Southern Tasmanian Ski Association

Southern Tasmania Ski Association

Skiing Tasmania for 78 Years
by Mid J Jones

The assistance of Jessie Luckman, Ray Tilley, David Wilson and Nancy Wilson is
greatly appreciated.

Getting started.

We do not know who was the first person to don a set of skis to enjoy Tasmanian
snow but we do know that Evelyn Emmett, a member of the Scenery Preservation
Board and later first Director of Tourism in Tasmania, took skiing lessons in
the New South Wales Alps. Soon afterwards he brought back to National Park an
armload of second hand skis which were subsequently made available for hire.
With the ranger Will Belcher, and a couple of others he tried out the skis for
the first time on 8 July 1922 at Lake Fenton. And so began the sport of skiing
in Tasmania.

By 1926 skiing had taken off to the extent that the Ski Club of Tasmania was
formed. Its founders included the Hutchison family, Mac Urquhart and Ida McAulay
and it was always a private club with membership by invitation only. They soon
built a hut at Twilight Tarn, a convenient spot on the way to the best ski
slopes. Occasionally other skiers were invited to stay overnight for parties
including music from gramophone records and moonlight skating on the tarn. Later
they built a smaller hut near Lake Newdegate. It must not be supposed that hut
building was the responsibility of the men folk. In this and all later clubs
whether building huts, constructing ski tows, grooming slopes or a multitude of
other tasks the women did their share of the work. Fifty years later Ida still
remembered the “girls” constructing the fireplace and chimney at Twilight Tarn.

Having seen skiing flourish to his satisfaction Mr. Emmett next decided that
walking and touring in general should be encouraged. To this end in 1929 he
called a meeting in the Hobart Town Hall which many of the skiing fraternity
attended. They and others immediately became founding members of the Hobart
Walking Club. The same year Fred Smithies took up a challenge by Launceston’s
50,000 League to found the Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club.

As part of the tourism push for Tasmanians to get out and see their state the
first Government Huts were built at Lake Fenton in 1923. Soon the number rose to
six huts with names Telopea, Fagus, Pandani, Eucalypt, Waratah and Hakea.
Skating became popular during early winter, mostly at Twilight Tarn and Beatties
Tarn but only rarely at Lake Fenton. During the snow season visitors took the
train to National Park on Friday evening then walked the six and a quarter miles
up the pack track to Lake Fenton. Their skiing equipment had been taken up by
the ranger’s pack horse earlier in the day. The “Grand Slam” ski trail was
cleared from Government Huts towards Wombat Moor – a distance of several hundred
yards about twenty yards wide. The “Nursery Slope” was a gentle starting place
for beginners not far from there and the more adventurous visited many parts of
the range, but most especially the large drifts beyond Newdegate Pass and on Mt.
Mawson. At Lake Dobson a small hut, table and fireplace provided for comfortable
camping and picnics. Will Belcher was a keen skier and not only did he and his
assistant provide meals and afternoon teas at the largest hut, Telopea, he also
assisted people to fit their hired skis or skates, fixed minor problems, gave
rudimentary instruction and generally ensured everyone was comfortable. He
continued this work until his death in 1934, after which his nephew took over
for a while.

Lake Fenton later became a major source of drinking water for Hobart and
construction of a road and dam there commenced in 1934. It took three years to
complete the road after which a new site outside the immediate catchment was
needed for Government Huts. In 1940 the road was completed to Lake Dobson and
the Huts were moved there.

Building a sport.

In those days skis were not readily obtainable. Sophisticated downhill
equipment, plastics and other synthetics were not available. A few well-off
people had imported skis but Mr. Saunders, a woodbender in Hobart, began
producing skis from Tasmanian eucalypt. Metal strips were usually screwed under
the sides to protect the wood from wear and it was advisable to apply imported
ski waxes each time the skis were used. Tasmanian rocks and bushes were very
efficient at removing the metal strips. The plain wooden skis available for hire
often had no metal edges and went unwaxed, the quality of hire equipment at Lake
Dobson becoming quite poor by the late 1950s. Skis were tailored to different
activities. The shorter ones were good for slalom racing, langlauf skis were
narrower and jump skis had three grooves on the base.

