Scott's Hut at Cape Evans was built in 1911-1914
for the Terra Nova Expedition when Scott and
four companions made the fateful attempt on the South
Pole being closely beaten by a team led by the Norwegian
Amundsen and (unlike the Norwegians) all perishing on
the return journey.
There was the possibility of
occupying the previous hut, the "
Discovery
Hut" that had been in place since Scott's team built
it in 1902 at Hut Point. The Hut Point base a little
further south than the Cape Evans situation of Scott's
Hut which had the problem that the ship moored nearby
had become trapped in sea-ice and so was discounted by
Scott for the later expedition.
Given the
circumstances of the expedition, the hut was left
somewhat more quickly and with less attention to tidying
up and taking away objects than may have otherwise been
the case. The result is that despite the passage of
years and obvious deterioration of the contents, the hut
gives the impression that the occupants left for some
reason and may well be back at any moment.
The hut today and its artefacts are undergoing conservation
by the
Antarctic Heritage Trust. Though frozen for much of the
year, the hut and it's contents thaw in the summer
months and the fabric of the hut is being attacked by
fungal
decay. The hut was
identified as being one of the
world's 100 most significant monuments and buildings
under threat. This led to a fund to pay for the
preservation of the hut which is very close to the
nearly $5M required to preserve the hut and its numerous
internal artefacts.
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