Wonnangatta Station Hut
Photo courtesy of David and Bev Steer © 2001.
Known as Wonnangatta Station Hut or Guys Hut, Wonnangatta. This is a different hut from Guys Hut at Bryces Plain.
Located beside the historic Wonnangatta Station site in Wonnangatta Valley.
From Licola, follow Tamboritha Road about 46 km to Arbuckle Junction, then turn left onto Howitt Road and continue past Howitt Hut to the Zeka Spur Track junction.
The lower 22 km of Tamboritha Road are sealed, followed by gravel roads. From Howitt Road, the published 4WD route descends Zeka Spur Track about 21.5 km to Wonnangatta Track, then continues roughly 7 km towards the station and cemetery turn-off.
Allow approximately 110 km from Licola overall. Zeka Spur is a steep, difficult 4WD track requiring high clearance, low range and experienced driving; this is not a 2WD route. Seasonal gates, river conditions and track damage can prevent entry. Park at a designated site and walk to the historic buildings. An alternate route exists along the valley floor or from the north via Grant.
History
William Bryce took up the property in 1866. After his wife Annie died in 1914, it passed to a Mansfield partnership. James Barclay was employed as manager, with John Bamford as his assistant. Both were found murdered in 1918; the murders remain unsolved.
The Guy family bought the run in 1934. The homestead was later destroyed by fire, usually dated to 1957, although some accounts give 1959. The date needs confirmation; the earlier attribution of the fire to bushwalkers has not been substantiated here. Arthur and Jack Guy, Eric Traill and George Annand reportedly built the surviving hut in a week, using salvaged homestead materials as an emergency refuge.
The Victorian Government purchased the property from Bob Gilder in 1988, ending more than a century of private pastoral occupation. Historic plantings, homestead remains and the cemetery help explain the former settlement.
Construction
The hut has a pole frame, corrugated-iron cladding and a gabled iron roof, with a fireplace and verandah. Earlier descriptions record bunks and a mixture of plywood and earth flooring; current internal condition should be checked.
References (And books on the two mysteries).
Hueneke, Huts of the High Country, pp. 38 and 246;
Butler, Victorian Alpine Huts, pp. 360–363;
Stephenson;
Four Wheel Drive Victoria,
Wonnangatta Drive route notes;
Parks Victoria, Alpine National Park access information;
VHCHA hut-map dataset.
The Wonnangatta Mystery by Keith Leydon and Michael Ray
Who Killed Jim Barclay? by Wallace Mortimer
In the Dead of Night by Greg Haddrick - about the 2020 murders.
Mapping Guidelines:
GPS: approximately 37.20778°S, 146.83135°E.
UTM Zone 55H: 485035 m E, 5882064 m N. Approximate WGS84 position from the existing profile, consistent with the VHCHA map to within about 20 m.