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SHEPHERD'S HUT (DEVON PARK 2)

Other Name NICHOL'S HUT; DEVON PARK OUTSTATION Location Chatsworth-Hamilton Road, PENSHURST VIC 3289 - Property No 001 File Number 122 Level Stage 2 study complete

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Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The abandoned hut, one of at least two formerly associated with the Devon Park squatting run, is located in the north-east corner of the intersection of the Chatsworth-Hamilton Road and the Penshurst-Dunkeld Road, on a slight rise about 500m from the intersection. The date of its construction is not known nor is its purpose. The hut may have been built originally for a shepherd or a rabbiter or both. A survey preliminary to the Parish Plan suggests that the hut was positioned on an important track between the homestead and Penshurst and above a crossing of the nearby creek. It is about 6.0kms south-west of Devon Park homestead. No vestige of the track survives today. The bluestone construction of the hut is basic and its style is vernacular, having one room and a chimney. It is little altered but is in a near ruinous condition.

How is it significant?
The shepherd's hut, formerly associated with the Devon Park squatting run, is of historical and architectural significance to the communities of Dunkeld and Penshurst and to the Shire of Southern Grampians.

Why is it significant?
The shepherd's hut is of historical significance because it demonstrates a unique way of life which related to a particular stage of the development of the pastoral industry, when shepherds tended sheep in isolation at remote outstations on vast squatting runs.

The shepherd's hut is of architectural significance for its humble construction and vernacular style and as a comparison with the grander homestead.