Vallejo Gantner Hut

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vallejo Gantner Hut
National Park	Alpine National Park
State	VIC, Australia
Grid Reference	470588
GPS Reference	S37 10.326 E146 40.221
Built in	1971
Built by	Volunteers
Built for	Memorial
Maintained By	Unknown
Access By	Walking Track

The Vallejo Gantner Hut is located at Macalister Springs near Mount Howitt. The hut was built in 1971 as a memorial following the death of a young man called Vallejo Gantner.

Vallejo Gantner was born in America and moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia at the age of 12. He was a student at Melbourne Grammar School and was involved in outdoor activities throughout his student life. His life was tragically cut short at the age of 19 when his rifle accidentally discharged when he attempted to cross a wire fence while hunting rabbits.

His mother Neilma Gantner asked the Victorian State Government permission to construct the hut as a memorial to her son. The hut was built with considerable difficulty due to poor access and adverse weather conditions over a two year period from 1970-1971 with the help of students from Melbourne Grammar School and Box Hill High School.

The hut is an unusual design composed of many triangles that readily sheds snow in Winter.

The hut is a popular destination for bushwalkers in Summer and for cross country skiers in Winter and is known colloquially as 'Gantner's'.

A relatively recent addition to the site was the construction of a naturally composting pit toilet with a magnificent view across the tops of nearby snowgums and vallies.

[edit] References

• Kosciusko Huts Association