The iconic Cootapatamba Hut has been damaged by a fire lit on its timber flooring. Photos: Nicholas Ward.
One of Kosciuszko National Park’s most iconic heritage huts has been damaged after a visitor appears to have lit a fire inside the building.
According to the Kosiuszko Huts Association, it appears a person may have used nearby marker stakes to construct a fire on the hut’s wooden floors before moving it to a fibreglass grate in the hut’s entryway, partially melting it.
“They had a little fire on the timber floor … they then put it on a fibreglass grate that’s just inside the door, and then that fire melted some of the grate,” Kosciuszko Huts Association huts maintenance officer Marion Plum said.
Cootapatamba Hut, one of Australia’s most remote, does not have a fireplace or stove.
What appears from the outside to be a chimney is actually a roof entrance for when the hut is buried during heavy snowstorms.
Cootapatamba Hut is just 2.5 metres x 2.5 metres and does not have a fireplace.
At the moment, it has not been confirmed how the person in question lit the fire. The hut is above the treeline, and the nearest trees are over 5 km away.
“There was an old ski pole … they have the timber snow poles out there,” Ms Plum said.
“Evidently, this old pole is lying on the ground, and they broke it up or something.”
According to Ms Plum, the hut is an integral part of the park’s history and a valuable community asset.
It is also a vital emergency shelter that skiers have used throughout the years to weather the range’s notorious blizzards.
“That hut in particular has saved lives in the past,” Ms Plum said.
In a separate incident, nearby Bullocks Hut, built in 1934, was also defaced with graffiti.
While graffiti and fire damage are not common, they can have devastating effects on the area’s huts, some of which are well over one hundred years old.
Ms Plum said it’s disappointing to see this kind of damage.
While the majority of visitors are respectful, she is eager to remind people who use these buildings that they are not accommodation buildings.
“If everyone can respect them, they’re always wonderful to go and visit. There’s nothing better than looking forward to visiting a hut at the end of the day.”
One of the park’s most isolated huts, it is strategically located in a valley where people often get lost backcountry skiing.
The alpine huts around Kosciuscko and other alpine national parks are heritage buildings, and the KHA and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) ask people to only use them for day use or for emergency shelters.
But according to Ms Plum, there is one very obvious way people can protect these structures.
“Please do not light fires on the timber floors. It’s pretty straightforward.”
NPWS looks after about 100 heritage huts in the alpine high country.
According to an NPWS spokesperson, repairs will be carried out soon.
“It is disappointing and disheartening that one of the precious heritage huts in Kosciuszko National Park has been vandalised, and another has been carelessly damaged by fire.
“NPWS, together with the Kosciuszko Huts Association, will carry out repairs to Bullocks Hut and Cootapatamba Hut when the peak ‘winter season’ has ended.
“The heritage huts of Kosciuszko National Park are places of national significance. We remind the community that they are for emergency use only and not to be used as overnight accommodation.”
The Cootapatamba Hut is one of the most unique huts in the Australian Alps.
Built as a survey shelter by the Snowy Mountains Authority in 1950, it is considered a vital emergency shelter.
The 2.5 metres x 2.5 metres hut once housed 17 skiers stranded during a blizzard.
The hut is positioned between Rams Head Range and Mt Kosciuszko, where it is easy for backcountry skiers to get lost on the return from the mountain.
More information about Cootapatamba Hut can be found on the KHA website. A code of conduct is also available.
