Historical information

Bob Hymans Collection
Bob (Herman) Hymans (a former member of the Royal Netherlands Navy) was born in Bloemendaal, Holland on 30th September 1922. During World War II he fought against the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and was imprisoned in Changi and on the Burma Railway.

After gaining qualifications as a Ski Instructor, Bob arrived in Falls Creek in July 1950. Working as an Instructor and Supervisor at Bogong Lodge, Bob decided his future was in accommodation. He was successful in negotiating an indenture for land from the State Electricity Commission (SEC). It took Bob two years to build his Grand Coeur Chalet but, tragically, it was burned down in August 1961.

Bob also built the first Chairlift in Australia. This was a single chairlift and the structure was built from wooden electricity poles. He was constantly full of new ideas and proposals for the village. Bob Hymans died on 7th July 2007.

This Collection of documents and letters tells the story of Bob's endeavours to develop Falls Creek into the ski village it is today.

Significance

This letter is significant because it reflects the relationship between Bob Hymans and the Management Committee.

Physical description

A letter from the Management Committee Falls Creek in relation to his application to modify his chairlift. It states that other people went to the effort of committing proposals to paper and that Bob Hymans should have done the same. The plan submitted by Falls Creek Ski Tows Pty. Ltd. had been accepted. This precluded any of Bob's proposals. It also states that the Committee was reluctant to deal with any further applications from Mr Hymans until he dealt with other outstanding matters. These included lodging a complete proposal for his restaurant and also storage of equipment within the boundaries of his licensed area.