Lake Meston Hut and Junction Lake Hut are look-alike huts situated at lakes bearing the same names and located in the Central Plateau Conservation Area.
Both Huts were built by Dick Reed (by then aged in his 70’s) who teamed up with members from the Ranicar and Riley families (the three “R’s”) and Alf Walters and Boy Miles, all-in-all, a very unique and skilful team of bush craftsmen. In 1969 the first Hut was built at Lake Meston from pencil pine logs sourced from the nearby bush, and dragged to the site with the assistance of a draft horse. Soon after, the second hut was built near the shores of Junction Lake, and was finished by New Year’s Day, 1970.
Palings, slabs and shingles were split on site, and the huts completed with shingle roofs and tin chimneys.
In October 2004, members of MHPS and a Parks & Wildlife Ranger inspected these huts and determined various aspects of maintenance which needed to be carried out.
Meston Hut required the replacement of shingles, bedlogs, palings and bracing, while Junction Hut also required the renewal of shingles, woodshed beams and posts. A subsequent helicopter lift of supplies and building materials in March 2005 by PWS enabled MHPS members to execute the repairs, thus further ensuring the preservation of these iconic huts, and their continued use by fishermen and bushwalkers alike.
