Last updated 27Oct24
Waterhole Hut
Waterhole Hut is located in the Grassy Creek valley in the southern ACT in Namadgi National Park.
Location: GR 55H FA 76228-29101 (MGA94), Yaouk 8626-2N 1:25000
Waterhole Hut, July 2014
Visits: 27 Oct 24, 7 Oct 23, 16-17 Sep 23, 4 Jul 15, 30 Aug 14, 19 Jul 14, 12 Jul 14, 8 Jul 14, 31Aug-1Sep 13, 23 Mar 13, 8-9 Sep 12, 15 Mar 11, 28 Dec 10, 20 Jul 10, 13 Apr 10, 24 Jun 08, 18 Mar 08, 8 May 07, 3-4 Jul 04
Documentation:
• KHA web site: Waterhole is located upstream on Grassy Creek, from Westermans homestead, almost on the southern ACT border with NSW. The grid reference is 762289. It cannot be seen from the fire trail, so following the creek upstream from the old yards, is the easiest way to find it. Waterhole Hut is on the Namadgi Historic Homestead Triangle. View the brochure here. Also known as Upper Grassy Creek Hut. Waterhole hut was built by the then owner, Thomas Oldfield, his son Jack and Henry Tyrie in 1939, to support grazing. Stones were used from the old homestead nearby, for the base to the chimney. the old homestead had been occupied by Thomas Westerman’s mother with her second husband, Francis Dwyer. The stock yards nearby, are of note, incorporating large granite boulders. In 2004 and 2005, the hut was fully restored by KHA and the caretakers. Waterhole is a simple iron hut with a dirt floor. The pole and iron chimney has fallen over and will be re-built in the coming year. The floor was originally timber, and will also be replaced.
• KHA Namadgi database (private source). Site 261. Dwyer’s was constructed between 1872 & 1904. The hut collapsed and the chimney stones were used for Waterhole Hut. Attempts to positively identify Dwyer’s have been unsuccessful. Waterhole Hut was erected in 1939, extended in 1940s. The chimney and th …
• Gudgenby: A register of archaeological sites in the proposed Gudgenby National Park, J H Winston-Gregson MA thesis, ANU, 1978. Site B19. Corrugated metal on timber frame; external corrugated metal chimney lined with mud mortared granodiorite blocks; earth floor; wire nails. Hut is constructed almost entirely from salvaged materials; frame is thus a mixture of fence rails and machine sawn timber. The earliest beer bottle on the site is dated 1964. Hut stands on site of a hut valued at £10 in 1904 about 100m SW . See extracts of the relevant pages in the photos above.
• Sites of Significance in the ACT. A 9 volume set, pre-cursor to the ACT Heritage Register. Published in 1988 (Vols 1-7), 1989 (Vol 8) and 1990 (Vol 9); pp38-43. Site G38. It was built by the Oldfields circa 1940 and used as a shelter during work in Grassy Creek valley where there are stockyards. It is reported that there is an earlier hut site nearby from which the stones for the present fireplace were derived (Koscuisko Huts Association). The terrain around the hut features an unusually large concentration of low rounded boulders on low hillocks and plains. See extracts of the relevant pages in the photos above.
• Waterhole Hut log book: Waterhole Hut was constructed by Tom Oldfield, his son Jack and Harry Tyrie in 1939 and was used for shelter during periodic stock work. Prior to this, Frank Dywer’s Hut was located in the vicinity. Waterhole Hut was extended in the 1940s by Jack Feaney, an employee of Tom Oldfield. The veranda and chimney have since collapsed. The land on which the hut stands was resumed in the 1970s and became part of the Gudgenby Nature Reserve in 1979 before being included in the gazettal of Namadgi National Park in 1984.
• ACT Heritage Listing: Stockmen’s Huts in Namadgi National Park H58g
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