Here at Casey station the pictures below show what I have to put up with.
We’re down to 23 currently on station, but it’s not all that bad. Although we are a motley crew, it can get lonely at the dinner table some nights.
I am confident though that the next few months will be filled with fun and some memorable times, some colder than others.
Truly yours,
Plumber Dan (who is in fact in the minority of those who are indeed “The Man Dynamite Dan”)
Who said station life was routine? For me, with the remediation crew gone, it is a new start, and back with the trades team. As the Fitter and Turner on station, the job is always varied.
Last week, we took a small trades team to Wilkins Aerodrome to conduct some repairs prior to the final pack up of the facilities for the winter. This was to be in the form of a “road trip” with five tradies for two days. We arrived at the runway without incident, got the two dollar tour and then into the work.
Wilkins is a tiny station in itself and so has all the maintenance issues as any other place down here, it is just colder, has harsher winds and basic but comfortable living arrangements. For two days, it was all doors, floors and electrical boards. Even the kitchen oven got a look at!
The night before we were due to leave, the weather took a turn for the worse and this continued the following day. With the decision made not to travel and remain at Wilkins, we had to stay another night and endure some homemade pizza for dinner, bugger.
The following day, the run back to station was made on a crystal clear morning, across a vast expanse of blue ice. Defiantly not routine.
Bill Santalab, Fitter & Turner
