The Black House was originally a hunters hut but later may have been used by a caretaker for the water catchment area at Skerretts Creek.
The Black House was a hut located in the bush above Sunny Grove. The hut consisted of bunks, a kitchen, and a long drop toilet outside. Locals growing up in Sunny Grove called it the Black House because of the colour of the external cladding.
According to sources, it was a hunter’s hut that predates the development of Sunny Grove. It may also have served for a time as a ranger’s or caretaker’s hut associated with the nearby Skerretts Creek water catchment. One report states that a ranger was stationed there to prevent trespassing within the catchment area and lived onsite, at least during the day. Evidence supporting this includes remnants of a barbed wire fence nearby as you venture further up the creek, reinforcing the idea that the area was once restricted.
Rangers were also assigned to the water catchment in Reservoir Valley due to concerns about typhoid contaminating Wellington’s water supply, so it is possible a ranger was similarly tasked with protecting this catchment from trespassers. By the 1970s, part of the fence still remained, although people could pass through a large hole in it.
The Black House was eventually damaged by fire in the mid 1970s and the site abandoned. The initial fuel for the fire was spilled kerosine from a lamp. A young child was rescued from the fire by a local who saw smoke coming out of the bush and headed toward the site.
The site is hard to find today as the track that led to it, is overgrown. There are still debris at the site consisting of bricks, discarded tin, empty canisters of Potassium Chloride & poison pellets, bottles, plates, cutlery, etc. There is even a discarded kerosine lamp and could even be the very lamp that sparked the fire. A long drop site is visible some metres uphill from the main site.
