Barn Bluff, on Tasmania’s Overland Track, in 1957

The photos document many of the old bushwalkers huts on the Overland Track and this week the original slides and digitally scanned copies will be sent to Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service to be added to their Asset Information System as an ongoing record of buildings on the track.

A view of the Acropolis on the Overland Track, in 1957.

The first hut on the Overland Track was built at Pelion in 1936 followed by the Pine Valley Hut in 1942. A lot of the older huts on the track burned down over the years as a result of walkers leaving their wood stoves unattended. 

Ernie Armstrong, now 84, says he can remember quite clearly the old bunk beds in the huts: “We just had a sleeping bag and slept straight on the boards. I can still feel every join and bent piece of wood.” 

The slides of Cradle Mountain’s Overland Track, from 1957, have survived the vagaries of time and the back of Ernie’s garage in remarkably good condition. 

Kitchen Hut on the Overland Track, from an old slide in 1957. This image of Kitchen Hut from 1957 is particularly rare as it shows Kitchen Hut with a chimney.

Pelion Hut on the Overland Track, from a historic slide in 1957.

Ernie Armstrong, now 84, says he can remember quite clearly the old bunk beds in the huts: “We just had a sleeping bag and slept straight on the boards. I can still feel every join and bent piece of wood.” 

Historic images of the Overland Track in Tasmania.

A steep ascent on the Overland Track in Tasmaina, from a 1957 slide.

Ernie Armstrong, now 84, says he can remember quite clearly the old bunk beds in the huts: “We just had a sleeping bag and slept straight on the boards. I can still feel every join and bent piece of wood.” 

“As someone who has been walking the Overland Track for more than 40 years I can relate to images from that period, as now some of these huts have gone completely,” says Eddie Firth, ranger in charge of the Overland Track.

Walkers on the Overland Track in 1957. The photos document many of the old bushwalkers huts on the Overland Track and this week the original slides and digitally scanned copies will be sent to Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service to be added to their Asset Information System as an ongoing record of buildings on the track.