Beech Hut
Eyre Mountains/Taka Rā Haka Conservation Park • Southland
Alerts
Check the DOC website for current alerts and conditions before you go. This site gets current alert info from DOC, but is not an official source of information.
- About
- This is a basic four-bunk hut in the Southland area. This is one of the oldest musterer’s huts remaining in Southland.
- Facilities
- Heating
- Mattresses
- Water from stream
- Water supply
About this hut
Heritage
Beech Hut was built around 1905 by the owners of Fairlight Station. The hut was used by musterers in the 1920s during the autumn muster. Teams of men with dogs and horses travelled up the Mataura Valley to Beech Hut, and from there drove sheep across the steep terrain to Dog Box Hut in Eyre Creek on foot.
Beech Hut is simply constructed from beech saplings cut from the surrounding forest and driven into the ground, and is clad and roofed with corrugated iron.
Further reading
McIntyre, R. (2008) Whose high country?: a history of the South Island high country of New Zealand (Penguin Books).
Herries Beattie, J. (1979) The Southern Runs (Times Printing Service for the Gore Historical Society).
Herries Beattie, J. (1983) More about the Southern Runs (Gore District Historical Society).
Fees and bookings
Fees
Free
Getting there
Beech Hut is accessible via Cainard Road, off SH6 at Fairlight. A 4WD track runs along the true left of the Mataura River for approximately 5 km. From there the route is unmarked and not suitable for vehicles, approximately 4 hr walking time.
The hut is visible on the true right of the Mataura River at the edge of beech forest.
Tracks to this hut
Location
NZTopo50 map sheet: CD10
Grid/NZTM2000 coordinates: E1242421, N4968385
Nearby
Weather
Forecast at the hut