Reg Wadley was a good mate of Lewis Lee and they enjoyed each other’s company over many decades and spent many a ride together taking cattle to the high country, including The Paddocks. In 1970, Reg Wadley purchased a hundred acres in The Paddocks, which was sold to him by Oxley Lee, brother of Lewis. When Reg passed away in 1972, his share of The Paddocks passed to his daughter, Judy, who shared her late father’s passion for the highlands and the natural environment.

Several years later, encouraged by family and friends, Judy fulfilled a dream to build a hut on the acreage she owned at the top end of The Paddocks. Assisted by many, over a three week period, a hut was erected and completed in February 1985. All timber was sourced from local hardwood in the area and the hut is warm, cosy and comfortable. It has welcomed multitudes of bushwalkers and horsemen and women since its inception, and is a gem in the wilderness. However, it remains a privately-owned hut on privately-owned land and users should always be mindful of the privilege which comes with using such facilities and afford the owner and the hut and its surrounds the respect and courtesy which is so deserved.

Judy named the hut ‘The Reg Wadley Memorial Hut’ as a tribute to her father.