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
Public enquiries 020 7211 6200
http://www.culture.gov.uk
2-4 Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5DH
http://www.culture.gov.uk