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July 2024 Issue
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What colour should a hut be?

Ruataniwha Conservation Park’s Red Hut is painted true to its name. Photo: Hayley Catlow

There, in the distance: do you see it? A fiery red roof signals rest at last.

Huts come in camo green and blood orange, grey and brown (as yet there are no rainbow ones). How is the colour chosen?

DOC partnerships manager Carole Lillico said the choice of colour depends on the surrounding environment. For some huts, a bright colour that can be seen “clearly from a distance in marginal conditions” is appropriate for safety reasons.

Where visibility is not a safety issue, the colour should blend in with the surroundings.

In a decades-long partnership, Dulux provides DOC with paint and related products free of charge.

“The support from Dulux enables DOC huts, buildings and historical assets to be restored, protected and maintained,” Lillico said. Hundreds are attended to each year.

Dulux also supplies project funds and technical and design expertise, and recommends non-toxic paints be used wherever possible.