Mottram Hut

Parent Place or Precinct

16177 Huts, D'Entrecasteaux National Park

Values

• Mottram Hut is a good representative example of a former drover’s hut located in the southwest of the state that is associated with the early development of the pastoral industry.
• Mottram Hut is part of a collection of modest vernacular structures, constructed using simple techniques and materials which have developed as a response to the basic requirements for shelter in remote areas along the southwest coast of Western Australia.
• Mottram Hut is valued by the Mottram family who constructed the hut in 1975, on the family’s original pastoral lease, and who have continued to use and maintain the hut until the present day.

Physical Description

Mottram Hut is located in the area to the southeast of Broke Inlet. It is constructed of vertical sheets of corrugated iron on a bush timber structural frame and has a low pitched corrugated iron roof. There are no windows or doors, but a timber awning shutter is located on one side of the structure. The hut is open on one side in the manner typical of droving huts of the area, with a fireplace with a large, corrugated iron chimney on the open side. There is a system for collecting rainwater from the roof into a tank adjacent to the hut. There is a large water storage tank on one side. Internally the Hut is unlined with an earth floor. There is a rudimentary bathroom.

History

The following documentary evidence is based on the Heritage Assessment: Huts in the D’Entrecasteaux National Park, prepared for the Department of Conservation and Land Management, by Heritage and Conservation Professionals, February 2000.

The D’Entrecasteaux National Park is associated with the early European use of southern coastal areas in Western Australia, for both pastoral leases and coastal recreation. Leases for cattle grazing were granted to European settlers, including the Bussells (from Vasse) and Scotts (from Nannup). Cattle were moved to coastal areas for summer grazing before returning to their inland properties.
There are 62 squatters’ huts located throughout D’Entrecasteaux National Park. Some of the older huts were built by pastoralists who brought cattle to the coast for summer grazing and by the former Forests Department for staff involved in forest assessment or staffing fire lookouts. However, families or groups of friends currently use the majority of the huts on a private basis, with few available to the public.
The first Mottram lease was established in 1873 at the mouth of the Meerup River. In the 1900’s a 1600ha lease was run between Mottram Lake (now known as Lake Maringup) and the beach at Coodamurrup. Another lease of 400ha was also held at Broke Inlet and 1200ha at Cliffy Head (known as Banksia Flats Station) During the early years, a hut was built closer to the mouth of the Broke Inlet for use during musters. When the South West Highway was built, cattle were driven by horses along this road to Crystal Springs and Banksia Flats Station. In later years, cattle were trucked to Crystal Springs and then driven into the station by horses.
Mottram Hut was built in 1975 by the Mottram family as a drover’s hut, used for shelter during summer coastal grazing practices on the original lease. The hut was constructed to replace an existing drover’s hut located on Banksia Beach, a few kilometres away, which was not suitable due to the windy conditions. Cattle were driven from the home property located near Manjimup to Banksia Flats Station in the summer months via horseback. The cattle were grazed until mustering in June when they were returned to the farm. The Mottram’s continued to practice summer coastal grazing until 1989 when the adjoining D’Entrecasteaux National Park was extended to include the Banksia Flats Station. Following this, no animals were allowed to cross the National Park, therefore, blocking access to the coast. The Mottram family undertook a formal agreement with CALM which gave them access to and use of Mottram Hut until 2015.
D’Entrecasteaux National Park was gazetted in 1978. Included within the Park boundaries were a number of different leaseholds and reserves as well as vacant crown land. The various leases and reserves implied different forms of land use, but all pastoral leases, for example, were resumed by CALM (DPAW) on creation of the Park.
In 1980, legislation was introduced to provide means to remove shacks from public land for environmental reasons.
In 1983, State Cabinet endorsed a position paper on coastal planning and management in Western Australia. The report set out broad policies for coastal areas and included a policy that indicated that squatter settlements were not considered acceptable.
Squatter shacks that have been retained in the D’Entrecasteaux National Park were the subject of a study completed in December 2000 by Heritage and Conservation Professionals (a study which excluded Donnelly River Mouth). Management strategies for some of these huts maintain them as shelter and accommodation for park visitors, but also allow owners to use the huts, and have a locked section for their personal items.
A previous management plan for D’Entrecasteaux National Park allowed lifetime leases to the hut owners near the mouth of the Donnelly River. However, lifetime leases were determined illegal and the hut owners indicated that they did not wish to be bound by the conditions of a 1987 management plan that precluded them selling or transferring ownership of the huts. In 1990, the hut owners negotiated new occupancy licences for their huts.
In 2016, the owners are continuing to negotiate their role as custodians of the hut and surrounds.

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.