Hermit's Cave facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hermit's Cave
Hermit's Cave Complex in 1936
Location	Scenic Drive, Griffith, City of Griffith, New South Wales, Australia
Built	1929–1952
Architect	Valerio Ricetti
Owner	Land and Property Management Authority (LPMA)
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name: Hermit's Cave Complex; Scenic Hill
Type	state heritage (archaeological-terrestrial)
Designated	12 January 2007
Reference no.	1766
Type	Cave
Category	Transient Accommodation
Builders	Valerio Ricetti
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The Hermit's Cave is a special place with many stone structures. It is located on Scenic Hill, just outside Griffith, New South Wales, Australia.

Even though it's called 'The Hermit's Cave', it's actually a whole group of shelters. There are also gardens, water tanks, stone walls, bridges, stairs, and paths. These spread out over more than a kilometre of the hillside.

One person, an Italian immigrant named Valerio Ricetti, built all of these by himself. He moved huge amounts of stone and earth. He also cleverly used the natural features of the land.

This site is important because it's a rare example of a hermit's home in Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on January 12, 2007.

History

Between 1929 and 1952, a man named Valerio Ricetti built his home here. He used rock shelters and overhangs on a ridge outside Griffith. His home included rock shelters (some made into caves), stone walls, stairs, and paths. He also created terraced gardens, water tanks, and even rock murals.

Ricetti lived and worked on this one-kilometre-long site for over two decades. He lived there alone from 1929 to 1941. He kept working on the site until 1952. That year, he went back to Italy, where he passed away.

Valerio Ricetti's Story

Valerio Ricetti was born in northern Italy around 1897 or 1898. His hometown was Sondalo, a small town in the Italian Alps. He learned how to work with cement and stone there. He also helped build roads and tunnels.

When he was about 16 or 17, Ricetti moved to Australia in October 1914. He arrived at Port Pirie, South Australia. He worked there for a few months before going to Broken Hill. He found work in the mines and learned to speak English well.

Later, Ricetti left Broken Hill. He had a difficult personal experience that made him feel very sad. He then traveled to South Australia and worked different jobs for several years. He felt alone and wanted to live away from others.

He faced tough times and lost his belongings. He even got into trouble with the law once. In 1928, he moved to Burrinjuck, NSW. After that, he decided to live completely on his own. For about a year, he walked along the Murrumbidgee River and Lachlan River.

A newspaper reported that Ricetti worked on a riverboat called the Mary Anne. He learned a lot during this time. He even carved two hearts and an anchor on his cave walls later, remembering those days.

Ricetti walked to Griffith, not knowing where he was going. He was looking for a place where he could be completely by himself. He arrived in Griffith in 1929.

One day, a sudden rainstorm made him seek shelter on Scenic Hill. The next day, he explored the area. He found a large overhanging rock that was dry underneath. Nearby, there were two water reservoirs and farms with fruits and vegetables. To the west, there was a town rubbish dump with many rabbits.

Ricetti was tired of traveling and had no money left. He later said he felt like he had found the "Garden of Eden". He decided to make the cave his permanent home. He found a shovel, a pick head, and an axe head at the rubbish dump. He made handles for them from tree branches.

He thought he was the only Italian in the area and kept to himself. But his old friends from Broken Hill, Ceccato and Bicego, had settled nearby. More and more Italian immigrants were also moving to the area.

Ricetti cleaned and decorated the caves. He built huge stone galleries and pathways. He also made gardens on the cliffs and painted flowers on rock walls. He worked at night and early in the morning to stay hidden. He eventually moved hundreds of tonnes of rock.

He dug under a huge rock, and the earth rolled down the steep hillside. So, he built a stone retaining wall. As he filled it with earth, he made the wall taller and longer. It ended up being 9 metres long and 2.4 metres high. This created a flat area of 2.7 to 3.7 metres outside the cave. He closed off parts of the rock with stones and clay. This left an opening just over 1 metre wide and 2 metres high to enter the cave.

