© M Morrison Courtesy of the UKAHT
Just another £650,000 is needed to save Captain Scott’s hut at Cape Evans which is in urgent need of restoration after standing for nearly a century near in Antarctica.
Culture Minister Barbara Follett held a special reception on November 25 2008, attended by the Princess Royal, where she revealed the government had pledged £250,000 to the project.
The hut was erected in 1910 on Scott’s last expedition and has been preserved by the climate that it was built to protect the explorer from but it was recently listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of the top 100 monuments in danger.
Scott made it to the South Pole in 1912 with four men shortly after Norwegian Roald Amundsen but Scott’s party tragically died on their return journey.
“The story of Captain Scott's expedition to the Antarctic is woven into Britain's history and it forms a really important part of our heritage,” said the Culture Minister
“The hut those brave men stayed in at Cape Evans is now nearly 100 years old and it would be great if we could raise enough money to preserve it for future generations.”
The February Foundation has promised to match any future donations to the project pound for pound.
© P Terry Courtesy of the UKAHT
A project to preserve Scott’s hut and three others was launched by the Princess Royal in 2002 and £3.5 million was raised to restore Sir Ernest Shackleton’s hut built in 1907. Work on this project is now nearly complete.
Chairman of United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust, (UKAHT) Philippa Foster Back OBE added: “The appeal has so far been a great success, but it is always the final mile that is the most difficult. We are nearly there, but really need all the help we can get to make sure we raise the funds to ensure this amazing piece of our heritage is saved.”
The work will be carried out by the New Zealand Antarctic Trust, a sister body of the UKAHT.
For more information about the project go to www.ukaht.org.
