21 May 2015

Historic Hooker Hut removed for safekeeping

The oldest hut in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is on the move again this week.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is taking action to save the historic Hooker Hut from slipping into the Hooker Glacier.

“This will be the hut’s fourth move since being built in 1910, due to Aoraki’s turbulent geography,” says DOC Conservation Services Manger, Mike Davies.

“As the Hooker’s moraine wall gradually crumbles and retreats, the hut now faces an imminent threat of slipping into the glacier below.”

Since Hooker Hut’s third relocation, in 1994, to its current position, heavy rainfall (that same year) destroyed the main access route to the hut. In 2005 a new hazard exposed itself when the hut was hit from behind by a snow avalanche.

“The constant relocation of the hut, along with the removal of Gardiner Hut from the national park last month, illustrates the challenge of building and maintaining huts among New Zealand’s highest peaks,” says Mike Davies.

“Aoraki’s landscape is in a state of constant unrest, exposed to extreme forces of nature—high winds, heavy rain and snow, harsh temperatures and seismic activity.

This is all greatly exacerbated by glacial retreat in recent times, and forces the need to constantly reassess risks faced by visitors using the park’s huts and tracks.”

Originally used by climbers to access the upper Hooker Glacier, the hut became more commonly used as an easy overnight trip from Aoraki/Mount Cook village, or as a stopover when crossing the Copland Pass. After access to the hut was severely impaired in 1994, visitor numbers to the hut were greatly reduced. In the last two years only three people have been recorded as having stayed at Hooker Hut.

“Hooker Hut has had a long and interesting history including several reports of supernatural activity from overnight visitors! Now over 100 years old, it is a superb example of alpine huts built around the start of the 20th century,” says Mike Davies.

Funding for the removal of both Gardiner Hut and Hooker Hut has come from a bequest from the deceased estate of outdoor enthusiast, Alannah Bartle Matches.

Alannah and her late husband Kenneth Arthur Orpen Matches, both retired School Principals, wished to recognise and support DOC’s work, so that others might have access to and enjoy Aoraki’s huts, tracks and wildlife for years to come. The bequest will pay for the refurbishment and repositioning of Hooker Hut, so that it can provide an accessible alpine experience to a wide range of park users.

“We want to see this important piece of Aoraki’s heritage in a location in the Hooker valley where it can once again be well-used by visitors to the park,” says Mike Davies.

The hut will be moved by Recreation Construction Ltd, who will dismantle and fly it out flat-packed. It will be stored in Twizel until a decision is reached on where to relocate it. This will link in to the review of the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park Management Plan later this year.

–Ends–

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