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Australia

New Adelaide accommodation for domestic violence victims expected to be full within weeks

Women standing around a bench top looking at each other

Eight new units have been set up in an undisclosed location in Adelaide to help women and children escape domestic violence.

South Australia is the first state to get new upgraded facilities, with other states set to follow suit.

It is a part of a $20 million federal government program to upgrade domestic violence services across the nation.

The Adelaide facility, operated by the Salvation Army, will accommodate approximately 40 people, with on average one adult and four children per property.

Salvation Army general manager of family violence Lorrinda Hamilton said the facility was in high demand.

“We are almost half full and we’ve only been open for two weeks,” she said.

A woman standing with a beige jacket and looking serious
Lorrinda Hamilton says the Salvation Army runs domestic violence refuge facilities across the nation. (abcnews )

“We are expected to be fully occupied within the next week.

“These facilities are critical. The demand for family violence responses outstrips the supply of refuge accommodation.

“It is one of the leading causes of homelessness.”

The site includes recreational facilities and outdoor play areas for children, but in a high-security setting.

DV Shelter Adelaide (1)
Bedroom and living areas have been designed to maximize privacy and safety for parents, while affording them the opportunity to easily supervise their children and ensure their safety. (abcnews )

Ms Hamilton said it was important the location was kept secret.

“It is imperative that we operate in non-disclosed locations, and that’s particularly important when we are working with high-risk family violence, particularly women who might be an imminent risk of death,” she said.

“The majority of people using this facility are from South Australia but there are some women who will be fleeing from interstate who will use this facility.”

A woman with brown curly hair and glasses mid-sentence with everything else around her blurred out
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth says no woman should have to choose between having a home or experiencing violence.(ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said the federal government fund was “about supporting women and children who are escaping family and domestic violence.”

“Every 10 days, one woman is killed by their former or current partner,” she said.

“This is a really big problem, family and domestic violence in this country.”

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Categories
Australia

Historic Kosciuszko hut rebuilt, ready to use after Black Summer bushfires

A newly rebuilt timber hut with a motorbike outfront

For more than two-and-a-half years the charred remnants of Sawyers Hill hut have served as a reminder of the harsh 2019-2020 bushfires that swept through the NSW Snowy Mountains.

Built as a travellers’ rest house in the 1900s, it was one of the most renowned historic structures in Kosciuszko National Park.

It is back in business and is the first of the 11 historic huts that burnt down during the Black Summer bushfires to be rebuilt.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger Megan Bowden said it was the only hut in Kosciuszko that was built as a travellers’ rest hut.

She said it was significant because of its association with important historic transport routes through the mountains.

“From people who used it in the early days right through to people who used to use it until it was burned,” Ms Bowden said.

“They’re quite significant as being living museums, as markers of the past and for present use.”

She said it “really hurt” to see them destroyed by fire.

“Especially Sawyer’s Hut, which was actually burned down in 2003 and we rebuilt it,” she said.

“So, to see it go again was certainly pretty hard.”

A park ranger inspects the ruins of an old hut, where now just a brick chimney stands.
Sawyers Hill hut was destroyed by fire in 2020.(ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Rebuilt by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service staff and volunteers, the timber was sourced from burnt trees that were felled during a roadside fire risk reduction program.

“We’ve used local millers to cut them to specific dimensions and shapes like splayed boards, which are actually hard to get now,” Ms Bowden said.

“So it’s nice to be able to use the timber that was burnt in the 2020 fires and then to see it being used in the huts today.”

It was estimated that hundreds of thousands of hectares of Kosciuszko National Park burned during the 2019-2020 bushfires.

Ms Bowden said the new huts had been built with “fire resistant strategies” to help protect them during future fires.

“We’ve used things like fire retardant in the timber,” she said.

“And we’ve wrapped the windowsills with iron and actually installed sprinklers as well.”

The huts — constructed by cattlemen, prospectors, and Snowy Mountains Scheme workers in the 1800s and 1900s — help paint a picture of survival in the region during that time.

Kosciuszko Huts Association president Simon Buckpitt said their origins were many and varied.

“Some were [for] stockmen, some were for soil conservation work, some were for hydrology, and some of them were for early survey works,” Mr Buckpitt said.

A hut in the snow with skiiers outside.
The huts have long been used by cross-country skiers and for shelter.(Supplied: Klaus Huenke)

In more recent times, the huts have been used by those seeking refuge from the harsh cold climate.

Two men sought shelter in Seaman’s Hut after becoming disoriented during a hike on Mount Kosciuszko in June.

“When people do get stuck in bad weather these huts have provided really important emergency shelter,” Ms Bowden said.

A landscape of burnt bushland.
Much of Kosciuszko National Park was badly burned during the 2019-2020 bushfires.(ABC South East NSW: Keira Proust)

Timber skills kept alive

Vickery’s Hut in Tumut is next in line for a rebuild and will require traditional timber practices in construction.

Ms Bowden said the project would run training courses throughout the rebuild process to help keep the historic timber skills alive, using broad axes and other traditional methods.

“A lot of these timbers you need the skills to know how to prepare them and install them in these places,” she said.

“We’re actually trying to run some training courses as well through this program.”

Two NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service staff rebuilding a historic hut
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service staff and volunteers are working on the rebuild project.(ABC South East: Keira Proust)

The entire rebuild project is expected to be finished by 2025, pending weather conditions.

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