Outside, he planted flowers on both sides of a path. This path led to the top of the retaining wall. Turning right, he followed the top of the wall for about 6 metres. Here, he made a pathway about half a metre wide that led to and from the cave.

Under the lookout, about 36 metres to the right, are three high rocks in a half-circle. The middle one looks like a dome. In front of these rocks, he built a stone retaining wall. It was about 1.5 metres high and 4.5 metres long. He filled it with earth and planted more flowers. He called this area his "shrine".

Further west, he found an area partly surrounded by a sheer rock wall. He made flower beds with paths connecting them. On the sloping side, he built small stone retaining walls. Near a corner of this area were four large rocks. They formed a central open space about 3 metres wide. The top was open.

On the garden side, there was a hole about a metre deep that he had to crawl through. Ricetti dug in front of the hole to make it bigger. But he hit rock about half a metre down. At this level, he dug inwards, carrying the soil out to make more flowerbeds. In the middle of this "room" was a rock too big to move. So, he shaped it into a table using stone and clay mortar. At the entrance, he made a stairway to walk down to the cave. For the top, he laid thin poles and planted grapevines and wisteria to create a leafy roof.

Near these gardens, he had a couple of hidden spots. These were not very fancy. But on the other side of the hill, about 180 metres from the main cave, he built a circular stone cave among shrubs. It was around a large tree and had a peephole. This gave him another place to hide when people showed up.

In 1935, Ricetti fell and broke his leg and bruised his ribs. A traveler found him and called an ambulance. Ricetti became well-known when people found out about his amazing work on Scenic Hill. While he was in the hospital, the local council helped. They decided to look after his gardens. A council member said Ricetti's hard work made Griffith more interesting.

After leaving the hospital, Ricetti went back to living alone. He wanted to pay the doctor who helped him. So, he secretly worked in the doctor's garden at night. The doctor eventually caught him and explained that the government paid for his treatment. They became good friends. The doctor would visit Ricetti and leave him useful things like clothes and shoes.

In 1937, a man named Mr. Agostini met Ricetti on the hill. They talked, and Ricetti realized Agostini knew his old friends, Ceccato and Bicego. So, Ricetti reconnected with them.

On weekends, his friends would pick him up. They took him to places where he met many people. They tried to get him to live among them, but the hill remained his home. By then, Ricetti was more comfortable around people.

During World War II, Ricetti was held by the government because of his nationality. He was put to work building roads. He even taught his captors how to build better roads. After four months, he was sent to a special hospital for a while to get help. Six months later, he was released and sent back to Griffith. The police told him to get a job and not go back to the hill. He stayed with Valentino Ceccato and his family.

From 1942 to 1952, Ricetti lived and worked on the Ceccato family farms. He was always a bit of a loner, working away from others. He had strange thoughts that made him want to work on his cave even more. He spent as much time as possible at his cave. He even hid his earnings in cracks in the rocks there.

In May 1952, Ricetti was not well. He used his savings to return to Italy to find his brother. He bought a return ticket and left money in the bank, planning to come back. But in November 1952, the Ceccato family learned that Ricetti had passed away in Italy.

What We Know from Records

There isn't much official paperwork about Valerio Ricetti's life in Australia. Most of what we have comes from records when he was held by the government during WWII. These records include his answers to questions in 1942. But it's hard to check if all his answers are true with other documents.

We know he worked at the Broken Hill mines for a short time in 1917. He also got a fine for stealing in 1927. Some records show he might have been in jail in Adelaide in 1919.

There are no records of his exact birth date. In 1942, it was written as March 12, 1897, and also March 12, 1903. The later date is probably wrong, as he would have been too young when he arrived in Australia.

We can't confirm his arrival date or port in Australia. He said he arrived in 1914 at Adelaide, but there are no records of him entering any Australian port around that time.

