The Joyce Brockhoff Hut

[Stephen Whiteside]

Last month I had the good fortune to visit Mount Hotham for a few days with my son and daughter. The highlight of the trip - at least for me - was the lunch we ate at the Joyce Brockhoff Hut.


The Joyce Brockhoff Hut

Built to hail the memory of one who loved the snow,
Who skied these slopes for years before the advent of a tow
That took the brutish puff and grunt away from downhill skiing:
Joyce Brockhoff was a joyful, skilled, courageous human being.

Mary’s Slide, the Orchard, and the high ridge out to Loch,
She graced them all with flashing ski and boldly planted stock.
How often, in the sunshine, after pulling out all stops,
She’d pause for lunch beside the slope, and grill some tasty chops!

She died in forty seven, but her husband wished to see
Her legacy remembered in the hearts of all who ski;
He dreamed a dream – a modest hut, a snowbound lunchtime shelter,
For those, like Joyce, who spent their days on steep slopes, helter skelter.

So now it sits upon a ridge, with snow gums all around.
In winter, snow lies heavy, like a blanket on the ground;
Deep down Swindlers Valley and then high the other side,
The view is most expansive, and the peace is deep and wide.

Joyce Brockhoff is remembered. Though the details of her life
Might not be very clear as you wrestle with your knife,
Slicing slabs of meat and cheese for biscuits in a row,
Her spirit’s there beside you as you gaze out at the snow!

© Stephen Whiteside 03.08.2016

[David Campbell]

Great photos, Stephen.

I like the snow-capped mountains,
I like them quite a lot...
as long as they're in pictures,
and I am somewhere hot!

Cheers
David

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, David.

The plate glass windows were brought in by pack horse in about 1949. It is amazing how well they have lasted!

[Shelley Hansen]

What a lovely poem, Stephen!

Mt Hotham is one of those "bucket list" places that we have not yet had the chance to visit - but it is definitely in the planning. I wouldn't have known about the Joyce Brockhoff Hut, so thanks so much for the heads-up and when we get there, we will make sure to pay it a visit.

So many great Aussie characters - it is wonderful to see them commemorated.

Cheers
Shelley

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Shelley.

The hut is easy to reach if you are a skier, but not otherwise. You could certainly walk to it in the summer, but it will be a long walk down to it, and another long, steep walk back up. The beauty of going there in the winter is that it is just beside the ski slope, and you can then come back up on the chair lift. No such luck in summer!

[Shelley Hansen]

Mmmm ... in that case I'm glad you took the photos!

I think my days on skis are behind me ... definitely a broken leg waiting to happen!!

Cheers
Shelley

[Stephen Whiteside]

It's a reasonably steep slope, too, Shelley.