The Terrace next to the Wainuiomata River in Reservoir Valley was home to four huts.
At one time, Gums Loop Swing Bridge provided access to at least four huts on The Terrace, an elevated strip of land along the Wainuiomata River. Several swing bridges have been built over the years, with the most recent constructed in 2023 and the first in 1912. Today, the area is accessible via Gums Loop Walk and Sledge Track which traverses through much of this area. Of the four huts that once stood here, two huts have been photographed and their locations known. They are Mackay Cottage and Pearson Hut / Scout Hut. The other two hut sites have likely been located too, but there are no known photographs of them.
Morton Dam Worker Huts
This hut existed from 1912 until 1980. Today, the site is marked by a sign and a rectangular fence made from rocks. A man by the name of Ian Mackay leased the hut and hosted servicemen at the cottage during WWII.
Scout Hut, also referred to as Pearson Hut, was located in Reservoir Valley and existed from 1912 until it was destroyed by fire in 1995. It was leased by Tom Vivian Pearson (1914–2003) and later by his son, John Devonald Pearson (1944–present). The hut stood along Reservoir Road, near the northern end of what is now the Gums Loop Track, in an elevated area called The Terrace, overlooking the riverbank.
Worker Huts
Oral history suggests that two huts once existed on The Terrace in Reservoir Valley but had vanished by the 1930s. After a recent search deep in the bush, two potential hut sites were located. Although dating is inconclusive, their proximity to a main forestry track used by the Sinclair family hints they might date back to the 1850s-60s, perhaps serving as a base for forestry-related activities in the area.
