Casey, the closest of the continental stations to Australia, is 3430 km southwest of Hobart and 3837 km south of Perth. Termed the Jewel in the Crown, despite (or because of) its notorious blizzard and drift conditions and weather extremes, it is situated in an area of low rocky islands and peninsulas on the edge of the Antarctic ice cap.
Aerial of Casey Station, March 2003
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Sunset over Casey station
Photo: Christopher Clarke
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Abandoned Wilkes station near Casey
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The history of Casey is a complex story of three stations that evolved in the area, beginning with the US-built Wilkes Station established in the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year (IGY) and handed over to ANARE in 1959. Its deterioration under the relentless build up of snow forced Australia to abandon it for a new station a few kilometres away in 1969. The new station was named after Richard Casey, a government minister and Governor-General who had strongly supported the Australian Antarctic program since Mawson's BANZARE expedition in 1929.
Casey Repstat, as it was called during building, was built on a raised platform to discourage snow build up, and featured a covered walkway nicknamed 'The Tunnel', linking living and working areas.
Although the design worked, materials used to construct the station had limited corrosion resistance. This, together with the fact that it was built close to the sea, caused extensive corrosion limiting the life of this innovative station. The problem can still be seen today at the Wilkes 'Hilton' field hut at Wilkes.
In 1978 work began on the buildings of a new Casey station a kilometre away, which was commissioned in 1988.
Arrival at the Wilkes field hut.
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Sunrise at Casey Station
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Sign post at Casey station
Photo: Christopher Clarke
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