Stocks were easily constructed from native pear with leather and cane baskets
and metal tips. Ex-army clothing was easily obtained, as military training for
young men was compulsory, but any more suitable protective clothing had to be
locally made, the women copying imported designs. Jessie Luckman has never
forgotten the nine caps she painstakingly made for club members. Blundstones in
Hobart started making special ski boots with the soles stiffened by
incorporating metal plates in the instep. These were held to the skis by
Gresshopper bindings, which held the boots firmly at the toe and had leather
straps. There were no automatic release safety features on bindings for many
years, so the risk of twisted or broken knees and ankles could not be ignored.
The first time someone broke a leg on Ben Lomond it took 2 days for other skiers
to carry them to medical help. After that they made a stretcher and sledge, some
skiers undertook first aid courses and a voluntary ski patrol gradually
developed in conjunction with the Red Cross.

Ski instruction was largely from books at first or picked up from the rough
techniques of fellow skiers, there being very few people with great skill or
teaching ability. From the mid 1930s this situation improved with increased
immigration from Europe. Some people took lessons on the mainland, others
listened and learned from immigrants such as Ferry and Hedi Fixel who fled to
Hobart from Vienna in 1938. From the 1930s to 1950s increasing numbers of glossy
catalogues showing flashy new skiing equipment and clothing trickled in from
overseas. Appetites for the newest and best grew, pennies were saved and the
number of imported skis steadily increased. But up to the late 1950s most people
still owned the locally produced items.
Skiing became a serious business for some people. Once two or more clubs were
gathered together interclub competitions inevitably developed and the Tasmanian
Ski Council was formed in the mid 1930s. From its inception it became affiliated
with the Australian National Ski Federation and this was affiliated with
Federation Internationale de Ski. The Tasmanian Ski Council had northern and
southern divisions, the southern one having representatives from all the
southern clubs. The southern division reorganised its rules, enlarged its domain
to consist of “all registered skiers south of 42°S” and changed its name to
Southern Tasmanian Ski Association in 1955. The first Tasmanian Championship was
held from 17 to 24 August 1935 at Ben Lomond, but even before this Tasmania had
sent teams twice to compete at the Australian Championships interstate. There
were annual club, interclub, interstate and international competitions. The
skill of some Tasmanians reached very high standards as was proved when Ray
Tilley won the New Zealand langlauf championship in 1949. Tasmania’s southern
fields had inadequate treeless slopes to reach national competition standards
but Ben Lomond was chosen for the Australian Championships in 1955. By this time
Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club had constructed a jeep track to Carr Villa thus
making the field more accessible.

Developments in the north.

The Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club (NTAC) spent a few years trying different
places such as Ironstone Mountain and Cradle Mountain before settling on Ben
Lomond as their centre for skiing development. It was a four miles eight chains
long, rough walk up Satans Gully to the treeline site where they built their hut
Carr Villa in 1931 using mostly local materials. Then they constructed a rough
pole line the remaining two and a quarter miles from there to the summit slopes.
After Len Branagan became lost and died in a blizzard in September 1939 the
Government upgraded the pole line. The club built the summit hut, called the
Monds Memorial Hut after their first president, in 1937 after carrying the
necessary materials by pack horse from English Town, a distance of nine miles.
Several club members built a small log cabin not far from Carr Villa and the
“Chateau Du Mitch Mill” near the summit at about the same time. About two miles
from the summit they discovered coal and this was mined during summer months
then taken by horse to the hut and chateau for later winter use. The treeline
huts used wood heating. The routes from Satans Gully and English Town were the
only ones to the mountain’s northern ski slopes for many years and difficulties
of access retarded development of the ski field.

By 1946 skiing was becoming very popular and extra accommodation was obviously
needed. The Club decided it would build no more huts but would encourage members
to build for themselves and friends if they wished. The Examiner newspaper
proudly reported “Small Huts Lead to Snobbery”, which everyone ignored. Huts
quickly popped up about the mountain. “Zermatt” became Tasmania’s highest
habitation at 5,000ft and there were three other huts on Legges Tor. The Club
did embark on a few more building programs: a lodge for the 1955 Australian
championships, now called “Ben Bullen”, four family accommodation units F, R, E
and D, then a large chalet with accommodation for about fifty members
accompanied by a large day room. This last was burnt down accidentally in 1996
then replaced by the elaborate new “NTAC Lodge”.

