Klondyke Hut.

This hut was built on the Bealey Flat, and the flat itself is now often called Klondyke. When the Bealey Hostel was shifted from the north side of the Waimakariri to the south the hut was built for the benefit of tramps and others who might be benighted on the north side or held up by bad weather in a flood. The hut was well equipped with blankets and utensils, but was not kept stocked with food. One man who reached it expecting to find a meal was so chagrined that he took some chalk and wrote the word “Starvation” across the hut. This was about the time of the Klondyke gold rush, when “Klondyke” was synonymous with “Starvation.” Hence a man who happened to be that way with a paint brush was inspired to paint the word “Klondyke” across the word “Starvation” in big letters. It was very obviously the Klondyke Hut.

A gruesome story is told of it concerning a dead Chinaman. He was drowned in the Bealey, and was put in the single bunk of the Klondyke Hut while the police went off to collect a jury for the inquest. It was a very stormy night, and a man who was, well, not quite drunk, decided to risk crossing the river, and so turned in beside the sleeping figure. In the morning he awoke late, and the sun was shining high; so he thought he would arouse his companion, too. He left the hut in a hurry!