During WWII, people from certain countries had to register with the police. They also had to carry an ID card. Ricetti's records confirm he was held by the government between May 1942 and December 1943. These documents also show that local police and state police had different ideas about him.

Griffith Police arrested Ricetti in March 1942 for not registering. They accepted that he didn't know about the rule. A doctor who had treated him before said he was "completely harmless." The local police thought Ricetti was just "eccentric" and harmless. They noted his skill in stonework and that he said his work was "his mission in life."

However, the Military Police in Sydney saw him differently. They wanted him to fill out a long questionnaire and searched his home for "disloyal" writings. They thought he was suspicious because he lived in a secluded area near important places. They believed he should be held.

Ricetti was arrested in May 1942 and sent to an internment camp. He was later moved to another camp. One story says he was sent to a mental hospital in Orange, NSW, but there are no records of this.

He was released in December 1943. He then lived and worked on the Ceccato family farm. A year later, he officially listed Scenic Hill as his home, even though he was still living on the farm.

We can't confirm his departure from Sydney in 1952 because shipping lists for that year are not indexed.

Many old records have been lost or destroyed over time. This is why much of Ricetti's story is hard to confirm with documents.

Italian Influences

Ricetti's way of life fits with old European traditions of hermits. These are people who choose to live away from society. He chose a landscape similar to many European hermit homes: caves on steep hillsides or mountains. This was likely influenced by his childhood in a mountain valley in northern Italy. Scenic Hill, at 200-metre-high (660 ft), is a prominent ridge in the flat Riverina Plain.

His work also shows influences from northern Italian culture:

• He was skilled in stonemasonry. He used dry stone walls (without mortar) and filled them with earth to create terraces. This is common in his home region for farming on steep slopes.
• He planted grapevines and fruit trees, which is also typical of northern Italy.
• He decorated his "Chapel" cave with Christian symbols, a common practice for hermits.

Description

Dry stone walling at the Hermit's Cave complex

The Hermit's Cave Complex is a group of rock shelters and rock overhangs. Ricetti changed some of these to create cave-like rooms. He also built amazing stonework and earthworks. All of these are found along a long, narrow ridge outside Griffith.

Ricetti's work stretches over one kilometre along the south-eastern side of Scenic Hill. This hill is a 200-metre-high (660 ft) cliff on the southern part of the McPherson Range. The site covers about 16.16 hectares.

The remains of his work are found in different areas along the site. From south-east to north-west, they are:

• 1) Far South Rock Shelter (Possible Main Western Hide-out)

* A stone stair with 40 steps. * A hide-out with an open rock shelter and three large stone blocks. * A small, natural shelter with a narrow path leading to a small room. This room has natural stone blocks that form a window.

• 2) South Rock Shelter (Possible First Home)

* A stone stair with 18 steps. * A dwelling with partly complete stone walls. * Remains of stonework (a wall and another stone stair). * This small shelter might have been used by Ricetti for a short time. He probably moved to a bigger home later.

• 3) Southern Garden and Rock Shelter (Possible Second Home)

This home is connected to two gardens, three water tanks, and a rock shelter called "La Scala" (Opera House). Old photos show it was built before the third home.

A) Rock Shelter:

• An east stone stair leading to the garden.
• A bottom stone stair from the east. It leads to a narrow path between two large rocks and into the home.
• The home is a rock shelter overhang with walls and a stone window.
• A top stone stair rising from the rock shelter.
• A west stone stair leading to a second, small room. This room has a large flat stone and might have been a water tank.
• Chiselled holes were used to hold up wooden trellis structures.

B) Gardens: This is the largest part of the site, 60 metres long and 35 metres wide. It's at the bottom of a cliff, 10 metres below the ridge top.

• Upper Garden: Has three terraces with water tanks, stairs, paths, and a dwelling. It has earth terraces with stone retaining walls. You can still see metal materials used to support the terraces. There are also fig and yucca plants.
• Lower Garden: Has the best-built and best-kept stonework by Ricetti. It has an earth-filled stone retaining wall that forms a raised walkway.

