Ross Island
door latch
Pigment print
11x11" Image
20x20" Mat
1/30
$650
The Huts on Ross Island Photographers: Josef and Katharina Hoflehner
Almost 100 years ago British explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton began to explore the South Pole. Their tragic history is well known, however the dwellings where these explorers spent most of their time have fallen into oblivion. Until recently, only a few knew about the huts, even fewer had the chance to visit the remote locations on Ross Island--next to the Ross Ice Shelf, about 4000-km south of New Zealand.
The first hut (Discovery Hut) was erected 1902 by Scott at "Hut Point". Shackleton erected the second one at "Cape Royds" in 1908, and finally in 1911 the third structure was by placed at "Cape Evans" by Scott during his return visit. All three huts where prefabricated in Australia or England, and were shipped to Ross Island along with all the other equipment, food rations, horses and sled dogs.
Fortunately the huts remain in a very good condition, due to the cold, dry environment that is not hospitable to small animals. Food, personal belongings and expedition equipment seems to have been untouched for a century.
Recently some restoration work was completed by New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust. Fortunately the restoration did not alter the ambiance of the huts. They feel as if the men had just left for a short walk. All the furnishings and remaining food provisions are in their original location. Clothes, shoes and even some toothbrushes are still placed next to the bunk beds. A stuffed emperor penguin and basket filled with penguin eggs are untouched along with the seal blubber that was used for heating. In the stable, the names of the mules are stenciled on the wooden wall. Other artifacts include oxidizing tins, ropes, and stacks of hay, sledge parts, even the skeleton of a dog tied to a chain, remain intact.
In order to create the most authentic photographs, only natural light was used. Artifacts in the huts were untouched by the photographer. They seem to tell of their appropriate episode like an abstract from a diary.
