Alongside the Alpine Highway as it skirts the northern slopes of Mount Hotham, and overlooking the beautiful Diamentina valley and Razorback spur, which runs out to Mount Feathertop, stands a stone erected as a memorial.
This handsome memorial is to ERIC JOHNSON GRAVBROT, the wording on the tablet reading -
"The courageous friend of strugglers in these mountains, when travel was on foot and horse, often in fog and blizzard. Searcher and helper for any in distress regardless of his own personal sacrifice."
To walkers and skiers and those few hardy people who live in the Hotham - Bogong area, Eric Johnson, as he was known in Australia, was indeed a friend. He was not a rich man endowed with material possessions, but he was rich in those qualitieswhich will go to make a man's man, and quickly earned the respect of all who made his acquaintance.
Eric Johnson Gravbrot was born in 1908 at Snaasa, near Trondheim, Norway, a district close to the Swedish border, and noted for its extensive forests and numerous lakes, being the home of the elk - the king of the Norwegian forests.
Being the oldest of three boys, Eric was heir to the family property, which had been the Gravbrot home for generations, and at an early age he accompanied his grandfather - a well known marksman - on long hunting trips in the mountains.
Unbounded energy was something Eric inherited from his family - a family noted for longevity - whilst he developed his self-reliance and toughness from the outdoor life he pursued in his younger days.
It is understandable that Eric showed early prowess as a skier, especially as a ski-jumper, representing his district in a number of national ski-jumping competitions.
Despite his opportunities in Norway, Eric migrated to Australia, arriving at Melbourne in 1928, during the pre-depression era, without contacts and with a limited English vocabulary. His activities were varied in these first few years before moving to the Mount Hotham area - acting as stablehand, then managing a strawberry farm at Mt Evelyn; running a ski-hire service at Mt Donna Buang; and working as a member of the famous Jimmy Sharman boxing troupe.
The site of the memorial has been well chosen, for it was in that great mountain area where most of his activities were centred. During the late thirties, in conjunction with the Victorian Railways Department, who owned the Hotham Heights Chalet, and featured the weekly ski-ing holidays at Hotham, Eric Johnson ran his sled service from the snowline on the Bon Accord Spur to the Chalet.
It was inevitable that skiers and others must at some time be caught out by the shocking weather conditions which can occur in Victoria's mountain regions, and it was during these difficult occasions that Eric's toughness and resources were fully tested but he never shirked the issue, driving himself to the utmost in the service of his fellow man.
Eric's agility and speed on skis can be gauged by one occasion when he arrived at Cope Hut to greet Bill Waters and some friends, just as they were finishing early breakfast with the quiet remark that he had come from Mt Hotham that morning. He had covered a distance of some eighteen miles in approximately three hours on an ordinary pair of hickory skis over country which is far from level.
His summer activities were varied and at one time he prospected for gold with the late Bill Spargo - the successful owner of the Red Robin mine - and during several holiday seasons he conducted a riding school at the famous beach resort of Lorne.
So it is understandable that this kindly and adept Norwegian with the big heart should be remembered by those Australians whom he helped in good and bad times.
Gravbrot Rover Crew has now been continuously active for 45 years. In that time our tastes have changed from skiing to buggies to chocolate and dodged between at anything we find fun. Our next turn is coming up soon. More will be added to this one too.