This week’s yarn is about the Wilkins crew’s treacherous endeavour to get themselves back to Casey station after a challenging but rewarding flight season. The team, made up of exceptional personnel, tackled every task head-on with a positive attitude, even when the odds were stacked against them.
After a successful season maintaining the glacier runway and supporting numerous flights involving Skytraders and the RAAF, the Wilkins team began the pack-down phase, preparing for the long winter ahead. This involved collapsing and closing the aerodrome — officially ending Australian Antarctic flight operations for the 78th ANARE — relocating buildings to their winter positions, winterising valuable infrastructure, transporting equipment 70 kilometres back to Casey station and, most importantly, getting the team safely down to station to reunite with the winter crew and prepare for the next chapter of our journey.
But, as Antarctica often reminds us, things rarely go to plan. We became trapped in a 60–80 knot blizzard, with temperatures plunging to -30°C. For eight days, the team was confined indoors, only able to venture outside to move between buildings. Welcome to winter!
Once the weather finally cleared, we smoothly completed the pack-down phase with the assistance of the Bureau of Meteorology, comms, electrical, and plumbing teams.
We received a very warm welcome from Casey station and enjoyed a well-earned rest. The team and I are incredibly grateful for the support from everyone at station — we couldn’t have achieved our goals without them.
Now, we look forward to the cold, dark winter months ahead, where we’ll service and maintain machinery and equipment in preparation for the next exciting phase: heading back up to Wilkins later in the year to reopen the aerodrome and welcome the first flight of the 79th ANARE. We may return with ice-filled beards, weathered faces, and raggedy clothes, but you can be sure we’ll have smiles from ear to ear.
Jack McLeod
Wilkins Aerodrome Manager
