THE ICE HOUSES - kunanyi/Mt Wellington History · The ice-houses were looked after by resident ... half-a-dozen8 of the then despised probationers were set to work. ... making the

A brief history of the Ice Houses on kunanyi/Mount Wellington

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF

THE ICE HOUSES

OF KUNANYI/MOUNT WELLINGTON, HOBART

Written and researched by Maria Grist, B. A. (University of Tas.)

The author would be very happy to know if you find any inaccuracies in this report.

Please use the form on the below website or call me on

(03) 62349404.

MARIA GRIST

Version 3. 17 June 2016.

(The book, The Romance of Mount Wellington, is written by John and Maria Grist

and is available from their website www.mtwellingtonhistory.com)

http://www.mtwellingtonhistory.com/


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Upper ice house: Origins and build

It may be difficult for people today to understand how life was lived in

the time before electricity and therefore before easy refrigeration. As well

as the risk of problems such as food spoilage, there was the other matter

of having no easy way of making ice cream or of icing drinks. It seems to

have been the latter consideration which was most irksome for the

decision-makers in Hobart in the late 1840’s.

Ice was regularly transported by ship in those days, for the use of

confectioners (ice-cream makers) and hotel-keepers. Blocks of around 2

feet square would be well packed with insulating materials, and would

amazingly survive transportation from one country to another, to be

stored on arrival in local ice houses (cool rooms) ready for use.1

Tasmania had a source of snow and ice virtually at its doorstep, on

kunanyi/Mount Wellington. Therefore, Sir William Denison, an early

governor of Tasmania, along with a group of other men, formed a plan to

set up the first ice house on Mount Wellington to gain quick access to

their own supply of ice. The idea was not universally applauded:

ICE.HOUSE.–A bantling of Sir Wm. Denison’s has been hatched,

to form a road up to Mount Wellington, and erect a snow-house,

when the snow is to be sold at per pound, and the Lieut.-Governor

promises twenty men to aid the subscription set on foot on the 1st

April next–an ominous day worthy of the deed. How many

objects there are more worthy of the attention of our rulers than

throwing away the public labor in making such a road and

expending money in the procuration of the luxury of snow.2

The ice house was built using the 20 convicts mentioned above as the

labour force. The location of the first (upper) ice house was just below

the Ploughed Field, on the route to the Pinnacle.

The ice houses all consisted of a stone base and wooden superstructure.

The upper Ice House was described by Jack Thwaites thus:

1 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66271469 2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36256981

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66271469



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… a wooden structure with a heavy sloping roof, covered with

turf and brushwood, containing snow gathered from the

mountain top during the winter months and tightly packed, to be

used by the confectioners in Hobart in the preparation of ice-

creams.3

Subscriptions were called for in early 1849.4 The first block of ice was cut

in June 1849, towards the final stages of the completion of the project,

and was delivered of course to the most important recipient:

A first and large block of Van Diemen’s Land ice, from the new

ice-house at the Springs, Mount Wellington, was forwarded to

Government House on Friday morning.5

By 26 September 1849 the Ice House was nearly ready for full operation.

Again, it was publicly called into question:

It is certainly rather annoying to find, that while so essential a

work as the repairing of the streets should be so neglected,–

(although subscribed for) a pretty little bit of picturesque

pleasantry has been erected on the top of Mount Wellington, in

the shape of an ice house, and of the dimensions and structure

following:–it is 46 feet long by 22 feet wide, with double walls of

stone, filled in between with mould and rushes, and is now filled

in with ice to the depth of 15ft.–We copy this from the Government

Journal of last week, which further informs us, that the overseer

announces the completion of the work in four days from that

date; so that the ice is, by this time, ready for distribution

amongst the subscribers whose wines will, henceforth, be iced,

after the most approved and luxurious fashion of the most dainty

epicurism, and be drank, no doubt, with extreme relish and gusto.

Be it so–and let the ice-house flourish, say we; but we also say,

that if Government labour, when subscribed for, would be

appropriated, in the first instance, to useful works,–nay, in truth,

to undertakings essential to the public accommodation and

3 The Mount Wellington Ice Houses, by Jack Thwaites, Tasmanian Tramp 21, page 84. 4 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163504016 5 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2965625




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comfort, then, and not till then, shall we encourage the erection of

ice-houses, for the exclusive enjoyment of the higher classes.6

The ice-houses were looked after by resident keepers, who also often

looked after walkers on their way to the Pinnacle. (In 1845 there was a

hut at the Springs where walkers could obtain refreshments. This may

however have been too early to relate to the Ice Houses.7)

A few years after the completion of the upper ice house, this article

appeared about its origins:

THE ICE HOUSE. BY H. M. H.

