The Red Hut on Poronui joined another building on the banks of the Taharua Stream about 1928. It was built to last from native Kauri wood. Unfortunately the original building is no longer there, but the red hut has withstood floods, lightning and many storms. During the 1994 flood it was hard to know which side of the hut the river would ultimately choose to flow past. When the floodwaters receded, the silt from the flood was simply hosed out and the hut was none the worst for wear.

Originally the hut was a rabbiters’ camp, and in later years became an outpost for Poronui Station. The Red Hut was used by government deer cullers, hunters, possum trappers, eelers, shepherds, fishers, hikers and even the odd poacher. People came from far and wide to stay at this iconic hut. To quote Tuulla Wall ‘every man and his dog has slept there’. The names etched on the walls are testament to the number of people who visited the hut over the years many returning year after year after year. The earliest date above the fireplace is 1934. It oozes history – imagine the stories the walls could tell!

Today it continues to draw many of its old friends to revisit it and continues to provide shelter for fishers, horse riders, hikers and hunters.