Camm's Top Place Hut
Photographs courtesy of Anne Sedgley, © 2004, c/- Graeme Butler & Associates and Dept of Sustainability and Environment, Vic.
Located on the Wentworth River at the foot of Murdering Spur. From Dargo, take the Dargo High Plains Road north, then the Birregun Road approach to Murdering Spur Track and Dane Track. Murdering Spur has a 4WD reputation so the final tracks have steep, rocky sections and river crossings: use a capable high-clearance 4WD in suitable conditions.
This is not a 2WD-to-the-door destination. The total driving distance, any gate locations and a suitable 2WD parking-to-hut walk have not yet been verified.
History
The background to this hut was researched as part of Graeme Butler's second review of the Victorian huts.
The old Kalk Kalk Parish in the Dargo County plan shows it as Allot 10 (981 acres) and 10 A. A lease was issued in 1888. Another application for this land was madein 1901 by Richard Camm, of Dargo, issued in 1903.
When Richard Camm (1868-1934) came to this region in the 1880s he was in his early 20s. His reason for coming is thought to be associated with mining. He married a local girl, Mary Connolly, daughter of Denis Connolly and Margaret (nee Scott) on the 1st Jun 1893 at Coongulmerang. Richard was aged 25 and a labourer. The area was remote but quite popular with others such as the Strobridges.
The Camm family abandoned the house prior to Richards’s death in 1934. Mary returned to Dargo, where she died in 1949.
Caretakers - None.
Construction
The house was built from sawn timber, with shiplap weatherboards and a flattened iron gable roof, it has a skillion-covered "kitchen" area at the rear. It is currently almost a ruin, but what a great site for a renovation!
References
Anne Sedgley – personal communication.
Mapping Guide
GPS: 37.334183°S, 147.382117°E.
UTM Zone 55H: 533850 mE, 5867986 mN. Approximate mapped ruin position from ExplorOz Place 247492; source datum unstated, treated as WGS84. The source also contains a different coordinate in its notes, so an on-site fix is sought.