How is it possible to choose your favourite moments in photographs from the thousands collected over three winters at Mawson Station spanning eleven years? Our carpenter, Scottish, has a go!

Highlights after three winters at Mawson

After 3 winters at Mawson and at least 25 visits to the penguins I thought I’d trawl the photos on my hard drive and select some of my best Auster / Macey photos.

3 cameras, 2 phones, and over 10,000 photos later – not to mention the countless bars of chocolate, Fray Bentos, numb fingers and toes – I have managed to whittle it down to just 12.

This was no easy task as every photo has memories. So instead I have tried to put those memories aside and just focus on the pictures.

Chris “Scottish” George - lord mayor of Rumdoodle and Macey huts (Mawson Carpenter)

A penguin is in the process of diving into an ice hole and into the sea in a series of six photographs.
A very large group of peguins are huddled together on the ice and steam is visible rising due to their warmth. In the background is a large iceberg rising from the ice.
A small emperor penguin chick is sitting on its parent's feet which is standing on the ice.
A large group of emperor penguin chicks are gathererd around one adult penguin. In the distance are many more penguins near large icebergs rising from the ice.
An emperor penguin is looking directly at the camera.
An emperor penguin has its head down to the side of its body and is scratching itself with its wing
A radiant, orange, sunset is visible on the horizon highlighting icebergs in the distance on the sea ice. In the foreground is a rocky island landscape.
Two emperor penguins are facing the camera with their heads bowed. In the distance are a number of icebergs rising from the sea ice.
A panoramic photograph showing a large line of icebergs rising from the sea ice and a large number of penguins in the distance huddled close together.
A very large number of emperor penguin adults and chicks gathered together on the sea ice.
A man in a red jacket is photographed looking towards the camera from behind a group of adult emperror penguins. In the distance over the sea ice is a large iceberg.
An Adélie penguin is looking directly at the camera on a rocky landscape. In the background are many more penguins moving over the rocks.

Emperor Penguins and Halloween Fun

Having decided as a station to take the Hobart Show Holiday on Monday in order to create a long weekend, it was somewhat disappointing to see the wind start to build and a blizzard well and truly set in on the Saturday. It continued into Sunday, and, with wind speeds gusting over 120km/h, any plans for exploration outside were definitely put on hold.

Instead, we took the opportunity to decorate the upstairs area for a wonderful Halloween-themed celebration. Some impressive (and some not-so-impressive) costumes were sourced from our extensive collection in the basement, and we gathered in candle-lit spookiness. Of course, to achieve such darkness, all the blinds had to be drawn as the sun was very much still bright in the sky well into the late night (it is currently not dropping below the horizon until after 9 pm!) Dancing until the early morning hours, perhaps it was a good thing that no one was leaving the building for most of Sunday anyway.

Thankfully, The blizzard cleared over Sunday, and we woke Monday to a beautiful, calm and clear day – perfect for another trip out to the Auster emperor penguin colony. As we know that our chances to visit the colony are rapidly coming to an end for the season with signs that the sea ice is already starting to break out on the edges to our north, we took advantage of the summery conditions to simply enjoy the time with the penguins which were noticeably more inquisitive of our presence. I say summery conditions, and it was for us. It surprises me how much we have all acclimatised as even though it was still around -10°C, the lack of wind chill had us taking off our jackets so we wouldn’t overheat. It is hard to imagine how we will cope when it rises above zero!

Cat (Mawson Station Leader)

A group of emperor penguins are gathered near a orange Hägglunds vehicle that is parked on the sea ice. In the distance are large icebergs rising from the ice.
A woman is smiling and looking at the camera as she kneels on the sea ice. Behind her is a large number of emperor penguins and on the horizon are large icebergs rising from the sea ice.
A man is kneeling on the sea ice and is surrounded by a large number of emperor penguin adults and chicks. In the background is a large iceberg
An emperor penguin chick is looking at two men who are photographing it. In the background is a large group of penguins near a number of large icebergs
A woman and three men are sittiing or kneeling on the sea ice looking at the camera. Just behind them is a large group of emperor penguins and in the distance large icebergs can be seen on the horizon.
The orange glow of the sun is visible on the horizon beyond an old building that sits atop a rocky, snow and ice covered hill. There is a large wind turbine to the left of frame and a satellite dome to the bottom right of frame.
A number of people are dancing in a bar area. Some are dressed in halloween costumes and there are red streamers and a balloon hanging from the ceiling. A video screen is on in the background.
A group of people aree gathered for a photograph. They are dressed in a variety of halloween costumes and there are red streamers hanging from the ceiling.

Emperor Penguin Chicks at Auster

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