Curnows Hut
New toilet constructed August 2016
Accommodation
Hut,
'Walk-in' site,
Water Tank
'Walk-in' site,
Water Tank
Water Tank Level
Mapsheet
Mapsheet 5A, Spalding to Hiskeys Hut
Guidebook
Northern Guidebook, chapter 1, map 4
Location
Bundaleer
Coordinates
Contact
Friends of the Heysen Trail. Ph (+61 8) 8212 6299.
This hut is maintained by Friends of the Heysen Trail volunteers and reserved for Heysen Trail walkers and Mawson Trail cyclists. It is located on private property and not accessible to vehicles or caravans.
This hut is maintained by Friends of the Heysen Trail volunteers and reserved for Heysen Trail walkers and Mawson Trail cyclists. It is located on private property and not accessible to vehicles or caravans.
Bookings
No. The hut has a combination lock (installed in October 2017) . To access, press C (for clear) and then the code number is 5491.
Fees
No.
Facilities
Hut - hut, bunks, water, fireplace, toilet, table, seating. Camp ground - fire pits, tables, toilet (new toilet constructed August 2016), water
History
Bundaleer Forest was the first plantation forest in South Australia, and also the "birthplace of forestry in Australia". There was early concern that the State's precious native forest cover, never abundant, would be lost forever in the rush to find building materials. From 1873 the South Australian Parliament passed various acts to encourage the planting of forest trees, and in 1876 'Plantation A' - the first forest - was planted at Bundaleer. Many tree species - natives and exotics - were planted to see which would thrive in local conditions, and be commercially useful. Many of these trees, now a century and a quarter old, can still be seen at Bundaleer. The most successful product was the Radiata pine, today widely used in construction. There are other plantations along the Heysen Trail, at Kuitpo Forest and Mt Crawford Forest, but the vast majority of plantations of Pinus Radiatus are in the State's South-East. The first nurseryman at Bundaleer was John Curnow, whose cottage, known as Curnows Hut, is located near the original nursery. The timber from this plantation was used to build Spencer Gulf jetties, railway sleepers and in Broken Hill’s mines.
Notes
Curnows Hut has been reopened following the 2013 bushfires.
The original toilet was destroyed in the bushfire).
A permanent toilet was installed at the campsite/hut by the Friends of the Heysen Trail in March 2016.
Curnows Hut remains open to walkers. Much of te land in the former Bundaleer Forest has been transferred to private ownership.
The property on which the hut is located remains on Crown Land as paet of the Bundaleer Greenway.
Stayed the night of 29/9/22. Plenty of lovely clean water in the tanks, and even toilet paper in the loo! Luxury! Inside the hut was spotless, with a small amount of wood for the fireplace. Many thanks to those that maintain this hut. The swing hanging from a tree out the back, and the picnic table, were the icing on the cake.
Quick visit while in the area; all tanks pretty much full, general area in good condition.
FOHT Trail Development team visited the hut on 8/4/2022. Water level in Hut tank approx 95%, toilet tank 95%.
Dear Gregory. It’s not your job to remove fire alarms for others to replace them just because it annoys you whilst you happened to visit. Why not donate to fix up hut vandalism, or pay as you put it pay for the “next service”.
Tanks full. The two smoke detectors began chirping during the night. We removed them, then disabled. They will need replacing when the hut is next serviced.
FOHT Trail Development Team visited this site 22/04/21. Water tank level 90%.
Stopped off here on walk with E2E11 on Sunday 25/8. Plenty of water in the 2 tanks connected to the hut.
This is a walk in hut/campsite. The gate off Springs Rd is locked and the hut can’t be accessed by cars. There are no fees applicable to staying at the hut.
I stayed here night of 21/9/15. Hut has been reopened. I liaised with Peter Curtis on 0429 370 324, from the Wirrabarra office, which only had a limited cover.
Not sure if will always be so, but padlock was unlocked and I did not have to pay a fee. Fires were obviously severe. There is still a reroute from New Campbell hill.
Heysen trail signs along creek, as noted above, are down or non existent. Also 2 stiles are broken.
Went passed here 3/5/15 and it is still closed! But I did nip in for water. Then continued along re route and camped at bore track. Taking this track though unburnt area of forest would short cut the re route, there’s also no closed signs in this area of forest.
On map 1.4 pg21 of northern guidebook April 2014, there are 4-5 marker posts down along the creek in the area marked I and J on map where walkers follow creek. I also missed the turn off from track just south of point H not sure how well it’s marked as I was fighting some strong wind and continued on track till the shearing shed.
Hey Tom. the area around the hut was burnt, and infrastructure at the hut was destroyed (somehow the main building remained intact and largely unaffected whereas other modern building structures were a complete loss).
That area of the forest is closed to all public access, as ForestrySA is conducting logging operations in order to secure the area for public safety (particularly the risk of falling trees).
That process may take many months, as the affected area isn’t small. After that, trail infrastructure and infrastructure at the hut & campsite will be reviewed, and the trail will be reopened once it has been re-marked with trail signs. The hut may or may not be re-opened prior to reconstruction of toilets and other facilities.
Regardless, all this will still take many months, so we certainly aren’t expecting anything to change in terms of what is open in 2013.
Does anyone know if the hut is still open? It’s in the restricted Bundaleer section following last summer’s bushfire and the trail is re-routed but no mention of the affect on the hut…