Blowhard

The huts of the miners and cattlemen were not the only valuable shelters for those in the alpine regions.

During the 1920s with the increase of motoring traffic traversing the Alpine Road, the CRB huts were built in conjunction with the road upgrades.

The present corrugated-iron hut, (whose iron cladding is well fastened) is an evolution of an earlier building, with the original hut destroyed in the 1939 bushfires. The replacement has seen many adoptions over the years by the various road authorities.

Bill Spargo superintendent of the Hotham Country Roads Board (CRB) crew during the early 1920s, recommended the erection of these valuable emergency refuges for motorist.  Huts were supplied with basic provisions including matches and firewood.

Other CRB shelters were erected at strategic points along the Alpine road at:

Corbett’s Flat, Blowhard, Diamantina Springs, Whiskey Flat, Dinner Plain and Boggy Creek Hut towards Omeo from Dinner Plain.