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Zumstein's Cottages - Zumstein's Recreation Area

Location

Grampians National Park,, HALLS GAP VIC 3381 - Property No B6500

File Number

B6500

Level

Regional

Statement of Significance

Erected in sequence between 1930 and 1935, the Green, Blue, and Orange cottages are of regional historical significance for their association with Walter Zumstein, an early settler and farmer, and a prominent figure in the development of the Grampians for tourism. The pise cottages reflect Zumstein's skill as a builder, his keen sense of invention and improvisation, and his unyielding capacity to endure and achieve. As holiday accommodation, the cottages are significant for their association with the early phases of recreation and tourism in the Grampians. Though the potential of the area had been recognised in the nineteenth century, it was only with the development of motorised transport that proper access could be obtained. By 1931 tourist roads had been constructed between Hall's Gap and the principal towns in the region, including the route through Zumstein's Crossing to Horsham. As holiday accommodation, the cottages are of further significance for their social value to a generation of campers and holiday-makers.
So popular was the resort that it was not uncommon for hundreds of pleasure-seekers to converge on the area for the New Year period. For this community the cottages are an integral part of the shared memories of holidays at the Crossing. The use of pise was relatively unusual in this period, and these buildings are atypical in the thinness of the walls and the lack of putlock holes.
Classified: 06/06/1994

Group