Tasmania’s first National Park was the Mount Field area declared in 1917. After
several years of effort by several NTAC Club members and the Northern Scenery
Board the Ben Lomond area was declared a national park in 1943. In the 1980s
National Parks and Wildlife Service adopted a policy of removing unnecessary
huts and shelters from national parks. They gave 14 days notice for the small
huts to be removed or they would be burnt. Ben Lomond Ski Association had to act
very quickly to get nine huts listed on the Register of Historical Significance,
thus saving them from destruction in the blitz.

Road construction to Carr Villa and then to the ski slopes was a slow job. In
the early 1930s Kiln Dried Hardwoods Pty Ltd had been putting in some logging
tracks and, as the Atkins brothers worked with the company, it was not
surprising to find that one of the tracks shortened by two miles the original
walk to the snow via Satans Gully. Later Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club was in
charge of all construction work with some Government assistance offered by a
series of contracts. Roy Bugg was a road engineer, Diprose Constructions Pty Ltd
operated machinery that young Diprose was quick to offer, and Bill Mitchell,
Andrew Smith and Heine von See also contributed to the expertise needed. In 1954
a jeep track from the Upper Blessington Road to Carr Villa was commenced,
joining together existing logging tracks wherever possible. Next it was
gradually upgraded to a good gravelled road. The final five miles to the plateau
presented quite a challenge. The preferred route was to be “Jacobs Ladder”, a
precipitous slope for a road that required six hairpin bends with almost
vertical drops at the sides. The Club began this section in 1966 and it was open
to ordinary cars in 1968. Unfortunately the Government withdrew its support for
road construction in 1973 and so the road could not be upgraded to the safe and
adequate width that the Club would have preferred. Since 1997 the Government has
improved the road greatly and provided safety barriers.

Further developments in the south.

At Mt Wellington construction of the road to the pinnacle in 1936 was an
invitation to increased skiing on the summit drifts and plateau. A slow run down
the road’s even grade with stocks tucked up and eyes half closed made a relaxing
end to a gruelling day of slaloms and jumps. Quite a few people were joining
Hobart Walking Club expressly for the skiing and so a separate skiing division
was formed. Soon afterwards they launched a new public club called Wellington
Ski Club with Gerald Rush, who taught mathematics as well as skiing, taking a
prominent role. Hobart Walking Club built a hut near Big Bend in 1938 and
Wellington Ski Club’s hut was completed nearby a couple of years later. Hobart
City Council supported these developments and gave money towards a short ski run
as well as marking out a skating rink. Heavy beams described the rink’s
perimeter and the base was concrete. Although it never held the ice particularly
well and suffered from a wind-sculpted surface it provided plenty of
entertainment. The remains are still there.

Hobart Walking Club’s skiing division built another hut at Mt Rufus during
Easter 1939. This was used as a base for skiing as well as walking trips. After
World War 2 European migrants came to work on Hydro-Electric Commission projects
at Butlers Gorge and Bronte Park. They quickly discovered the southern slopes
of Mt Rufus and formed the Rufus Ski Club in 1947. Then they built Joe Slatter
Hut, named after their club’s first president, and prepared to construct a ski
tow. Wood was donated and a gravelled road built beyond the Navarre River. They
completed a hut near “lunch rock” in 1954 and painted it a colour something like
gingerbread. But the following year HEC projects were nearing the end and people
were leaving the district so the club officially amalgamated with Wellington Ski
Club after its final races on 16 October 1955.

Back at National Park activity had been curtailed during the War but a hut was
completed for University Ski Club on Mt Mawson just north of the current ski
runs in 1941. Alpine Club of Southern Tasmania formed in 1945 and built a hut at
Eagle Tarn. Hobart Walking Club and Wellington Ski Club also built huts at Lake
Dobson shortly after the War, making five clubs with six huts at National Park.
For some years Wellington Club hired a bus for transport to and from Mt
Wellington and Lake Dobson. It went as far as the snow allowed then people
walked or skied the rest of the way. Occasionally the passengers needed to push
the bus out of snowdrifts. They still went up late on Friday and returned home
on Sunday afternoon as was done in the days of the pack horse. Private vehicles
superseded the bus in the early 1960s. The major route to the ski slopes during
these years was via the lakeside and the “Golden Stairs”. The “Alpine Trail”
could be followed down to Eagle Tarn. “Lunch rock” was near the base of the
current Mawson tow.

