Eden's Log Cabin

Eden’s Log Cabin

In 1935 John R. Logan purchased a block of land in Bass Street, Eden, (just off the main street) from the Presbyterian Church so that he could construct a hall for the local Girl Guides. He then designed a rustic North American-style log cabin, built a scale model of it using dowling and wooden match boxes, and took the model to Sydney to convince the Guides Association that his project had merit.

Construction proceeded rapidly, utilising local tradesmen and volunteer working bees that were organized by Logan and the families of local Girl Guides. When the hall was officially opened on 29th February 1936, the local paper suggested there was not another building like it in Australia, that it was destined to become one of Eden’s most prominent landmarks and, through it, that John Logan would be remembered for many years.

The Log Cabin was constructed of round local eucalypt poles with notched corners, caulked with oakum (tarred fibre – the traditional way that gaps in timber ships were sealed; this was hardly surprising considering that a number of the tradesmen employed to build the Log Cabin were actually local boat builders!). A pebble-faced chimney and internal fireplace, footings, and entrance steps are other distinctive features of the building.

The Log Cabin’s design and construction are distinctive, and represented a significant departure from the then more-usual Australian practice of using either timber slabs or timber frames and weatherboard in buildings that were designed to have a rustic appearance.

The Log Cabin functioned as a Guides’ hall until about 1941. During World War II, the hall was used for conducting medical tests of local men wishing to enlist in the armed forces.

The Log Cabin then experienced a period of being privately owned, initially by John Logan’s widow, Mary, who bought the property from the Girl Guides Association. Few significant changes were made to the building over those years.

In 1979 the Log Cabin was acquired by the Imlay Shire Council, was extended and significantly modified, and then it housed the Eden Library until 2003. It was heritage listed in 1990. Today it is used as a community hall.