Hillary’s Hut, Scott Base

Fresh from conquering Mt Everest in 1953, Edmund Hillary was enlisted to lead the New Zealand party to lay supply depots for the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic expedition.

Scott Base was established with the support of the New Zealand Government to plan and oversee New Zealand’s involvement in the CommonwealthTrans-Antarctic Expedition and the International Geophysical Year during the summer of 1956–57. A party of 23 men, under the leadership of Sir Edmund Hillary, wintered over, including five scientists. The goal of the expedition was to lay supply depots from the Ross Sea towards the South Pole for Dr Vivian Fuchs, who was crossing the continent from the Weddell Sea.

The TAE/IGY Hut is part of the cluster of green, flat-roofed buildings making up New Zealand’s scientific facility, Scott Base. It is sited on the outer south-western side of the base, standing separately but visually still a part of the group of base buildings. Scott Base is situated on Pram Point, at the southern tip of Ross Island. Mt Erebus is the dominant feature that forms the backdrop of the base.

Scott Base has been listed as an Historic Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, in recognition of its importance in the history of exploration and science in Antarctica. It still serves a useful purpose in the management of the base, principally as a refuge. Huts G and H, the small detached magnetic huts of the original base, survive too and are still in use. The Trust’s conservation plan for Hillary’s hut was launched at New Zealand Parliament on 17 March 2015. An implementation plan has been prepared and, over the summer of 2016/2017 the hut was restored.

View a gallery of restoration images here.

Hut Layout

SCOTT BASE

Scott Base is situated on Pram Point, at the southern tip of Ross Island. Mt Erebus is the dominant feature that forms the backdrop of the base.

The TAE/IGY Hut is part of the cluster of green, flat-roofed buildings making up Scott Base. It is sited on the outer south-western side of the base, standing separately but visually still a part of the group of base buildings.

The site today is ‘modern’, bearing little resemblance to its appearance in 1957, when the base consisted of six single-storey buildings connected by a long covered way with the buildings arranged on either side. There were a further three small (and detached) science buildings.

Today the number and scale of the buildings have increased, although the base is still dwarfed by the grandeur of the landscape. Hut A has been moved 40m closer to the shore from its original site, retaining its original orientation so – with the aid of a site plan – you can still picture the original layout of the buildings either side of the spine formed by the covered way.