' `The second McNamara hut is located on Buckety Plain(q.v.). Charlie never used it but he knew that 'it was a little log hut with a paling roof, dirt floor. `Me brother built that and me uncle Mick and Bill Toland; I s'pose in the 1940s.' `In the 1970s the hut was enlarged and renovated by a scout group. Charlie's supply of information appeared to be limitless: "These McNamaras were great friends with the [Ned] Kellys 'cause they come from over at Wangaratta. Hinnomungie Station had all the watersheds of the Livingstone: -- that's the divide that runs down to the Big River. Ned Kelly worked on this dead-wood fence they put along there. That's the time there was a lull in them and [the police] didn't know where they were." In the early 1980s McNamara's hut was still termed a cattleman's hut, judged in fair condition, and used and maintained by cattlemen (C McNamara) and some walkers. It had nearby yards for horses{ National Parks Service, `Bogong National Park Proposed Interim Management Plan' (NPS, 1983): 47}. The main section was of logs with sheet iron additions to the west (store) and east{ Boadle (1983): 39}. There was corrugated iron on the roof held down by logs and rocks. Inside the roof is timber lined in part and with tar paper near the bunks{ ibid.}. The floor was timber slabs, set on a snow gum frame, but was in patchy condition. There was an old meat safe, cupboards and other fittings but the bunk bedding was old and the hut was described generally as in a dirty condition. The main hut measured 5.15 x 3 x 1.8m wall height, with two bunks at the west end and the fireplace at the east. The added store measured 2 x 3m{ Boadle (1983): 40A plan} The hut was set in snow gum woodland and the edge of snow grass plains. There was a small horse yard near the hut with larger yards 1K to the east which were built for brumby running by the Omeo Rodeo Club{ ibid.}. Recent lessees were Maguire and Kelly{ DCNR, 1995}.

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