Basil Steers is a name synonymous with mountain huts, and with trapping and snaring in the high country. Basil was just a very young boy in the mid 1930s when he first started to accompany his father, Bill, to the snaring runs on Pelion Plains and by the 1950s the father and son team had focused on the February Plain where they snared together during the winter for a number of years. In the late 1960s, while still snaring, Basil also began grazing cattle on the February Plain and, in 1968, constructed a hut, complete with mustering yard for the cattle and a skin shed for animal pelts. Basil Steers continued to practise trapping and snaring into the early 1980s, when a law banning snaring was rapidly and covertly passed through Parliament, effectively putting an end to Basil’s career overnight.
Basil Steer’s February Plains Hut #1 was initially damaged by fire in the mid 70s and, over the ensuing years, gradual and continued deterioration occurred until the Hut had fallen in on itself, with only a couple of part walls still standing amongst the debris of timber and tin.
In February 2007, a field trip involving 21 people, comprising MHPS members and PWS staff, visited the derelict remains of Basil’s Hut #1. This site, along with several other sites of proposed projects, received further inspection from MHPS and PWS representatives via a helicopter trip in August of the same year.
In June 2008, MHPS submitted a detailed proposal for the restoration of this unique snaring hut on February Plains.
The first official working bee took place in January 2009, when the site was cleared of burnt debris and generally tidied up and prepared for future work. During the course of the following 20 months, a total of 13 working bees resulted in an accumulation of over 550 hours of voluntary work from MHPS members.
PWS assisted with airlifts of materials required.
The restoration and rebuilding of Basil Steers Hut #1 was completed in September 2010.
A few weeks later, in early October, MHPS hosted a trip for members of the Wilderness World Heritage Area Consultative Committee (WWHACC) to inspect the completed project and give them a better understanding of the work of
the Society.
Official Opening of Basil Steers #1 Hut
On Saturday, 26th March 2011, under a perfect blue sky, more than 130 interested people walked into Basil Steers #1 Hut to witness the official opening of the fully rebuilt hut. President Roger Nutting welcomed everybody and gave a brief summary of what had been involved in the rebuilding project. Special guests were three of Basil’s four children, Philip Steers, Anne Crowden and Christine Donohue, who all participated in the opening ceremony. Philip spoke of his father’s exploits in the bush, and of Basil’s skill as a bushman and of his hut building exploits. Anne spoke fondly of Basil, the family man, and the fun times she remembered spending in the mountains, and of birthday parties in the huts. Christine performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially signify the opening of the hut. Several PWS members were also in attendance and Chris Colley (Northern Regional Manager) and Chris Emms (Parks & Reserves Manager for GWT) acknowledged and praised the work of the MHPS and the success of the partnership agreement with MHPS. Ken Jacobs, a past employer and friend of Basil, was also present to witness the re-birth of the Hut, which he had helped Basil build.
This event was the culmination of many, many months of hard work, and it is very satisfying to now have the hut restored as a tribute and a memorial to such an iconic figure of the high country—Basil Steers.
