The sign pretty much says it all :
As an aside, isn't "an historic monument" bad English? I mean a snake wouldn't make
an hiss sound would it? Nor do you go skiing down
an hill. But I digress...
Discovery Hut, as the sign says, was constructed during Captain Robert Falcon Scott's first expedition to the Antarctic. Shackleton was with him on this voyage, though the story goes they didn't get along well. This expedition was not intended to reach the pole, but rather to explore the nearby terrain and perform various science. Unlike
the hut at Cape Evans, constructed in 1911 for the Terra Nova expedition destined for the Pole, Discovery Hut was not meant for berthing. It was used as a storage area, an office, and a science laboratory. It was revisited many times later, so it is not clear which of the goods are from the original party and which were deposited later.
One of the first things you notice when you step inside is the smell. It's probably the slowly decaying seal, penguin, and whale carcasses that does it. It's remarkably well preserved for century old dead meat, probably due to the lack of bacteria on the continent.
Once you get over the smell, you'll notice various signs of hut life. There's pots and pans and various tools on the shelves.
And no expedition would be complete without a tin of Morton's kippered herring.
And of course all the biscuits the dogs & men could eat!
It's a pretty cool little hut, an interesting artifact of historical times long gone, and a great place to take a walk to on a fine day at McMurdo.
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