Visit one of Hawke’s Bay oldest huts and the site of a famous manhunt

Ellis Hut, in the Wakarara Range, just east of the Ruahines, has a worthy and dubious history. 

A hut was first built on the site in 1884 and it was then known as Whitnell Hut, after Bill Whitnell, a hunter and shepherd who lived there when the area was farmed as part of Poporangi Station. However, the hut is more easily remembered for events that happened 20 years later.

In the spring of 1904, the manhunt for a suspected murderer was drawing to a conclusion. Detective Broberg and a constable were stalking up the creek behind the hut, trying to stay under the cover. They had good reason to believe James Ellis (aka John McKenzie), wanted on suspicion of shooting Leonard Collinson in the Wairarapa, was inside. Ellis had been on the run for months, eluding the police and the general public despite a substantial price on his head. But rumours of a vagrant living at Whitnell Hut had alerted authorities.

Ellis was a marksman, and Collinson had been shot from a considerable distance. Bro-berg and his constable had to assume that Ellis would be armed. Exactly what happened when they burst into the hut remains uncertain, but Ellis was arrested after a scuffle. Some accounts claim a shot was fired through the roof of the hut, but there’s little evidence of this.

Ellis was no saint and had served jail time for previous crimes before the Collinson shooting. There was no love lost between Ellis and Collinson, but the evidence against Ellis was entirely circumstantial. Through what can now only be viewed as a travesty of justice, Ellis was hung in Wellington on February 8, 1905 – despite the jury recommending mercy on the grounds of great provocation. Ellis claimed he was innocent until the end. 

These days Ellis Hut sits beside Ellis Road, a forestry road in the Gwavas Forest. Access is via Yeomans Track, an early milling road that can be walked or mountain biked. 

From the parking area at the end of Wakarara Road, follow the farm track to the Makaroro River, cross it, and pick up the single track on the far side, which climbs up to Makaroro Road. Head left for 500m to a signpost marking the start of Yeomans Track. 

Most of this single track is rideable on a mountain bike, although windfall requires the occasional dismount. Footbridges span a couple of small creeks, and information panels detail the area’s milling history. Yeomans Track ends at Yeomans Road, which is followed for 1km before the route turns south onto Ellis Road. The hut is then a short distance away.

Despite its historic status, Ellis Hut – with four bunks, a table and an open fire – is available for overnight use. It’s in remarkably good condition for its age, thanks to DOC. It’s easy to imagine it being an appealing place to hole up after months on the run. 

When forestry operations are paused, it’s possible to complete a round trip back to the Wakarara Road, through Gwavas Forest, with views of the Ruahine Range en route.