MARTHAVALE HUT
This hut was situated on lot 12 in the Parish of Binnigan, Reserved Forest. The land adjoins other Reserved Forest lots (13, 14, 3) next to the Nicholson River. In the past, it was Allotment 5 Section A, 332 acres, granted to Hippolite Leonard Bishoff, a grazier of Wy Yung, March 1929. This was after having been surveyed in 1903 by Binson for purchase under section 54 of the Land Act 1901, when he described it as granitic geology, hilly, with good black soil, and covered with gum, stringybark, peppermint and mountain ash. It adjoined other land owned by HL & AJ Bishoff. The survey plan was signed by the Assistant Surveyor General in 1910 { LV}. The property was mortgaged in 1939 to the Bank of Australasia and in the same year transferred to Oliver William James Chester a farmer of Bullumwaal. Oliver and his son Jack built a three bedroom house on the property the same year. Chester died a year later with the probate from his will going to his brother Eric H Chester of Upper Maffra and his brother in-law Archie Hair of Willungra, both farmers. Oliver’s son Jack continued to live in the house and work the property. Jack would kill sheep and supplied the workers of the timber mill at Seldom Seen, up until he enlisted for war service 17 Sep 1941. Oliver Chester’s widow, Elizabeth Maud Chester (nee Hair), of Bairnsdale, was the new owner in 1941. By 1942 Fred Chester of Pinnock St Bairnsdale owned the land, being her youngest son, Fred just prior to him enlisting on the 27 June 1940. Fred was discharged on the 1 Nov 1945 and married Elsie Violet (nee Fisher) the following year. They had been married only months before his death. The property was again sold (after probate was granted to Bairnsdale carpenter, Fred Chester), this time to Elsie Violet Chester, then living in Brisbane. Jack had been discharged from the war on 11 Dec 1945 and returned to Marthavale to look after the farm for Elsie (Fred’s widow) who had shifted to Brisbane. In 1951, she decided to sell the property. Jack, and his war mate Harry Max Nanson purchased it and divided in half. Jack got the half which had the house and Max the other half. Max built himself a hut some 500 meters from the original home, in which he and his wife Thelma (nee Fleming) lived with their two children. Harry decided to sell his portion back to the Crown. Twelve months later, Jack followed suit. In 1952 the Marthavale property reverted back to the Crown. In 1953 builders Jack Fuhrmann and his brother Bill, who were working for Cuthbertson & Richards, built this hut as a base camp for timber workers in the area. The hut proved to be too small so Jack and Bill were sent back to extend it. Bill Fuhmann died in 1969; Jack worked for the company for 35 years Raymon and Des Lind, sons of Sir Albert Lind, had leased the grazing area around the hut from 1952 to c1969, running cattle there. They often camped in the hut in the mid 1960s when checking the stock. In 1990 a Vietnam veteran, wife and 7 year old child lived in the hut for some time. The veteran had become very reclusive following the Vietnam War and used the hut as a haven. By mid 2002, the hut was in need of urgent repair. The Idlers 4WD Club restored the building by rebuilding the chimney, replacing many weatherboards and some internal timbers. By 2000, the hut was in a bad way and its future was unsure, until the Idlers 4WD Club restored the hut in mid 2002, by rebuilding the chimney, replacing many weather boards, some internal construction timber and a good coat of stain to the exterior with the aid of DNRE Bairnsdale, who helped provide materials for the work. The hut needed regular upkeep and again the first week in September 2015 saw a combined volunteer workforce from the Idlers 4WD Club and the Victorian High Country HutsAssoc plus the Bairnsdale office of DELWP, who all come together after months of plans, meetings, financial funding and the design and construction of a new fireplace & flue by Majak Services of Wodonga for the VHCHA. The old fireplace, chimney and weatherboards were removed, graffiti sanded back and walls restained. Metal roof flashing replaced, windows and doors re painted, weatherboards replaced, the new fireplace installed and brickwork completed. More recently the MacAllister 4WD Club took over caretakership of the hut and also did extensive maintenance and repairs. The hut was burnt down in 2017 when a fire got away from some campers using the hut. ( History references form Victorian Alpine Huts Heritage Survey 2005, Graeme Butler and Associates )
THE LOCATION OF THE CACHE IS TO KEEP IT AWAY FROM FIREWOOD COLLECTORS