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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2001