C) Water Tanks (Cisterns):

• Uppermost Cistern: On the top terrace, collecting water from the cliff face.
• Second Cistern: Outside the garden's north-eastern walls, collecting water from the cliff and surface.
• Lower Cistern: Next to the lower garden, collecting water from the gardens and possibly the top tank.

D) Natural Amphitheatre-Shaped Rock Shelter:

• A stone retaining wall forming a bridge.
• Remains of a stone staircase.
• Where a wooden ladder used to be, for reaching a rock shelf.
• Rock carvings at the base of the cliff with Christian and other symbols.

* 'La Scala' (or the 'Opera House'): A place with good acoustics where Ricetti would call out. His voice could sometimes be heard in town. * Rock carvings at 'La Scala': * The lower rock gallery has a mix of symbols: a court jester's face, three crosses, and three intertwined fish (an early Christian symbol). There's also an incomplete message in Latin and Italian: 'paratus nun qua no...' ('be prepared'). * Higher up the rock face, near a stone stair, is the date 1918 and Ricetti's initials (RV, backwards). This date is before he came to the area. * A carving on a rock floor from around 1923 (also before he arrived).

E) Two Stone Stairs:

• An upper stone stair with low steps (maybe for carrying rocks).
• A hidden stone stair, winding through a passage between large rocks.

• 4) Central 'Hide-Outs'

* A stone stair that is part of the main path linking the gardens to the 'Main Cave'. * A natural room formed by two large rocks with stone blocks at the entrance (the lower hide-out). * A small natural rock shelter with no stonework (the upper hide-out).

• 5) Main Cave (Possible Third Home)

This is Ricetti's most famous and best-kept work. It includes other areas known as "Kitchen," "Gun Post," "Art Gallery," "Chapel," and a stone stair.

A) Rock Shelter:

• A stone-walled sleeping room with a doorway.
• Painted rock murals with flowers and a ship's anchor.
• A second room with a fireplace, called the 'Kitchen'.
• Fig and oleander plants.
• Walls filled with earth separating the home from the "Gun Post."

B) 'Gun Post': A stone earthwork that looks like a small fort. Old photos show a bridge connecting it to the third home. It wasn't for defense but seemed to be where Ricetti watched his surroundings.

C) 'Art Gallery': A separate room connected to the third home. People remember it had a movie poster for King Kong.

D) 'Chapel':

• A natural rock amphitheatre with views to the east.
• Earth terraces with stone retaining walls.
• Metal materials (steel, wire) are still visible, used to support the terraces.
• A rock mural with a cross and Ricetti's initials (VR on the left, RV on the right).

E) Stone Stair: A 90-step stone stair built by Ricetti.

F) "The Cliffs Cave" Carving: An old carving (before Ricetti lived there) reads "H.M. Alf. Irv. Driver The Cliffs Born Nov. 21/-70". Alf Driver was an early settler of a nearby property. The carving is on the floor of a rock shelter. From here, you get a great 180-degree view of the Riverina Plain. This shows the site was used by settlers and travelers before Ricetti.

• 6) North Rock Shelter (1)

A narrow, rectangular shelter with two built walls. It's well hidden at the bottom of a sheer rock face. It's about 100 metres north-east of the third home. Paths connect it to the third home, the ridge top, and North Rock Shelter (2).

• 7) North Rock Shelter (2)

This marks the northern end of the Hermit's Cave Complex. It's about 100 metres north-east of North Rock Shelter (1).

• An enclosed rock shelter, well hidden from above and below.
• A 30-step stone stair connecting the shelter to the ridge top and the bottom of the hill. The top 10 steps are steep and narrow, going between two rock faces.
• Faded white diagonal lines painted on one inside rock face.