Some eight or nine years ago the comprehensive mind of Sir W.

Denison led him to suggest the establishment of an Ice House, and

the procurement, at a low rate, of a luxury hitherto unknown to

Tasmanian palates, except by an expensive process un-come-

atable by the million. In this scheme he was ably seconded by his

amiable Private Secretary, Captain Stanley, whose bones now

rest in the quiet flower-covered churchyard of St. George’s parish.

By their united influence a subscription was raised sufficient to

build the necessary house for the reception of the frozen snow,

and plans were drawn by Captain Stanley, and an overseer and

half-a-dozen8 of the then despised probationers were set to work.

In a few months they completed the building and made a good

bridle road to it, over rocks and through scrubs, where the foot of

“the Devil” alone had hitherto trod.

Ladies and the sterner sex made, and do make, frequent riding

parties to the building, from which, being within a cooee of the

top of Mount Wellington, a most glorious view of hill and valley,

water and city, is to be obtained, while the re-unions of the

citizens are delighted at a trifling cost with a luxury only properly

appreciated by the panting polka dancer, or by the restless fever

6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163504917 7 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2949555 8 Other more reliable sources state 20, not half-a-dozen.




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patient whose temples are cooled by the delicious application of

the Ice.

Sir W. Denison has gone to his promotion and a wider sphere of

action in a climate where Ice is even more appreciated than it is

here. Captain Stanley, after Life’s fitful fever, sleeps well, and

another staunch supporter of the Ice House, whose bonhommie

and hospitality enlivened the dull society of New Town, now lies

under an ugly heavy stone concern in St. David’s Cemetery, but

the Ice House, with its luxurious contents, is an “established fact,”

and unlike anything in which the Government has been

interested, is as much appreciated by the public as ever; for, on a

late visit to the spot on a public holiday, no less that fifty-seven

people were counted at the House or “The Springs,9“ some laden

with flowers of the Grass Tree10 and other beautiful shrubs which

grow all round; others dancing to the music of a flute, and still

more enjoying their luncheons and the glorious view, one

gentleman who had served under Don Carlos enthusiastically

calling out with a confused mixture of languages and a strong

mixture in a tin pot, “Viva, the Ice House!” and reminding me of

an official friend, at whose office the captain of a French frigate in

harbour had called, and was received with “Voulez-vous take a

chair, Monsieur!”

The subscribers placed the management of the Ice under the care

of Mr. Webb, the chef de cuisine of Hobart, who has erected a

larger and more commodious building in which the Ice is stored

and protected for Summer use.11

Webb, Hull and the subscribers

Mr. John Webb (the “chef de cuisine” mentioned above) was an ex-

convict who was a confectioner by trade. He was also the proprietor of

the Bedford Hotel in Murray St (which later became Hadley’s Orient

Hotel). Webb was the manager of the Ice House.

9 (see section below on Woods Hut) 10 Richea 11 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3249289 “larger and more commodious” than what?



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Mr. Hugh Hull was the librarian of the Tasmanian Public Library, which

was then situated a 1 Barrack Street. His house adjoined the library.12

Meetings of subscribers to the Ice House were held at his house, and he

acted as Secretary for the proceedings.

In October 1849 the ice-house was still controversial. In one article13 it

was condemned as an “aristocratic folly”, and Mr. Hull was singled out

for particular opprobrium. The ice house was described as having been

“erected, or excavated” at the top of Mount Wellington.

There were 56 subscribers to the ice in all, and in October 1849 the

confectioner Mr. Webb was appointed to oversee the distribution and

delivery of the ice to these men at a charge of a penny-halfpenny per lb.

