|
 | |
| Type | Volunteer organisation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Canberra, Australia |
Area served | Kosciuszko National Park, NSW Namadgi National Park, ACT |
| Website | khuts.org |
The Kosciuszko Huts Association (KHA - previously spelt Kosciusko) was formed in Canberra, Australia in 1971 with the purpose of saving the mountain heritage huts in the Kosciuszko National Park. In addition to the physical maintenance of huts, the KHA preserves the history of the huts. [1] [2]
The initial meeting was supported by the past Parks commissioner Neville Gare and resulted in a small group of individuals forming the association. [3]
KHA members went on to repair and partially rebuild over 160 mountain huts in the Park over the next decade, despite both accidental and deliberate destruction of some of them by individuals and park officers. The bush fires of 2003 destroyed a further 24 huts, following the collapse of many from the early 1970s through to 2003. [4] There are 79 remaining huts (or groups of huts on one site) in the KNP. In 2006, the KHA was successful in lobbying ministers and the NPWS to include retention of huts in the Kosciuszko National Park Plan of Management. This also included a decision to rebuild at least six of the huts, including the Broken Dam Hut, which was reopened on 15 December 2007. The KHA usually rebuilds historical huts, but in the 1990s also built a new hut, the Burrungubugge Hut. [5]
Since 2007 the rebuilding campaign has progressed rapidly and initially the combination of the Kosciuszko National Park rangers and KHA members completed the build of O'Keefes Hut, Pretty Plain Hut and others.
Since the construction of the original web site for KHA the site has grown to 3000 pages of information. [6] The first site was built by members of Wildtwo Pty Ltd who held the copyright but have formally given approval for use of all the text and photographs to the KHA in perpetuity, to support the continued collection of material on the mountain huts across Australia.
Australian Geographic published a feature article on the KHA in June 2022, emphasising the skill required to rebuild huts while maintaining their cultural and historical qualities. [7]
Following the 2019-2020 bushfires 12 huts were destroyed: "Everybody was distraught...In some cases, they [KHA volunteers] had worked hard to reconstruct some of them after the last fires [in 2003] and then they got lost again" reported president Simon Buckpitt. [8] Assessment and recording of the damage involved ongoing consultation between the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service and the KHA (the huts are cared for cooperatively by KHA and the NPWS) [9] and while KHA expressed concern that some huts may not be rebuilt, [10] [11] in 2021after 18 months of assessment, it was confirmed that 10 would be rebuilt. [12]
The "gathering of associated historical information is an integral part" of the KHA mission of "maintaining historic and shelter huts". [1] The group has collected oral history about the huts. Two books by Klaus Hueneke also document this work, combining information about hiking trails with historical and cultural information. [13] [14] The records of the KHA are archived in the National Library of Australia, [15] as well as the KHA collections of photographs, [16] as well as the Francis Leyden collection. [17]
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system. It makes up the northeastern half of the Australian Alps and contains Australia's five tallest peaks, all of which are above 2,100 m (6,890 ft), including the tallest Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches to a height of 2,228 m (7,310 ft) above sea level. The offshore Tasmanian highlands makes up the only other major alpine region present in the whole of Australia.
The Kosciuszko National Park is a 6,900-square-kilometre (2,700 sq mi) national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilderness, characterised by an alpine climate, which makes it popular with recreational skiers and bushwalkers.
Mount Kosciuszko, previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, part of the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves, in New South Wales, Australia, and is located west of Crackenback and close to Jindabyne, near the border with Victoria.
Tadeusz Kościuszko was a soldier respected as a champion of liberty in both Poland and the United States.
The Australian Alps is a mountain range in southeast Australia. It comprises an interim Australian bioregion, and is the highest mountain range in Australia. The range straddles the borders of eastern Victoria, southeastern New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. It contains Australia's only peaks exceeding 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in elevation, and is the only bioregion on the Australian mainland in which deep snow falls annually. The range comprises an area of 1,232,981 ha.
Charlotte Pass is a snow resort and village in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The pass is in the Kosciuszko National Park where the Kosciuszko Road crosses Kangaroo Ridge. Charlotte Pass is the closest village to Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia.
Perisher Valley, commonly called Perisher, is a valley formed below Mount Perisher, a mountain that is located in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.
Mount Townsend, a mountain in the Main Range of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.
Kiandra is an abandoned gold mining town and the birthplace of Australian skiing. The town is situated in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council inside the Kosciuszko National Park. Its name is a corruption of Aboriginal 'Gianderra' for 'sharp stones for knives'. It was earlier called Gibson's Plains, named after a Dr. Gibson, a settler in the district in 1839. For a century, Kiandra was Australia's highest town.
Guthega is a ski village and the site for a hydro electric dam located in the Kosciuszko National Park, on the upper reaches of the Snowy River, on the western face of Mount Blue Cow, Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.
Geehi Hut is an alpine hut located in New South Wales, Australia. Geehi Hut is often named Nankervis Hut after Ken Nankervis and his brother built the hut for grazing and fishing in 1952. Originally at the site there were several buildings including a shed, toilet, laundry and the main house. However, in recent years the shed and laundry have been removed.
Smiggin Holes is a village in the ski resort area of Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is primarily a winter-only resort village. It is within the Kosciuszko National Park, and is administered by New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change. Access to the village is via road. There is an access fee payable to the national park, and motor vehicles are not permitted to stay overnight in the winter months.
The Gungarlin River, a perennial river of the Snowy River catchment, is located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.
Seaman's Hut is an alpine hut and memorial located in New South Wales, Australia. It was built following the death of two skiers, W. Laurie Seaman and Evan Hayes in 1928. Seaman's family built the hut to provide shelter to future users of the park, in order to prevent recurrence of a similar tragedy, which has since done.
Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state Tasmania, during the southern hemisphere winter.
Lake Albina is a glacial lake in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The lake is located within the Kosciuszko National Park and the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves.
Perisher Ski Resort is the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the Australian Snowy Mountains, the resort is an amalgamation of four villages and their associated ski fields, covering approximately 12 square kilometres (5 sq mi), with the base elevation at 1,720 metres (5,640 ft) AHD, and the summit elevation of 2,054 metres (6,739 ft) at the top of Mount Perisher. 4.4 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi) of this area is covered by 240 snow guns, which are used to artificially supplement the natural snowfall. Perisher was acquired by Vail Resorts, United States on 30 March 2015 for a sum of approximately AU$177 million.
Skiing in New South Wales takes place in the high country of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
Kosciusko Alpine Club (KAC) is the second oldest ski club in Australia after the Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club (1861). It was founded in 1909, two months after the NSW Government opened the Hotel Kosciusko at Diggers Creek, the first hotel in the Kosciusko area. The Hotel Kosciusko became the winter home of KAC until 1930 when the Kosciusko Chalet opened at Charlotte's Pass. KAC was the only ski club in the Kosciuszko area until 1920 when the Ski Club of Australia was formed.
Helmut Gritscher was an Austrian-born skier, ski instructor and photographer who worked in Australia 1961–70.
