PCV there is a report on here somewhere that metions the old 4WD track (closed) from King Hut up to Circuit Road. I can't remember if it mentions the additional cut off bit.
The river will be cold but there should be somewhere to cross. At worst you might be able to contour East around to Speculation Road and cross the bridge. It's less than a Km from King Hut.
EDITS
Some mention here
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=24988&p=318839&hilit=king+hut#p318839 They didn't cut the corner.
My mapping from several sources does not show a track. They all show about 215 metres over about 800 metres ascent/descent.... 26%.
About 200 metres ascent/descent from Clear Hills Tk to near Pete's Corner. Probably why the road doesn't cut the corner.
None of my data shows the track that is visible on the SV Map. It might have been part of McCormick's track.