Kosciuszko Huts Association Inc. NEWSLETTER Gooandra (Lampes Homestead) 1990s-2016 CELEBRATING 50 years of caring for and preserving the mountain huts of Kosciuszko and Namadgi 1971-2020 No: 189 AUTUMN 2021 Cover: Gooandra Homestead is located about 15 Km north of Kiandra, on an indistinct fire trail that leads past the Six Mile Diggings. The building was almost collapsed in the late 1990s and was recently restored, with some work remaining to be done. The new fireplace is a particularly excellent piece of work. Www.KHuts.org https://khuts.org/index.php/heritage-guest/grazing-and-pastoral/475-gooandra-homestead-history Gooandra Homestead 2016 image: Matthew Higgins Committee 2020 - 2021 PLEASE READ THIS Please assist your volunteer membership team by renewing your President 0403 917 633 membership by one of our preferred methods below. Simon Buckpitt [email protected] Renew online at our website with a credit card, this Vice President method is fully automatic, requiring zero volunteer Tony Hunter [email protected] effort. Secretary Make a direct deposit into KHA's bank account BSB: 062 912 Account Number: 10140661 then login to Patsy Sheather [email protected] register your payment on our website by making an Treasurer 0412 020 150 'offline' payment. Deposit your cheque at your local Bob Anderson [email protected] Commonwealth Bank Branch to the above bank account, then login to register your payment on our Membership 0431 956 426 website by making an 'offline' payment. Instructions Pip Brown [email protected] for the above can be found under the 'RENEW' HMO Jagungal 0415 159 910 menu item on the website. Simon Plum [email protected] Kosciuszko Huts Association Incorporated (KHA) HMO Tantangara 0449 663 769 KHA (formed in 1971) provides volunteer support to Peter Charker [email protected] the NSW and ACT Governments to preserve the HMO Snowy 0411 407 441 ‘settlement era’ vernacular architecture of the northern Australian Alps as part of the continuum of Marion Plum [email protected] total landscape management. HMO Namadgi 0413 372 476 We are one of only a few organisations in Australia Jean Hammond [email protected] dedicated to the preservation of traditional Australian HMO Support/Liaison bush building skills. We research and document Clive Richardson [email protected] history associated with these vernacular structures and conduct public information sessions in conjunction Huts History with the various parks services and other bodies to Stefan De Montis raise awareness of this history. We are acknowledged Committee Members on both the NSW NPWS and ACT PCS Volunteering websites and we have a demonstrated track record of Jenny Charker Colin Howie performance. Jonathan Wills David Argall Newsletter Editor 02 46 55 3622 Pauline Downing [email protected] Snail Mail: P.O. Box 525 Camden NSW 2570 Public Officer Brian Polden Notice of Annual General Meeting https://khuts.org/images/stories/ docs/KHA_Constitution_2018.pdf (4) A member desiring to bring any business before a General Meeting must give notice in writing of that business to the Secretary at least two (2) weeks before the date appointed for the meeting. Terms & Conditions The Raffle commences on the 1st of January 2021, closes on the 6th of November 2021 and will be drawn on the 6th of November 2021 at Nsw Sport & Rec Club Jindabyne at 9:30pm. Details of the Winner(s) will be displayed at www.khuts.org and https://www.rafflelink.com.au/kha-kosciuszko-huts. State(s) where tickets are on sale ACT, NSW, QLD. This raffle is being held for Kosciuszko Huts Association GPO Box 2509, Canberra, ACT, 2601. If a prize is not claimed by 6th December 2021 then another winning ticket will be drawn via a marble draw at 16:00 at the Canberra Glass Works on Friday 10th December 2021. Permit/Licence for ACT R 20/00242. Persons under the age of 18 years are unable to enter. Prizes are not transferable or redeemable for cash. Some images are display only and may not be a true reflection of the prize. This raffle is hosted for a service fee by RaffleLink a registered business of Lighthouse Group Pty Ltd ABN: 83161197860, PO Box 6758, Upper Mount Gravatt QLD 4122. Lighthouse Group Pty Ltd as RaffleLink is committed to selling raffle tickets responsibly to support community and charitable organisations. Purchase Tickets Thank you for supporting our Raffle. This raffle is hosted by RaffleLink. RaffleLink adheres tothe Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct. We encourage responsible gambling. Only spend the money you can afford to lose. Decide before you buy, how much you want to spend. If multiple ticket purchases are offered, plan your purchase so as not to go over your predetermined budget. For advice and help gambling support services are available or call