Mr Ian McLean has completed five periods of service with ANARE as either a CCTO or an SCTO. On each occasion he has distinguished himself as a highly competent Technical Officer achieving very high standards of work. A characteristic of his service has been his willingness to take on extra duties, and give freely of his time, to assist other expeditioners and further the program goals.

At Macquarie Island in 1992, in addition to his normal duties of CCTO, he was a member of the fire team and took on the additional duties of projectionist, clothing storesperson and anaesthetic assistant. Ian is qualified as an instructor with St Johns ambulance and assisted the doctor in running an “Advanced First Aid Course”.

At Mawson in 1995 a computer used to record information for an international science program was damaged beyond repair. Realising the importance of the program Ian donated the use of his own personal computer in order that the project could continue with minimal interruption. This gesture is typical of his willingness to assist others in the achievement of their goals. Also at Mawson he provided many hours of technical assistance, often in his own time, to a penguin monitoring project at Béchervaise Island.

Ian has a keen interest in computing and has always made himself available to assist other expeditioners with problems they may be experiencing even if it was outside “normal working hours”. At Casey he overcame a watering problem in hydroponics by designing and installing an innovative computer based automatic watering system which improved the production of fresh vegetables and herbs for consumption by all expeditioners at the station. He has also written computer programs for ANARE which have improved building maintenance call-out procedures and streamlined telephone call accounting procedures, skills not normally possessed by other CCTO/SCTOs.

Ian has taken on additional duties during each of his periods of service, including that of station projectionist and various amenities functions. At Davis in 1999 he was the Fire Chief, a volunteer position requiring him to donate a large amount of time and effort to ensure the safety of all expeditioners at the station. He has twice been selected as Deputy Station Leader, firstly at Casey in 1997 and then at Mawson in 2001. This is a position of great responsibility.

In all these duties he has shown the attention to detail, willingness to give his time, and concern for others that typifies his approach to ANARE work and life. Ian has given outstanding service in the Antarctic.

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