Tasmanian Bush Heritage
Guest writer Paula McCulloch Introduction Paula joins us again with the exciting news that she has found Stretcher Hut. She started her hunt years ago after reading a story by Simon Cubit. We all know Simon’s gift for weaving history and mystery together into a captivating story. He described a bushman carried to a hut … Read moreStretcher Creek Hut Found
A great find, but what now? The hunt started with a picture. Ian got excited. It ended when he found where the cottage had once stood. That was a long way from where it was supposed to be. Ian moved on to the next search. But there were way too many loose ends … Read moreLoose Ends – that ‘farm at Mount Agnew’
About 20 years ago my husband and I was speaking to a gentleman named Bob about Middlesex Plains and the shacks and mines in the area. He mentioned that he had spent some time up there as a seventeen-year-old in 1965. He would stay at the hut known by locals as the Ponderosa, which he … Read moreBob Duncombe’s (Middlesex) Hut
Another Heemskirk Adventure Introduction Like so many of our hunts, this one started with a photo. Nic had introduced us to Orient Mine near Trial Harbour. And what a story it had to tell. The team; Nic, Ian, Eddie, Jenny, Tim and I; visited it a few times looking at the remains of the mine: … Read moreA Mystery Photo of a little Farm House
Here are a few old and new snaps from searches that didn’t make it into our blogs. Maynes/Orient Tin Mine – Heemskirk Trial Harbour to Zeehan Wurragarra Creek, Mount Pillinger in the background – Mole Creek Track … Read moreThen and Now
In January 1908, Major Ron (RE) Smith, son of James “Philosopher” Smith, searched for an old hunter’s camp on the flank of Mount Kate. He wrote that Apparently the camp had been a hut, or a combination of hut and tent. The slabs of the skin drying chimney, which were of pine, were still mostly … Read moreLinnane’s Hut – Cradle Valley
On the Monday of the March long weekend of 2023, I revisited Basil Steers No 3 (aka Smurf) hut on the southern end of the February Plains for the first time since 1997. Recollections of Basil, construction of the hut and numerous trips, slowly filtered into my memory and over the months began to clarify. … Read moreA Wurragarra Homecoming
In 1891, three separate surveys were cut through the mountainous centre of Tasmania towards Zeehan. Engineers, local guides, axemen and packers worked to find a route for a railway from Ouse, Mole Creek or Waratah. It was part of a series of crazy parochial conflicts later called the ‘railway wars’.1 This blog is about our … Read moreA Camp on the Mole Creek to Zeehan Railway Survey 1891
Eddie Firth and I have been visiting the old Barn Bluff mine for years. At first glance there isn’t a lot to see. But a close look reveals a lot of history. The most evocative reminder of its history is a few grainy photos. Some show men proudly staring at the camera. They are frozen … Read moreThe Barn Bluff Copper Mine – The Huts