Shanty Hollow Huts
Known as Shanty Hollow Huts or the Heyfield Sawmilling Company huts.
NOTE these huts may no longer exist.
Located in a clearing above Fitzpatricks Creek near Mount Dawson, on the Mount Dawson/Shanty Hollow road network.
From Licola follow Tamboritha Road about 46 km to Arbuckle Junction, then Moroka Road towards Horseyard Flat and the Kent Road turn-off. The regional approach continues via Kent Road and Shanty Hollow Road towards Mount Dawson; confirm the final hut spur against a detailed map.
The lower approach is sealed, with gravel forest roads higher up. Use a suitable high-clearance vehicle for the final roads and check conditions; ordinary 2WD access to the hut site is not confirmed. Total driving distance, any locked gates and the parking-to-site walk remain unverified.
History
The huts were built for the Heyfield Sawmilling Company about 1960 and used until the mid-1980s. Parks Victoria’s 2022 Hut Maintenance Manual lists Shanty Hollow as redundant and recommends removal. This is a management recommendation, not proof that removal occurred: the present survival and condition of the buildings need confirmation.
Construction
Two prefabricated huts with skillion roofs and vertical V-jointed softwood walls. Each originally included accommodation, a kitchen and a washroom.
Caretakers: none identified in the earlier account.
References
Butler, pp. 293–295;
Siseman, p. 132;
VHCHA, Shanty Hollow Hut and map;
Parks Victoria, Hut Maintenance Manual (2022); published Kent Road/Shanty Hollow Road trip accounts.
Mapping Guide
GPS: 37.41725°S, 146.95270°E.
UTM Zone 55H: 495815 m E, 5858838 m N. Approximate VHCHA mapped hut-site position, treated as WGS84. Not field-verified.