Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Culture Minister Barbara Follett backs campaign to save Antarctic hut used by Captain Scott nearly a century ago

Culture Minister Barbara Follett backs campaign to save Antarctic hut used by Captain Scott nearly a century ago

DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT News Release (127/08) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 25 November 2008

Culture Minister Barbara Follett today welcomed the campaign to save the hut of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott.

Ms Follett said that the British Government had donated £250,000 towards the £3.5million project and that, following this, a private British trust, the February Foundation, had made a substantial gift and had also pledged to match any further donations up to £1million.

The Minister called on all who care about preserving the Antarctic's heritage to give generously to the project. Especially now that, thanks to the February Foundation's generosity, the value of any contributions made would be doubled.

Barbara Follett said:

"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. 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. Thanks to the generosity of the February Foundation this is now a very real possibility."

Barbara Follett hosted a Reception today with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal as Guest of Honour.

Chairman of United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust, 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."

Notes to Editors

1. The hut at Cape Evans on Ross Island, Antarctica, was erected in 1910 by Scott's last expedition. Expedition members extended considerably the frontiers of Antarctic science and exploration. Scott and four companions reached the South Pole in January 1912, a few weeks after the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his party had got there. Scott and his team all died on the return journey.

2. The hut has survived to present times, but is in urgent need of repair. It is still full of over 8,000 artefacts dating from the heroic age of Antarctic exploration, making it a time capsule from that era. The New York-based World Monuments Fund currently identifies Scott's Hut amongst the 100 most endangered sites in the world.

3. A project to preserve Scott's hut and the three others which survive from those days in the Ross Sea area was launched in 2002 by the Princess Royal. Around £3.5million were raised, partly for planning and preparations, and partly to complete all the work needed on the hut at Cape Royds used by Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1907-09 expedition; those parts of the project are now virtually finished. The focus is now on Scott's hut, for which the estimated cost of the work needed is a little over £3.5million. The work is managed and carried out by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, a sister organisation to the UKAHT.

4. The British Government contributed £250,000 towards saving Scott's Hut in February 2007. £150,000 came from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and £100,000 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This followed an earlier grant of £70,000 from the British Antarctic Territory shortly after the project was launched in 2002.

5. For more information please contact the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust at info@ukaht.org

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