Ski tows and ski villages.

Talk about ski tows had increased since the 1940s. Initially the Rufus Club’s
plans, then forgotten plans brought to Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club from New
Zealand in 1949, then a small tow constructed near Charlottes Pass in New South
Wales. All that was necessary for a Tasmanian tow was money and enthusiasm.
Harold Cuming who ran the guest house “Singing Waters” at National Park decided
to construct a tow at Mt Mawson. Many skiers and their acquaintances volunteered
to do the work. Mr. Cuming organised a helicopter to take much of the equipment
up from Wombat Moor. A winch was set up at the top of the Golden Stairs to haul
other heavy items. Both the Government and the clubs contributed to the cost.
There was a single rope tow, motor hut, shelter shed, toilet and hire equipment.
In September 1958 the tow officially opened and the Government undertook to keep
the Lake Dobson road snowploughed. A few years later a fire started somehow in
the motor hut and the whole facility was ruined. Mr. Cuming returned to the
Victorian ski fields from which he had originally come after a similar
misfortune.

The skiers were now used to a tow and would not be content without. Southern
Tasmanian Ski Association planned a replacement and the Government provided
earth moving equipment to clear the run. They also took a shelter hut to the
base of the Rodways (now removed), constructed a 1:10 grade road with table
drains from the car park to the ski field, enlarged the car park and bulldozed a
steep run down the old Alpine Trail to Eagle Tarn. Materials for the new tow
could then be carted by road. Many components were manufactured in Hobart with
industrial and engineering firms donating facilities and some materials, whether
or not officially. The skiers took everything to the site and Southern Tasmanian
Ski Association took on the responsibility of running the tows. All profit was
to be put into improving equipment and facilities.

Once the new ski tow was opened on 14 July 1963 the question of obtaining a
competent ski instructor arose. Larry Pallinger answered the call and not only
taught skiing but was interested in running a cafeteria, ski hire and
accommodation. This was a great relief to National Parks Board who wanted to
give up or put to lease its kiosk, ski hire and caravan park at Lake Dobson.
Once again money and labour were needed. Somehow the Pallingers obtained all the
necessary money for constructing “Sitzmark Lodge” and the skiers provided many
hours again. Southern Tasmanian Ski Association stipulated that from the time
Sitzmark opened in June 1966 the Association would have no financial interest in
it, as had been the case with Mr. Cuming’s tow. Larry and Nancy Pallinger
operated Sitzmark Lodge as a commercial venture for about 15 years before
selling it to National Parks Service and retiring to their Hobart shop Skigia.

The ski tow and Sitzmark Lodge started a new era in skiing. A club of at least
20 members was allowed to build a hut at the new ski village so Oldina Ski Club
joined Southern Tasmanian Ski Association in 1962 followed by Royal Hobart
Hospital Ski Club (later renamed Mawson Ski Club) in 1968. With the introduction
of new materials and technologies skiing began to branch more strongly into
various types. Many people kept at least two sets of skis one for “downhill” and
one for “cross-country”. Many newcomers used “downhill” equipment only. Others
turned up their noses at the ski tows and fled to Tarn Shelf, Mawson Plateau and
more distant ridges where they could enjoy touring without the hum of engines.
After several years of operation Mawson tow was extended downhill by 20 metres
or so which required moving the motor hut also. Additional ski tows were built,
one on the “university run” in 1968 and one on the steep Rodway slopes six years
later. The National Parks Service subsidised these developments on a dollar for
dollar basis. A belt issue hut was built in 1969.

A new sport of snowboarding arose in the late 1980s. It was sufficiently
different from skiing to produce muffled disapproval about new activities
getting in the way of the traditional practice, much as 20 years earlier some
people using the longer, old style, more cumbersome skis resented those with the
new shorter skis which turned so sharply and quickly. But in 1998 Southern
Tasmanian Ski Association welcomed its first new member club for 30 years. Due
to altered philosophies of national parks “The Snowboard” is unlikely to be
allowed to build a hut in the ski village - and they probably do not want one,
after all it is only a one and a half hours’ drive from Hobart to the snow.

