The winter solstice holds a special place in the hearts of those in Antarctica. When we are at our most forsaken from the sun, we celebrate by going for a swim and hoping a Leopard seal isn’t lurking below the ice. Fortunately it was just a Weddell seal for us and it took one look at a dozen bipeds with a beach umbrella standing around the new hole in the ice, and decided it would try it’s luck elsewhere.
So we hopped in where it departed and comported ourselves in the best way we could when immersed in -2C water. It was actually getting out and dashing back to the warm hut which was the most brisk moment.
One of the best bits about the swim is the celebration afterwards. Our wonderful chef Claire once again defended us from the cold (food is the first layer of defence), plying us with 5 courses of deliciousness. My favourite was the salmon with Szechuan eggplant.
Dinner was interspersed with readings of creative RSVPs and videos of those who couldn’t make it. Yours truly gave a (short) speech which included some of the history of the discovery of Antarctica. Some fascinating oral histories capture lands “dark, misty and without sun,” but some scholars suggest the sailing conditions would have made the roundtrip challenging 1300 years ago. And while the first documented siting of Antarctica was in 1820, it was not until 1898 that the first people spent winter here, and maybe that was by accident. 203 years on from the first siting, I’m writing this latest chapter of Antarctic history on my laptop, recovering from a five course meal.
Another feature of midwinter is the recognition of those who have contributed tremendously to the program and Australia’s interests in Antarctica. It was great for the Casey community to hear many of our group recognised in these Midwinter awards.
Being awarded the Australian Antarctic Medal were Aaron Read who has contributed over many years to the functioning of the Wilkins Aerodrome, and Lisa Wilkinson who has wintered here and is now our much valued head office brains trust for our electrical team.
Recognised in the Director’s Awards were Lochie Anderson, tireless advocate for community and individual mental health, Brett Sambrooks for many years of expert work going into improving water security across all the Antarctic stations, and Anne Hellie who for two years as Operations Coordinator has being making stuff happen in and out of Casey.
Congratulations to all of those recognised this midwinter.
This was the 67th year of human midwinter celebrations in the Windmill Islands, where Casey is located. The first 12 were at Wilkes, initially an American station, then to the Casey tunnel before moving to the current infrastructure 35 years ago. Of the 35 of us here, 9 of us have celebrated more than one midwinter on the ice.
The winter solstice is a special day celebrated around the world in many wonderful forms including the birthday of the sun, the end of harvest, and the new year when people celebrate good fortune and happiness for the year ahead. We will be celebrating the strength of our community, our days getting longer and, before too long, the return of life to these shores, both human and penguin.
Happy midwinter, 2023.
Ben Patrick, Station Leader
