This week at Mawson: 3 March 2023

Born in the York hospital in February 1989, I was raised in that small town in the West Australian country. Growing up, my weekends as a kid involved horse riding, motorbikes and annoying my siblings. I attended York District High School from pre-primary in 1994 to year 10 in 2004. From there, I went to Northam Senior High for years 11 and 12 and was involved in a school-to-work programme where I worked two days a week at the local computer shop – York IT – and attended school the other three days. During this time, I gained a Cert II in Information Technology. I continued to work full-time at York IT for a year after completing year 12. During this time, I developed a keen interest in tinkering with electronics and fixing (mostly breaking) electrical and computer equipment.

After working at York IT, I completed an apprenticeship with the Public Transport Authority in Electronic servicing Telecommunication and remained working there in various roles over the next 15 years. Such roles have ranged from being a Technician in the Communications division to, more recently, being the Technical officer for the Data section working alongside a dedicated group of technicians in Train Control. At the PTA, I have helped maintain a wide range of systems on the rail network throughout Perth. One of my favourite parts of the Technical Officer Data role has been assisting the new apprentices entering the PTA apprentice program as they move through the various sections.

In 2017 I married my wife Kira in a small ceremony at a farm outside of Bridgetown, WA, surrounded by family and friends. In 2019 we bought a place in the hills surrounded by gardens and wildlife, and we now call Kalamunda home.

For a long time, I had looked at applying for a role with the Australian Antarctic Division. In July of 2022, after a bottle of wine late one evening, I mentioned to Kira that the applications were open for the Communications role again. I believed Kira was tired of me talking about it but never going for it, so she insisted I apply for the advertised position. In October, I was offered a job with the Australian Antarctic Division as the Senior Communications Technical Officer at Mawson station.

So many aspects of our lives have changed since that night, from the chaos of packing (why on earth did I pack so many shorts?) to living with a small team of people I had not even met just six months ago. I had heard a few repeating stories from people that have wintered before; Yes, the place is amazing and is full of wonders you will not see anywhere else on this planet, but what really makes it is the people, and that could not be more accurate. When time permits and the wind isn’t trying to cut us in half, I aim to further a few hobbies of mine. I recently obtained my Amateur Radio license, and I plan on broadcasting from Mawson with my call sign Victor, Kilo, Zero, Alpha, Whiskey. I also have a passion for wildlife and landscape photography, and happily enough, Mawson station is a postcard for both.

I am looking forward to the coming year, when we will experience a winter where temperatures will fall lower than −30C, wind speeds will reach over 150 km/h, and the sun doesn’t rise for over a month. This has already been a terrific experience, and it has only just begun.

Allan (Mawson SCTO)

After emerging relatively unscathed from the 85 knot wind gusts of our first blizzard, the Mawson 76th ANARE team focussed on preparing and training our expeditioners to be able to respond to emergency situations.

This period - referred to as the Operational Recess Period – saw the whole station conduct a number of drills and walk-throughs of possible scenarios. Our initial firefighting team, trained during the hand-over from the 75th, continued their training and conducted simulated call-out drills with the second team to prepare them for the mid-week hand-over of duty. Some Adélie penguins also tried to get in on the action, waiting patiently by our firefighting Hägglunds vehicle in case they were needed. The entire station also gathered in the mess to step through a simulated search and rescue scenario. This scenario envisaged an expeditioner separated from others on the ice plateau in poor weather. Whilst unlikely to occur due to our careful planning procedures for all field travel – such practice scenarios reinforce a culture of safety in all expeditioners, and an ability to respond quickly should something go wrong.

With such dedication from the whole team, all requirements of the Operational Recess Period were completed in good time, allowing some ability for a few brave souls to stay up late enough (it is still twilight until at least 11pm here!) to watch the Aurora Australis play across the sky above the station. Cameras were brought out into the −15 degree night to attempt to capture the fantastic dancing colours. Admittedly some of us were less experienced photographers, and any good results were pure luck.

Cat (Mawson SL)