Flora Hut renovation

The Flora Hut renovation team – April 2016

The Nelson Tramping Club were one of the early organised tramping clubs to get involved with local hut renovations in their area utilising Outdoor Recreation Consortium Funding. The first project they decided to take on was the historic Flora Hut in Kahurangi National Park. Built in 1927, Flora Hut is one of only a couple of huts remaining with the distinctive two separate bunk rooms consistent with the social norms of the time. The hut was built by the Mt Balloon Scenic Reserve Board but by the 1970s had fallen into such disrepair that the New Zealand Forest Service decided to essentially completely rebuild it to the original design in 1972. By this the road end was quite close to Flora Hut and sadly it started to suffer from some vandalism by the end of the 1990s. At one stage removing the hut was considered, but the 2002 Recreational Opportunities Review saw a resurgence of support for retaining this hut as a key family entry level opportunity. In 2013 the Nelson Tramping Club decided to restore the hut in partnership with DOC Motueka.

Senior Ranger Tom Young of DOC Motueka talking through the work plan

Over 18 months nearly 20 volunteers from the club were involved in the restoration project. One of the major parts of the project was to completely remove the roof, strengthen the roof truss structure, redo the building paper and then replace the roof with new fixings and ridging while still retaining it's historic look.

Inside, the ply lining was completed, including on the ceiling, to give the hut a nice fresh feel to make it a welcoming spot for families. Other work completed included repairs to the woodshed and new rain caps for the chimneys. The whole hut was then given a nice new paint job with paint from Dulux.

In total club members put in nearly 600 hours of work and this historic hut in Kahurangi National Park will continue to be a valued local treasure for families visiting the park.

Unloading the ply for the interior lining