They estimated that the ice house at that time held 180,000 lbs. of ice,

which was more than necessary for the subscribers, so they decided to

sell to non-subscribers at 3d. per lb. The full cost of the erection of the

ice house, filling it with ice, making the road, and extra rations of tea,

sugar and tobacco for the convicts employed during the winter ended up

amounting to £49 16s. 5d.14

In December 1849 the ice house and the “road-way” to it were said to

have been completed.15 The ice was then advertised for sale to the public

at the rate decided previously.16

Mr. Webb employed keepers to look after the ice house. One of these, a

certain John Shears17, t.l. (ticket-of-leave), was mentioned as having

absconded in 1858.18 Mr. R. R. Rex, ship-chandler, remembers walking

up the Mountain in the early 1850’s, and at that time …

… only one man lived there near the first ice house, and he was

employed by the late Mr. John Webb, of Murray Street, to collect

ice in winter, store it in the ice house, and bring it into town in the

summer. Mr. Webb had two ice houses-one just above the Springs

and the other a little to the left of the Ploughed Field. The ice was

12 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163505078 13 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163505053 14 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163505078 15 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36259224 16 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163505421 17 http://www.convictrecords.com.au/convicts/shears/john/12276 18 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3248693






http://www.convictrecords.com.au/convicts/shears/john/12276



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packed in blankets and brought to town slung each side of a

horse.19

In 1860, Webb exported some of his ice to Sydney. It was not of the best

quality, being more like snow than ice, but was still welcomed by

Sydneysiders.20

Vandalism

The Ice House was subject to several instances of theft and vandalism. In

October 1850:

… the ice-house was broken into, and every thing of the most

trifling value taken away therefrom. Injuries are also wantonly

done to the building by persons visiting.21

Another incident occurred in 1853.22 An advertisement was placed:23:

In January 1855 it seems other buildings and/or a second ice house was

19 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29908079 20 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8795100 21 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2961885 22 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65581049 23 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2243547







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underway, as at that time a £20 reward was offered for apprehension of

thieves who removed materials which were then being used in the

erection of an Ice House.24

Other buildings connected with the ice-collecting venture also had

problems. In 1858, a hut which was associated with the lower Ice House

and which was also used as a rest and shelter for walkers, was burned

down, most likely by arson.25

More troubles in 1866:

Wanton Destruction of Property!—It will scarcely be conceived,

that any persons could be so wantonly mischievous, as to spoil

and destroy the ice, kept in the ice houses on Mount Wellington;

such, however, is the fact, to the great loss and injury of the

proprietor; we believe the police are on the alert.26

And in 1871:

A LUXURY.—It will be seen that Mr. Webb has made

arrangements for providing ice and ice creams to all

desirous of obtaining the same, and who may give him special

orders. This luxury will be till the more welcome, as, from the ice-

house having been broken into, and the ice partially destroyed,

there was reason to fear that the supply could not be kept up. Mr.

Webb deserves support for his energy in securing such a luxury

for invalids, and having made arrangements for always

supplying it when required.27

Dr. John Smith

In 1858, there was an inquest on the death of Dr. Smith, surgeon of the

“Derwentwater,” who became lost and sadly died on the Mountain. By

this time there were definitely at least two ice houses in use, most likely

the uppermost and lowermost ones. The resident keeper, who assisted in

24 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2478243 25 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49777646 26 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3337847 27 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8865008






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the search for Dr. Smith, was based at the lower ice house. The keeper’s

name was not mentioned.

We went as far as the Springs, and there we had breakfast. After

breakfast we started for the top, but as the deceased lingered on

the road we waited for him at the first ice house. He there

overtook us. He seemed so fatigued that we pressed him to stay

with the keeper of the ice house. He refused, saying he had made

up his mind to go up the mountain and would go.

The party then returned via the Ice Houses to the Springs, and noticed

Smith had not followed. A search was commenced.

Mr. Macpherson and I then returned up the mountain, and when

crossing the ploughed field met the Ice House keeper coming

down. He said he had been all round the signal staff, and had

searched all along the track, but could not find deceased.28

Lower ice houses

Apart from the original upper ice house, there were three other ice

houses built, and also two or three small huts near the middle two

buildings presumably for the ice house workers. Exact dates for the

newer buildings are not known; however, one (the lowest?) was under

construction in 1855 (see footnote 24 above).

In 1864, walkers described the lower ice house as “a log building not now

in use”. The ice-house which was being used at that time was one of the

central ice-houses, located between the lower and the upper ice-houses.