the free gambling helpline on 1800 858 858. With regard to ticket purchases, please refer to RaffleLink's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. More details at KHuts.org WELCOME NEW MEMBERS FROM THE PRESIDENT found out that quite a lot of people did not nominate for the course because they heard it was In the last Newsletter we summarised our raison ‘oversubscribed’ or thought they would be ‘too low d’etre into four primary activity groups: a priority’. My suggestion is, ignore the rumour mill, and nominate. Courses are not filled on a first come basis. They are filled to ensure a broad cross • Assist with the maintenance and section of members are included. If you don’t get conservation of the huts. panelled on the course, you will then get priority at • Maintain traditional hut building/ the next course you apply for. Your nomination also maintenance knowledge and skills. helps us to determine what skill sets people feel they need. For example, if 50 people nominate for • Research and document hut history. a joinery course and only ten for a traditional mortar course, then we know we need to offer • Advocate for the appropriate more joinery courses. management, use, and conservation of the huts. The training we are providing you will generally not find at a TAFE or at an adult community learning I consider these the ‘Pillars of KHA’. These are the centre. Nor is the training we are providing taught things we must do. These are the things on which in modern trade courses. We are focusing on we are judged and measured. specific heritage craft skills needed for hut restoration and reconstruction. We are also focusing on training where the parks services have The thing we are most judged on is the quality of advised they would like to see improvement. work we do on the huts. We know when we are successful, because parks agencies and heritage officials will seek us out to help with restoration. The trainers we are engaging, are professionals The question is: “do they seek us out, or do we go recognised by either the broader heritage to them to justify why we should be allowed to do profession as experts in their craft and/or are work?” I will leave you to ponder this question. preferred contractors used by the parks’ services. The answer to the question is not straight forward. I would love to see as many KHA members as There are lots of factors that shape how the parks possible, especially existing caretakers, taking the services and heritage officials will tackle any job. opportunity to attend these courses. Probably the only thing we are in control of and that Simon Buckpitt we can shape, is the quality of our work and, in particular, our attitude to heritage. I have another question: “have we truly embraced heritage conservation in both mindset and skills?” Again, I DONATIONS - THANK YOU! will leave for you to ponder this question. Newcastle Ramblers Bushwalking Club Future Generations Joint Venture- We need the right skills and knowledge to do a Various donations of plastic bottles from workers good job. This is why we have embarked on a in KNP picked up and recycled. focused training program. We just completed our first training on traditional joinery and post scarfing. Robert Croll It was a great success, and everyone was buoyed up Colin Oliver by the end of the weekend, so much so that some Valentines Hut Donation Box people have committed to returning to former work and redoing it. That is a great outcome. John Hillard n the course of people nominating for this event I Historical re-enactment & www.thewalkact.com. His production website is documentary film-making at www.thewalkworldproductions.com where you can see some previews of the final ‘Finding the Namadgi Westermans Homestead Trail’ documentary. Mike Baker Steve is now also keen to produce a piece on the KHA, likely at a future work party in Namadgi. On the weekend of 12 & 13 December, local Canberran film-maker and bushwalking blogger The three characters in the documentary were Steve Cooke conducted a re-enactment of the death played by local actors Elaine Kennedy (Mary Jane of Elizabeth Shiels (the adult daughter of Thomas Westerman), Natalie Trafford (Elizabeth Shiels) and and Mary Jane Westerman) for the purpose of Gary Luck (Thomas Westerman). making a short historical documentary about that Here are some photos from the weekend: event. Setting up for filming the dining table scenes Elizabeth died of tuberculosis at Westermans Homestead, in the far South of what is now Namadgi National Park, on 26 July 1922, at the age of 45. At the time there had been a lot of rain, creeks were flooded, the ground was very boggy, and it was not possible for Thomas Westerman to get out of the valley to seek medical assistance for his daughter.