At Ben Lomond Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club completed its first ski tow on
Legges Tor in 1964. Helicopters took some lighter objects but the very heavy
stuff had to be carried from Carr Villa. And anyone wanting to use the tow had
to be really committed, as it was necessary for each person to carry to the
towline two gallons of fuel to run the motor for the day. They also built a
small shelter for the public at the base of the ski tow in 1965 but years later
the National Parks and Wildlife Service gave this to a commercial tow operator.

Completion of the road to Ben Lomond ski field allowed development of the skiing
complex to really take off. Sites were let for a ski village and building
commenced in 1968 along with the first commercial ski hire. A group of skiers
from southern Tasmania formed Talaria Ski Club and built their lodge at Ben
Lomond in 1969. Alpine Enterprises started operating the first commercial tows
in 1974, then by 1985 the eighth commercial tow was being constructed, Northern
Tasmanian Alpine Club operated two tows and its original rope tows had been
replaced by Poma Lifts.

Skiing today

Northern Tasmania’s commercial success is attributed to having reasonably
reliable snow, good slopes well above the tree line, relatively low winter
rainfall and reasonable winter weather, along with easy vehicular access
provided by the enthusiasm of the original group of volunteers. Up to 1,500 lift
tickets may be sold in a day, new chalets are built every year and volunteers
continue to operate a ski patrol and groom the slopes.

Operation of the Mt Mawson tows still relies almost entirely on volunteers,
although the kiosk and ski hire are done semi-commercially. Many of the skiers
are unaware of the voluntary work being done by members of the ski clubs. The
tow equipment and operations have not altered, but safety standards have risen
and volunteer ski patrollers are always present to offer first aid in case of
accidents. On a successful day more than 200 tow tickets may be sold and the
slopes become quite crowded.

Since the construction of the first ski tows there has always been sufficient
snow for the tows or lifts at Ben Lomond to operate at least for a couple of
weekends, but at Mt. Mawson on rare occasions the season has failed entirely.
Nevertheless in some seasons the snowfall distribution is such that tows operate
much more successfully at Mt. Mawson than at Ben Lomond.

Skiing in Tasmania still allows exploration of those more distant fields.
Enthusiasts have tried the Snowy Range, Walls of Jerusalem, Central Plateau, Mt
King William, Cradle Mountain – anywhere the snow will permit. Past dreams
included developing the fields at Mt King William, Florentine Peak, Honeybird
Basin and Mt Wellington but Mt. Wellington has always been unreliable for snow.
The older skiers remind us there have always been good years and bad years
throughout Tasmania although some suspect it more rarely snows to the lower
elevations these days. Even before 1950 it was common to have to walk long
distances this year where last year one skied (and vice versa). There may be no
skiable snow in August or in exceptional years avalanches may uproot trees as
they tumble down mountainsides with a few snowdrifts remaining through to the
following winter. Some memorable good years were 1939, 1943, 1946 to 1948, 1975
and 1992. Some poor ones were 1949, 1956, 1957 and 1998.

Hobart Walking Club has many skiers, both downhill and cross-country, but we now
have only one hut. The Rufus hut held many memories for those who based their
skiing or walks there but in more recent years it received only a little use. By
order of National Parks and Wildlife Service the Club demolished it in December
1989 and its loss was sorely felt by those Members who were part of its early
history. Our Mt Wellington hut was severely damaged by wild fire in February
1967, but as its stone walls remained the Club was able to rebuild it a few
years later. In 1979 Hobart City Council took control of it, naming it “Luckman
Hut”. The Lake Dobson Memorial Hut has become part of the Club’s heritage,
providing a welcoming base for Club activities throughout the year.

References.
Australian Ski Year books.
Tramp Articles:-
No. 1, 1933 “We Like Skiing”; No. 6, 1945 “Our Rufus Thing”;
No. 7, 1946 “The Memorial Hut” and “Mt Rufus as a Skiing Ground”;
No. 9, 1949 “Tasmanian Snowfields”;
No. 11, 1953 “Skiing and Winter Sports Notes” and “Mt. Field National Park”;
No. 16, 1963 “Ski Facilities at Mt. Mawson”;
No. 17, 1966 “Wooden Tents” and “Bushwalking Personalities- Mac Urquhart”;
No. 20, 1972 “Evelyn Emmett”; No. 21, 1974 “Rodway Ski Tow”;
No. 22 1976 “The Lake Fenton Pack Track” and “Geoff Chapman- a Tribute”.

© M Jones 2000