Ronald Smith

Linnane’s Hut – Cradle Valley

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

In the footsteps of ‘Philosopher’ Smith: revisiting the hut site at the Copper Creek Mine, Lea River, Tasmania.

Ronald Smith (1881–1969) never prospected with his famous father, James ‘Philosopher’ Smith, but took to the Tasmanian highlands like they were in his DNA. During the years 1903–14 he made more than a dozen hikes into the Forth River high country. Some of the places he visited would have been lost to history if not … Read moreIn the footsteps of ‘Philosopher’ Smith: revisiting the hut site at the Copper Creek Mine, Lea River, Tasmania.

The Fury Hut and Tom Perry’s Hut, Fleece Creek

The old man’s voice sounds cultured but distinctly Australian, like an interwar ABC news reader. It is the voice of a man who grew up in a British colony and is still slightly wearied by fighting for the Empire at Gallipoli and in France. However, the place that affected Major Ron Smith (1881–1969) most was … Read moreThe Fury Hut and Tom Perry’s Hut, Fleece Creek