Evidence of European settlement of Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve spans more than 200 years. A broad range of heritage objects and places can be found across the burn area, including pastoral properties, stockman’s huts, original survey markers and space heritage sites. Many of these places can be accessed by walking trails and are popular places to visit in the Namadgi.
European heritage recovery response
Thanks to the efforts of our fire crews, many of our heritage sites were protected from the worst impacts of the bushfires and floods. Fire management activities undertaken included placing containment lines around sites, slashing and backburning activities, the installation of water baths and sprinkler systems, and even the wrapping of fire-resistant materials such as foil around key sites.
Thirteen heritage registered huts are found within the burnt areas. Two huts – Demandering and Max and Bert Oldfields Huts – suffered major damage in the fire which resulted in collapse.
Following the fires, the recovery response focusses on assessing and managing threats to European heritage, including actions to:
- assess the fire-damaged huts and determine options for their future management
- assess priority containment lines and other earthwork sites for archaeological evidence
- rehabilitation of containment lines and other earthwork sites
- install temporary protective fencing around impacted sites (e.g. Demandering hut).
This work is being undertaken in consultation with heritage experts, qualified archaeologists and the ACT Heritage Council.
More information:
- For more information on impacts to heritage following the 2020 bushfires and floods, see Rapid Risk Assessment Team Report (4.9MB)
- For more information on recovery efforts for Ngunnawal Tradition Custodian heritage, visit our Working with Ngunnawal Traditional Custodians page.
- For more information on historic huts in Namadgi, visit our Namadgi National Park page.