It's a sign!
The Antarctic Circle sign, located roughly 50km from Casey station has featured in countless iconic expeditioner photos as an incoming or outgoing team trundles up or down the A-Line between Wilkins Aerodrome and Casey station during the flying season.
After some light research we were not able to 100% ascertain when the Antarctic Circle sign was constructed and/or placed alongside the A-Line, but what I did know was that it's been starting to look more and more faded, pitted and battered over the last few seasons I have been working at Wilkins Aerodrome.
On a weekly food and fuel supply-run, heading back to Wilkins from Casey station, I decided enough was enough. We are going to do something about this! Here begins the Wilkins team's secret sign mission...
Skinny Brad and myself wheeled our tractors into the sign location, armed with our handy pocket 6 inch shifters. You wouldn't read about it - the nuts on the sign are bigger than expected. Our shifters are just a fraction too small for the job. Heck.
Well, that plan was short lived. Faced with the prospect of a rapid failure at the start of our auspicious mission, we dug through all of our machinery and trailer toolboxes and luckily, buried under some snow, in a toolbox we found a pipe wrench. That ought to do the trick eh!
Boom, now we were in business. Nuts have been undone, signs lowered to the ground and placed on our fuel trailer. Boy, I tell ya, those signs are alot heavier than they look in the pictures...this badboy is super heavy duty.
Luckily the rest of the trip to Wilkins is uneventful and we get these signs placed inside our mechanic Tyler's heated workshop, mainly 'cause I really wasn't sure about using a paint rattlecan outside in 30 knots at -28°C.
"If you're going to do a job, do it once, do it right," my mate Jack says to me, as he hands me a wire wheel for a cordless grinder. On go the ear muffs, glasses and workshop extraction fan, and we get to wire brushing the cracked paint and steel pitting back to a decent enough surface to repaint.
After a little while of prep and cleaning, we are ready for paint. Checking the Wilkins workshop flamables cabinet we have two paint choices - Random Red or Caterpillar Yellow. It's my lucky day; I love CAT Yellow!
After some tricky Macgyver handywork from yours truly, to remove some old dried paint blocking up the rattlecan nozzles, Jack and I are now painting. A few coats later and this Antarctic Circle sign is looking Micky Mouse.
Next up, the penguin cutouts. These had the same wire brush treatment as the circle sign, but this took all of my limited rattlecan and artistic knowledge to recreate the black and white penguin paint scheme that was originally featured. After a few coats I think we did a pretty good job that will stand the elements and test of time.
After some paint drying time and a few bumped knees in the very small workshop (sorry Tyler), the signs were moved back outside for storage until our next trip along the A-line, about 20 km from our camp.
Move forward a couple weeks and we finally have another supply-run to station, and even more importantly a decent weather window that will allow us to lift this rather large, heavy and cumbersome sign back into its home location.
Sign refit time!
Asher, Skinny Brad and myself have the main sign bolted back into position with minimal issues, surprisingly. The penguin cutouts also get fitted right up without a fight. What a team!
Next problem, the wind has been so fierce against this sign in the past that the steel tubes holding the sign up have been forced to lean towards the West. We sorted this too, checked all the bolts, gave ourselves a little pat on the back and grabbed some happy snaps for posterity.
All in all we are super thrilled with the outcome of the Antarctic Circle sign refurbishment. Hopefully it again stands proud for many more seasons, greeting, farewelling and remaining a bright spot in the memory of the amazing people that make up the Australian Antarctic Program and our esteemed visitors.
Now, let me take a selfie.
Tom Gersbach - Wilkins Aerodrome Plant Operator, Antarctic Sign Refurbisher and Genuine Yarn Spinner.