• 8) Site of Western Shelter

We know about this site from old photos and stories, but no physical remains have been found. Its stone parts were probably used in gardens. It was located west of Scenic Drive. Old photos show a stone structure with large, smooth blocks around a wooden doorway. It was a small room built around a hollow wilga tree. Ricetti built a fireplace at the base of the tree so it could act as a chimney. The door and a peephole let him see who was coming. He used it as a kitchen and a hide-out but left it because of visitors or vandals.

Condition

The gardens were in fair condition as of June 19, 2006. However, the clay mortar holding the stone walls is eroding. The retaining walls at the "Chapel" are also eroding. Graffiti is a problem, with some of Ricetti's original rock art damaged.

Some of the staircases are still in excellent condition. Considering how simply they were built, the site is remarkably well preserved.

The site has great potential for archaeological study. There might be more remains of structures west and north-west of Scenic Drive, but their exact locations are unknown.

Most of the original design and materials are still there. Much of the original stonework is intact. It has been damaged by graffiti, vandalism, and erosion.

Changes Over Time

The landscape has been changed several times between the 1970s and 1990s. The most noticeable changes were made by the Council. These include the Sir Dudley de Chair look-out area above the "Chapel" and a steel hand-rail along the stairs. The Apex Club also built a 60-step stone stair from the lookout to the "Chapel" in the 1970s. Apex also tried to rebuild part of the "Main Cave." However, Apex used cement mortar, which was different from Ricetti's original clay-mortar and dry-stone methods.

Heritage Listing

Heritage boundaries

The Hermit's Cave Complex is important to the history of New South Wales. It's a rare and well-preserved example of a hermit's home from the 20th century. It includes unique rock art, old carvings, many stone structures, earthworks, and old gardens.

This site also shows the story of an Italian immigrant, Valerio Ricetti. It highlights how he responded to moving to a new country after World War I. The site shows his cleverness and skill. He used natural landscapes and materials to create not just a shelter, but a complex home. This home included hide-outs, a lookout, modified caves, stone walls, bridges, stairs, paths, and terraced gardens with water tanks.

The Hermit's Cave Complex is a rare example of a European hermit tradition in New South Wales.

It is also a great place for learning and research. It helps us understand historical archaeology and the history of different cultures.

The Hermit's Cave Complex was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on January 12, 2007, because it met the following important points:

The site shows an important part of New South Wales's cultural history.

The Hermit's Cave Complex is important because it shows how people experienced migration. Ricetti's story is special. He was a young immigrant who didn't speak English well and had no family or friends in Australia. His unique way of dealing with the challenges of moving here is very significant.

Ricetti chose to live away from people. He spent ten years wandering alone around southern New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. He decided to settle down and build a secluded home when he saw Scenic Hill.

For 23 years, Ricetti did more than just build a shelter. He spent a huge amount of time and effort changing the landscape. He wanted to make it fit his needs and be beautiful. He filled 505 square metres of land to create terraces for farming on the steep slopes. The soil in these gardens was fine and pebble-free, showing he sifted it. He could get materials from the nearby town dump.

He planted many edible and beautiful plants. These included grapevines, fig, olive, and stone-fruit trees. These plants take years to grow fruit, showing he planned for the long term. Other plants like tomatoes and sweet peas needed a lot of care in Griffith's dry climate. This is why he built water tanks.

All this hard work shows that Ricetti put a lot of physical and emotional effort into his home. He saw it as a permanent place and a long-term project.

Stories say he was driven by "visions" to work on his project. His actions can be understood through European hermit traditions, especially in the Alps of northern Italy. His choice of landscape is similar to many European hermit homes. North Italian cultural influences are clear in his:

• Skilled stonemasonry and dry stone walling.
• Planting of grapevines and fruit trees.
• Decoration of the chapel cave with Christian symbols.

