The hut erected at Cape Royds, Antarctica in 1908 by Sir Ernest Shackleton has again been identified as one of the 100 Most Endangered Sites on Earth for 2006. The building has been included in the World Monument Fund’s World Monument Watch list since 2004.
The 100 sites are selected by an international panel of experts as the sites considered to be the world’s most imperiled historic architectural and cultural treasures. The Watch list brings the sites to international attention and helps to raise funds for their rescue.
The Trust’s Executive Director, Nigel Watson, said the continued listing is highly significant. “This again emphasises the international significance of this important site."
Watson believes the listing confirmed this unique site’s position in the first tier of world heritage. “Sites listed previously include the Great Wall of China; the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt; Petra, in Jordan; the Old City in Damascus; the Taj Mahal; Pompeii; Borobudur; Machu Picchu; and Mesa Verde," he said.
Since its founding in 1965, the World Monuments Fund has a record of successful international conservation projects in more than eighty countries. The WMF brings together public and private support to implement a comprehensive conservation effort that includes project planning, field surveys, fieldwork, on-site training in the building crafts, advocacy, and the development of long-term strategies for the protection of sites. Launched in 1995, the biennial World Monuments Watch, with its list of 100 Most Endangered Sites, is one of the major program areas of the World Monuments Fund.
In 2004 the World Monument Fund President Bonnie Burnham noted that this was the first time that a site in Antarctica had been selected for the World Monument Watch list, and said “The Watch list includes sites ranging from ancient cities, to modern industrial buildings, to religious and civic structures, to entire landscapes. Inclusion on the list is often the only hope for survival for these threatened cultural monuments."
“The challenge now is to appeal to the international community to fund the remaining estimated US$2.6 million needed to implement the work and conserve Shackleton’s hut and its remarkable contents," added Nigel Watson. “This is a world-leading heritage project in a remote environment. It is another example of New Zealand leadership in the heritage sector and will help conserve a fantastic legacy for future generations," he said.
(December 2006)