G’day, we’re the wintering Wilkins crew, responsible for getting people into and out of Antarctica, FAST! We build, operate and maintain Australia’s only blue ice runway! Currently we are wintering at Casey but will be heading up in late August to start preparing the runway for the busy season ahead.
Pete – Wilkins Plant Operator
Most memorable moment: The complete disassembly, relocation and assembly of our camp. All of our buildings are on sleds and with two big dozers we can put them anywhere! A massive task requiring some clear communication that is amazingly saving us work in the long run.
Something you’ve learned: Snow. Oh so much about Snow. All the different types of snow. All the places snow can get. Cold snow, wet snow, ice that was once snow. Hard snow, soft snow, blowing, drifting and falling snow.
Where’s home? A little place called Moffatdale, in warm sunny Queensland.
What makes Wilkins special? We get to work in Antarctica daily. Outside, in it. Watching the clouds, the weather and the sun. It’s a tight knit crew and a great team to be a part of.
Lewis – Wilkins Aerodrome Mechanic
Most memorable moment/s: Unloading a tractor out of a C17. I’ve driven plenty of tractors off trucks but never out of an aeroplane! Driving away from Wilkins for the last time after four weeks of packdown after doing roughly 1,500kms up and down the Aline moving machinery to Casey (70km one way). (See photo)
Something you’re looking forward to: Leaving the big smoke of Casey station and heading back to our local village, Wilkins, where the work really starts. Then we begin the massive feat of uncovering and opening back up the runway. Also getting home to see family and friends.
An Antarctic inconvenience: Everything is frozen, a simple task of just using a ratchet strap can be so frustrating some days.
What makes Wilkins special: The isolation and the crew and the landscape, you’re well and truly in Antarctica and you need to be able to think on your feet and trust those around you.
Where’s home: Small coastal town, Port Neill on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
Deano – The Boss.
Most memorable moment: For me in my 11th season, it is always the people here that make it special.
Something you’ve learned: Every season is different, the weather, team dynamics, what is working/not working in terms of infrastructure or machinery. Each aspect has its own challenges, low/high points. How you deal with all the complexities of working and living in a small remote extreme environment.
Where’s home? I grew up in Queensland at a place called Emu Park which will always be home. Spent a bit of time at Dysart, a coal mining town. Now live in Tasmania in the north of the state just outside Deloraine.
What makes Wilkins special: It is a unique place to work and live. It’s the ultimate in remote living with a small group of people that must rely heavily on each other. Challenging, yes.
Favourite machine to operate: Snow groomer, very comfortable and the end result always looks great.
Hobbies or interests that keep you busy: I run daily boxing classes and have done so for a number of seasons. Popular during summer and this winter I have had just over half the station give it a go. We train at 6 o’clock, five days a week and sometimes on the weekends. One of my students continued on when she left at the end of her season and won her first boxing match impressively! That is my Ying. My Yang is I practice art here, mainly sketches and watercolours but have done lino printing and sculptures as well. Once a week I run an art class where we do portraits of expeditioners here, we hand the prints over to the subject at the end of the session. A lot of fun.
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? That’s a hard one to answer as I like both. Could pobably take the duck on land.
