2016-17 Hillary's TAE/IGY hut, foundation reconfiguration, penguin drawing under hut

When originally constructed the TAE hut’s sub-floor/joists were directly attached to railway sleepers which were partially buried in a levelled sub-base. In 1989 the hut was relocated to a sloping site which required considerable quantities of timber dunnage to level the building. The result was a very elevated and “temporary” appearance, and the dunnage was found to be trapping water and ice under the hut. To ensure the structural integrity of the sub floor (and the building as a whole), a reconfiguration of the existing foundations was required. New bearers were installed together with a consolidation of the supporting dunnage. This presented an opportunity to also lower the building to be more in keeping with the 1957 layout.

During the foundation reconfiguration, a number of original identifying marks were found on the joists – these included sprayed on black Kiwis on a yellow background, “Hut A” painted onto a number of the joists and some drawings/graffiti presumably done by the original construction team.