The upper ice-house was described in this same article as “the charred

and roofless remains of a rude building”.29

Original ice house out of commission

The upper ice-house, as mentioned above, was out of commission at least

by 1864, and possibly much earlier. Presumably, it was easier for the

caretaker at the Springs to oversee the system from a lower location. The

28 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199791069 29 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123602477




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surveyor Ralfe was scouting out a new route to Wellington Falls in 1870

and confirmed that there were only remains there at that time:

The track then turns at a right angle for thirty chains, then again

rather abruptly doubles back to the remains of an old ice

house, and on through the ploughed field …30

Above: Left of upper Ice House, which was out of commission by this time. Remains of ice house

stone walling is still visible. Samuel Clifford, photo. Dated circa 1873.31

Woods Hut (Springs Hut)

Henry Woods32 lived at the Springs with his family. He acted as a guide,

track builder, water source overseer, and ice house overseer. He assisted

in emergency searches as well as providing refreshments to walkers. He

lived at the Springs from around 1859-60 until 1878, shortly before his

death.

There was a visitors book at the Ice House in 1862:

30 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8864567 31 https://stors.tas.gov.au/AUTAS001124075367 32 Henry Woods The Old Man of the Mountain, Irene Schaffer, published July 2010.


https://stors.tas.gov.au/AUTAS001124075367


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… Nor can it be forgotten that the Council has already upheld the

action of its Superintendent, on a previous occasion, when he

travelled beyond the city boundaries half way up Mount

Wellington, to capture and impound the harmless efforts at

wit inscribed by some frolicsome tourists in a private visitor’s

book at the Springs, or Webb’s Ice House.33

Interestingly, since there is in existence a visitors’ book from Woods’ Hut

dated 1860-6134, which is possibly the fore-runner of the book

mentioned in the quote above, this indicates that Woods’ Hut may have

been known as Webb’s Ice House in the early days. Could the names “Ice

House” and “Springs Hut” have been used interchangeably at one time?35

(See also this article36 from 1870.)

Photo by John J. Kingsley, circa 1870. Photo inscribed in ink on verso: “The ice house, Springs, Mt.

Wellington.”37

33 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8807856 34 http://stors.tas.gov.au/NS4160-1-1 35 N. B. This is not to imply that the ice was actually kept in Woods’ Hut, but the hut may have been seen as a kind of ice-house “office”. 36 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70458634 37 https://stors.tas.gov.au/AUTAS001125299321


http://stors.tas.gov.au/NS4160-1-1


https://stors.tas.gov.au/AUTAS001125299321


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In 1871 a Letter to the Editor of The Mercury claimed that the ice-house

keeper’s stipend had been withdrawn. It also describes ice as being

produced from water coming out of water-courses. This may show an

alternative method to that of the ramming of snow, which was used in

other times.38

Caption: “Huts at the Springs, and Ice House, Mount Wellington.” Photo dated circa 1870.

Photographer unknown.39

In 1872 a new track was formed between the ice-house and the pinnacle.

The track was marked with white paint spots.40

Staff problems

The ice was normally wrapped in blankets and transported in blocks by

horse. Manager Webb however had other ideas and consequently had

some problems with his staff in March 1876:

ABSENT SERVANT.—James Rogers, a lad, was charged by John

Webb, hotel-keeper of Murray-street, with having absented

38 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8865657 39 https://stors.tas.gov.au/PH1-1-50 40 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8922642


https://stors.tas.gov.au/PH1-1-50



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himself from his service without leave, on the 13th inst. The

defendant pleaded “Not Guilty,” and was defended by Mr.

Moriarty.

Mr. Webb deposed that he ordered the defendant to go up to

Mount Wellington to procure a small quantity of ice. The

defendant did not go, and witness did not see him again until he

came with his father on the following Saturday to claim his

wages.

Mr. Moriarty said that he was instructed by his client to state that

he was ordered to go on foot up to the Springs to procure half-a-

hundred weight of ice at 4 o’clock on the afternoon of the 13th.

Owing to the lateness of the hour the boy demurred, and asked

Webb to let him take a horse and cart, as usual, but he refused to

provide one. The lad then went into the kitchen and proceeded

with some other work, when Webb order him to “clear out” if he

did not intend to go for the ice.

John Fox, another lad who had refused to go for the ice, and had

incurred the same penalty of being ordered to knock off work,

stated that the defendant had told him that Webb wanted him to

go up on foot to the Springs to get half-a-hundred weight of ice,

and that Webb having refused to let him have a horse, he

(defendant) had declined to go. When witness was asked to go for

the ice he considered it was too late to go such a journey, unless a

horse was provided.