Ricetti's story is important because it shows how society reacted to someone "different." Locally, people understood and valued his work. When he was in the hospital, the community supported him. During World War II, local police saw him as harmless and his work as valuable. However, at a higher government level, his "difference" was seen negatively. He was held by the government because of his nationality and his nonconformity. This might show wider patterns in how people were treated during wartime.

The site is strongly connected to an important person in New South Wales's history.

The Hermit's Cave Complex is important locally because of its connection to Valerio Ricetti. He is well-known in local stories as the "hermit" of Scenic Hill.

The site shows great creative skill and beauty in New South Wales.

The Hermit's Cave Complex is important at a state level. It is an example of multicultural heritage and a beautiful cultural landscape. It shows how one person adapted the land and natural materials to create shelter, food, and a beautiful home. This was his way of dealing with feeling alone and disconnected from society. It follows the European tradition of hermit retreats built for seclusion.

Ricetti's choice of landscape fits with European hermit traditions. Caves are often chosen, especially on steep hillsides or mountains. His Italian upbringing in a mountain valley likely influenced his choice of the 200-metre-high (660 ft) escarpment of Scenic Hill.

Spiritual symbols are common among hermits, even those not strictly religious. Ricetti's work shows Italian hermit traditions of painting and carving important images on cave walls.

His creative and technical skills show North Italian cultural influences, specifically in:

• Skilled stonemasonry with dry stone walling and backfilling. This created terraces for farming on steep, rocky slopes. The use of stone for farmhouses and dry stone building is common in his home region.
• Planting of grapevines and fruit trees.
• Decorating the chapel cave with Christian symbols.

The site is a popular place for peaceful walks. Its stonework and gardens remind visitors of the stone structures and farmed landscapes of northern Italy.

The site has a strong connection with a community or cultural group in New South Wales for social or cultural reasons.

The Hermit's Cave Complex is socially important to the Griffith community. This includes the Italian community of Griffith and the surrounding Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. It is a significant part of their local stories.

The site has the potential to provide information about New South Wales's cultural history.

The Hermit's Cave Complex is important at a state level. It is an excellent example of a 20th-century historical archaeological site that can be studied further. It has great potential for education, interpretation, and research. It can help us understand historical archaeology, multicultural heritage, and migration history:

• As an example of "ethnic nostalgia," showing parts of rural Italy's structures and landscapes in a new setting (especially the stonework and gardens).
• As a complex historical archaeological site.
• As a migration story about one person's response to settling, being held by the government, and poverty.

The site is rare or uncommon in New South Wales's cultural history.

This site is extremely rare. The Hermit's Cave Complex is important at a state level as a rare and well-documented example of a known hermit's home. It shows a hermit's life in great detail and complexity. Other known hermit or cave homes might have similar building techniques, like dry stone walls or terraces. But these are usually much smaller. They might also be built by groups or by squatters who were not hermits. Many cave homes found in national parks around Sydney were used during the 1930s Great Depression. These include former fishermen's caves at Cape Solander and caves in the Domain. Poet's Cave in Lane Cove National Park was also inhabited by a hermit. In north-western New South Wales, caves were used at Lightning Ridge and in the Warrumbungle Ranges. Other "hermit-type" homes, like the Crater Cove huts on Sydney Harbour and huts along the Hawkesbury River, became popular during the 1930s. They started earlier and continued as communities of people living on the fringes of society. The Crater Cove huts were built by squatters in the 1920s and were lived in until 1988. They had water tanks carved into rock, stone chimneys, and paths. A group of Hawkesbury River huts had wells, terraced ridges, gardens, and extensive dry stone walls. A large, impressive two-story Swiss chalet-style home was built by a squatter over 40 years at Hungry Beach in Kuring-gai Chase National Park. This builder was not a hermit. He bought building materials and brought them by boat from Sydney. The building was reportedly torn down in 1969. The Hermit's Cave Complex shows some of these building techniques. It is the best known example of its kind.

Images for kids

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  Dry stone walling at the Hermit's Cave complex