POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Childs model of early Australian settler's hut near Mudgee, New South Wales

Object No. H8272

This is a delightfully naive model of an early Australian settler's slab hut. Made of clay, wood and mixed media, it was created by 19 year old Charlotte Rushby (1833-1914) living near the NSW town of Mudgee in about 1852. She is also said to have made a model of an Aboriginal camp near the settlement as well. According to the family, both the models travelled to England in 1900 for display in an exhibition. Charlotte was a daughter of Michael Rushby and Elizabeth Holmes who arrived in New South Wales as free settlers from Doncaster, England, in 1840. Michael Rushby and his family settled on land near Mudgee bordering on Mount Frome and Pipeclay Creek. He called his property 'Cloudy Bay', a name that appears to have evolved into Kaludabah. It is thought that Charlotte's model is of the slab hut the family built on the sheep farm. Charlotte apparently often rode around the property's boundary to ensure the shepherds were looking after the sheep and had enough food. She also got to know the local Aboriginal children and picked up enough language to converse with them. In 1858 Charlotte married an Irish violinist, James Harrington, in Mudgee and they moved to Sydney. Slab huts of the time appear quite primitive but their construction was generally undertaken without nails and only a modest number of tools including an adze, several augers, splitting wedges, an axe, hammers, a cross-cut saw, shovel, pick and mattock. The real skill was selecting the best and most durable materials at hand in the bush. The early Australian settler found that the wattle and daub type construction method they had brought from England was essentially unsuitable for the Australian climate. The ready access to timer saw the vertical slab hut the most common type built. The frame was erected beginning with the corner posts comprising solid logs of the required height. These were set into the ground for a least half a metre and left either round or squared off with an adze a broad axe. White or red stringy bark, which was a common timber, was usually used for the split slabs which were squared off to ensure a good fit. Stringy bark not only split straight but was also durable. It was found that the trees whose timber split the best were located in a valley or creek bed. The slabs were caulked with a clay mortar generally mixed with animal urine or ox blood. To prevent the slabs rotting from contact with the ground they were set on a base of stone and lime mortar. The pitched roof frame was built of round timber saplings covered with bark. The sheets of bark peeled from trees were heated over a fire for half an hour then weighted down to flaten before being put on the roof. Heating the bark both prevented it from splitting and increased its waterproof quality. Once in place, the bark was further held down with timber placed on top and dowel pegged to keep it together. Later wire and nails helped to secure it. Little wooden shingles or corrugated iron may have replaced the bark roof. Inside, the hut was generally divided internally into two rooms, a living area and a sleeping area. Some had wooden floors and were plaster lined. The earlier ones were lined inside with newspapers which were continually added to and eventually became quite thick. The ceiling was suspended hessian or calico. Window openings had suspended leather or green hide coverings hinged at the top. A plank over a bucket served as a table, wooden stumps set in the earthen floor were for stools and beds were a make-shift gumleaf mattress, with blankets laid on a frame stretched with animal hide or hessian. A chest for clothes, a long handled frying pan, billy and pannikins for tea, and candle holders for tallow candles completed the early interior comforts. If a woman was involved in the home making a greater attempt was made to increase the comfort and tidiness of the hut. Little curtains were hung in the windows and perhaps a small garden path lined with stones led to the front door. This model is a delightful representation of an early Australian slab hut and an interesting and unusual surviving example of local country crafts. Barr, Margaret, 'Hill End Sketchbook', self-published, Gosford, NSW, 1976. Wheeldon, Paul. 'Those amazing slab huts' in 'Heritage: Newsletter of the Blue Mountains Association of Cultural Heritage Organisations Inc.' issue No. 32, March-April, 2014. Margaret Simpson, Curator July 2015