JIM Hughes is a Mt Buller legend in his own right – and this year he has had a building on the mountain named after him – "Jimmy's House".

Jimmy's House was always known as the Plough Shed Flat – a small annexe attached to the plough shed which Jimmy used during winter months to save him travelling time.

Jimmy's House of course follows on from his 'Hall of Fame' photo which hangs proudly under the atrium in the Village Square.

First arriving on the mountain in 1978 Jimmy was asked to give Bernie Anstee 'a helping hand' and has been there ever since – among other jobs held off mountain.

Described as 'a character' he can tell many stories of the changing face of the mountain; the funny and big events that have taken place.

After 44 years on the mountain, many of which have been in charge of traffic and parking, he has now taken a step back, taken on the role as 'mentor' to the current parking and traffic team leader – Alex Macphee.

Apart from a few weeks in 1978, he took on a more permanent (winter season only) role in 1979.

Asked if he had seen many changes on the mountain he replied "I've seen a hell of a lot of changes".

Jimmy started when he moved from Melbourne to Mansfield, originally to buy the Mansfield Hotel but that sale fell through.

After not taking on a hotel he and his wife leased the Mansfield Swimming Pool for 13 years from the shire.

This being a summer job only he then worked on the mountain during winter.

He worked under Bernie for three years and then under Hayden Purcell and the then chief executive officer of the resort Sandy Jeffcoat as a leading hand.

Notably he has seen many changes to the car parking and believes that Horse Hill and Tirol parking lots are still not big enough to cater for the number of vehicles now arriving on the mountain.

"When I first started it was nearly all Land Rovers; we would often walk down to the Plough Shed to control the traffic and park them on the side of the road," he recalled.

"We also had the CSIRO carpark and now of course there is Corn Hill."

One of the biggest memories Jimmy has is of the big landslide in the early 1980s which blocked the only road up and down the mountain for about six to eight days.

"Hayden Purcell and I were the first on the scene," he recalls.

"I remember the local band, with Chris Deutcher, another mountain legend, were playing at the Kooroora; we had to go and announce no one would be going off the mountain," he said.

"Hayden and myself took a bulldozer down there in the dark ready to clean up the road but then VicRoads took over and we decided to wait; that was a big thing.

"There was one way up and one way down but that was all controlled by VicRoads.

"One of the funny things that I witnessed on the mountain was when Bernie McWhinney was a policeman up here.

"There was a bit a ruckus at the toboggan run on Horse Hill; people didn't want to move.

"Hayden was on the bulldozer and people were still not taking notice.

"Bernie (McWhinney) stepped in, took his gun from its holster and fired a shot into the air.

"It soon broke up the crowd, but he was in a bit of strife over that."

Jimmy says one of the best things that is noticeable are the number of friendships he has made.

"Some of these guys have worked for me for 20 years and have become good friends," he said.

"And some friends have been CEOs – it is pretty good to be able to go straight to the top when you need something; you get a pretty good hearing from them when you are on good terms.

"Jim's world is the real world," I tell them when they are looking into changes.

"Parking is the busiest job on the mountain.

"I remember back in 2000 resort management decided to lease the carparking jointly to the buslines and the lift company.

"I was left sort of on the job to make sure they were doing the right thing – what a stuff up that was.

"We eventually got it (control) back again as we knew what we were doing.

"When I look at this place, the buildings that have gone up, the changes to Kooroora, the whole mountain – everything has changed.

"I remember the old Kooroora was the place to be – back when Skyhooks with Molly Meldrum were playing there – and when Molly was just a DJ on the mountain – and others like the Hawkins Bros played at the venue.

"There are some people who have worked on the mountain for as long as I have, such as Christine Purcell (nee Hearn) and they have also seen the changes.

"I am looking at retiring but not just yet – but I am closer now to going than keeping on going," he joked.

"But I am happy doing what I am doing now."

Jimmy is also well known around the district for other stints he has taken part in.

For instance he worked on The Man from Snowy River movies, has called 13 of the 14 Crack's Cups held at the Mountain Country Festivals at Sheepyard Flat, and has also called the races for the Mansfield Race Club.

He has managed all three hotels in Mansfield at some stage, along with working at one of the local quarries – all among his long working history in the Mansfield district.