Sloped Roof

A long sloped roof runs down the windward side of one of the Tin City shacks, the corrugated iron set at a steep enough pitch to shed sand and water without holding either. The roof line drops from a high ridge along the south-facing wall down to a low eave on the north side, where rainwater discharges into a length of galvanised gutter. The sheets are fastened with cap screws into the timber framing below. The colour has weathered through several layers: pale red showing through grey where the salt has worked at it. A skylight panel set into the upper third lets a small amount of daylight into the interior.

A steep single-pitch roof is one of the more practical responses to the conditions at Tin City. The southerly wind drives sand against any vertical surface; a sloped roof above presents less of a target than a flat one, and lets the sand and water continue past instead of building up. Salt accelerates corrosion on the iron, so the sheets are replaced incrementally as they fail. The 11 remaining shacks all carry roofs that have been repaired or replaced several times over the decades. The Worimi Conservation Lands Plan of Management 2015 allows ongoing maintenance of the existing structures but prohibits any rebuilding after destruction.