This week at Macquarie Island: 27 April 2012

Happy Birthday Glenn!

ANZAC day was remembered with a dawn ceremony on the beach at Macquarie Island. In the true ANZAC tradition the large contingent of Australians and New Zealanders from the ANARE 64^th and 65^th expeditions arrived in the pre-dawn for an ANZAC day commemoration that was both solemn and thoughtful. The flags were raised by different representatives from Australia and New Zealand and concluded with the singing of the New Zealand and Australian national anthems.

The Aurora Australis arrived at Macquarie last Thursday to deliver the incoming team for the next year and all their supplies. It has been a week now and most of the cargo has been transferred to the station, the ten field huts have been resupplied and the teams swapped over. It has been a very busy time, as the teams worked together with helicopters, LARCS (amphibious cargo vehicles), and heavy machinery to move tons of cargo and retrieve a large amount of materials to return to Australia for recycling or disposal. 35 scientists arrived and completed science projects ranging from work on the radio-nuclide detector through to collection of soil invertebrates from sites around the island, and collections of marine invertebrates from the tidal rock pools and kelp stands along the coast. Other parties were out in the field building sections of board walk, safety checking some of the field work sites and completing field training for a few of the incoming station staff. The days are long and busy, and everyone will breathe a sigh of relief when it is all finished. The station has been really buzzing with all the activity and the extra people on the island.

A big welcome to the new team for 2012 from the outgoing team. We have had a fantastic time in this very special place and we wish you all the best over the coming year.