KYLIE'S Hut, destroyed in the devastating 2019 bushfires, will be rebuilt.
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Consultation by the National Parks and Wildlife Service is underway to rebuild the historic residence in Crowdy Bay National Park.
The hut was originally built by returned soldier Ernie Metcalfe as a writer's retreat for Australian author Kylie Tennant who moved to the area during World War II.
Mrs Tennant arrived from Maitland and was married to Charles Rodd, the headmaster of the Laurieton school.
The one room hut with wooden shutters, fireplace, verandah and galvanised water tank, was later destroyed by bushfire in the national park in November 2019.
A COVID-safe consultation session is scheduled with key stakeholders on Friday, March 5 to progress the options for Kylie's Hut, according to a NPWS spokeswoman.
"Kylie's Hut is recognised by National Parks and Wildlife Service as a significant European cultural site and is very much loved and valued by the local community," the spokesperson said.
"Following a comprehensive clean-up and make-safe operation at the Kylie's Hut site in June last year, NPWS engaged a heritage consultant to advise on reconstruction options and future interpretation of the site including the original hut ruins."
The hut was previously restored in 1980 while the structure and surrounding area were donated as a national park in 1976.
Mrs Tennant is remembered as one of the most prominent writers in the Camden Haven with a literary career spanning 50 years.
She was awarded the Order of Australia in 1980 and is famous for winning gold from the Australian Literature Society in 1941 and in 1952 for the novel, The Battlers, about unemployed itinerant workers in the Depression.
"I've been going to Diamond Head for decades, ever since my kids were little. In later years we held literary picnics at Kylie's Hut where we would read her work," Ms Wilkinson said.
"It means a great deal to a lot of different people and one thing that many people may not have known is that Kylie was instrumental in lobbying for the area to become a national park.
"She travelled all over the country and wrote books after travelling with people in the depression. She was a courageous, extraordinary woman and a great writer.
"She was very passionate about the place. She made such an impression in the area and keeping a connection to her is important. If a slab-hut is rebuilt then I congratulate NPWS on wanting to do that.
"There is a great loss and grieving for how much was burnt in the recent fires. So much of the walk and headland were decimated. It seems appropriate that while the bush is regenerating, so to might Kylie's Hut.
"These kinds of projects are important in a time when a lot of people are reconnecting with nature. Places like Diamond Head are really precious.
"I'm sure a lot of people are quite proud of what she did and that a celebrated Australian author lived there for some time."
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