The Bench said they had nothing to do with the question as to

whether Mr. Webb’s orders had been reasonable or not. The lad

was charged with being absent without leave, and his statement

through his solicitor of being ordered to leave his work was

contradicted by Mr. Webb on oath. They would, however, be

lenient with him as he was young. He would be ordered to forfeit

10s. of the wages due to him by Mr. Webb.41

One wonders how the decision might have gone on such an issue today.

41 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8943956



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Charles Gadd

Special Constable Charles Gadd took over at the

Springs in his new cottage in 1890.

(photo at right: Charles Gadd. Courtesy Gray family)

In 1890 refreshments were provided at the Ice

House for walkers:

MOUNT WELLINGTON.–The trip to Mount Wellington, Fern

Tree Gully, and Silver Falls, announced for Thursday next, gives

promise of being successful, as a number of tickets have already

being disposed of. Those making the trip are relieved of the

necessity of carrying provisions, for their wants will be attended

to at the Ice House and elsewhere, by the supply of substantial

refreshments, and the guide accompanying them will see to it that

all places of interest are pointed out. 42

A letter to the editor of The Mercury by M. C. Shoobridge describes a

memory of his visit to the Springs in early 1890, and shows that part of

Gadd’s duties still involved the delivery of ice from the ice house, with

the help of his pony, Baby:

“Baby” helped us as far as the ice house just before the Ploughed

Fields were reached. This ice house was solidly built of logs of

wood, and “Baby’s” duties included taking to Hobart in the cart

blocks of ice cut during the winter and stored there, and later sold

in a town which had no refrigeration.43

If this memory is correct, it seems to imply that the upper ice house may

have been re-commissioned at some point, using timber logs. It may

however be more likely that the described ice house was one of the

middle ice houses, which were considerably lower.44

42 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9228670 43 Letter to the editor, The Mercury, Monday Nov. 26, 1956, as per Jack Thwaites collection 44 See map in this article: The Mount Wellington Ice Houses, by Jack Thwaites, Tasmanian Tramp 21.



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A. F. Strutt

In September 1894, Mr. Albert Frederick Strutt applied to the City

Council for an occupation license at the Springs, with the intention of

storing ice and snow in the ice-house for supply to the city. The

application was granted45. In 189446 and in 189647 Messrs. Strutt and

Co., of 8 Elizabeth St (wholesalers, shipping agents, and customs

agents), advertised that they could supply ice in any quantity.

1933 damage

It is unknown when the final Ice Houses went out of commission. By

1933 none of them were in use any longer, and they were remembered as

having been useful mainly to the hospital. The walls had by this time

been partially knocked down:

The city of Hobart and its environs contain many historic

buildings and places which hold intimate and interesting

association with the settlement and development of the State, and

to which future generations will turn with increasing interest as

they trace, by historical records, the developments of the years. In

Mount Wellington Park there exist relics that are little known,

and which, on account of their interesting nature, merit some

effort on the part of the City Council to save them from the

destruction that is gradually taking place. I refer to the ice houses

which are located behind the Springs Hotel and alongside the old

pinnacle track. I understand that the houses, which consist of

blocks of stone placed one upon another to form a box-like

structure, perhaps 20ft. square, were built in the days when the

Public Hospital was a convict hospital, and that in the winter the

snow was rammed into them to make a compact mass which

formed into ice, and during the summer-time, or at other times

when ice was needed for use at the hospital, blocks were cut out

and brought into the city. When I first saw the houses their walls

were high and little damaged, but since then persons who

45 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9322684 46 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174588901 and http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174591890 47 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article177537766






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apparently do not know their historic value have done much to

despoil them. A notice setting out their history, and requesting

that they should not be further destroyed, is desirable.48

Further reading

The Mount

Wellington Ice

Houses, by Jack

Thwaites. The

Tasmanian Tramp, No.

21, January 1974, page

83.

The Springs Initial

Conservation Policy

A Wellington Park

Management Trust

Report, by McConnell,

A. (August 2007)

Upper ice house, February 1984. Photo: John Grist.

48 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24872420



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One of the ice houses. Photo details unknown.

Upper ice house, February 1984. Photo: John Grist.

Documents

THE ICE HOUSES - kunanyi/Mt Wellington History · The ice-houses were looked after by resident ... half-a-dozen8 of the then despised probationers were set to work. ... making the