DuCane Hut
Photograph by Olaf Moon, 1971 on a hike with Phil Prebble. Copyright.
Known as Ducane Hut or Windsor Castle
Located about half an hours walk south of Kia Ora Hut, Du Cane, it is the oldest hut remaining in the Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair NP in Tasmania.
Usage
It was well used in the 1970s, but now remains a visitors hut only, after a fire in one end of the building. It is a classic, and probably my favourite hut in Tasmania, being made entirely from split shingles. The photograph above shows the chimney on the Northern end of the hut, now removed following a fire and renovation.
Brief History
Du Cane hut was built by the venerable Patrick "Paddy" Hartnett in 1910, from split King Billy Pine Shingles. He used it originally as a base for possum snaring.
Paddy was born in Westbury in 1876 and became an inveterate wanderer in his teenage years. He previously built a number of huts, including one below Kiaora Falls and another on the DuCane range, but the location of this hut is the most spectacular, with Cathedral Mountain and Pelion East visible nearby.
Paddy was most renowned as a guide, taking people all over the area from Lake St Clair to the Walls of Jerusalem. Paddy was a quiet man, but probably gave as much as anyone, in terms of creating a living vision of a "national park".
Paddy died in 1944, following a bout of alcoholism, and after retreating as a hermit to the Vale of Rasselas and Adamsfield.
Construction
King Billy Pine shingles and palings. Stone based fireplaces. In good condition as a museum, but not used for accommodation any more.
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