The journey to get to this point has been nothing short of amazing. Who would have thought seeing orcas out the window while eating lunch was a possibility?
Here's a sneak peek at what it’s like to be a plumber at Mawson station.
We start our day with a 7:30 am pre-start with all trades. We take a look at the weather and we go around and talk about what work we’ll be doing for the day and bring up any safety concerns. After this we’ll take a walk up to the 'melt bell' which is where we source our drinking water from. I’ve attached a photo below of the melt bell. How it works is hot water circulates constantly through the copper system, the melt bell, to stop the water from freezing. Then every morning we turn the pump on, which fills our tanks ready for the station to enjoy fresh water.
Second stop of the day - the incinerator.
For the plumbers, our side hustle is as garbage men. All rubbish that’s not getting returned to Australia (RTA) will be taken to the incinerator, which is called 'Warren'. Warren has two burners, reaches up to 650 degrees Celsius and goes for about three hours. As you might guess there’s nothing left but a bit of ash, which we collect and put aside ready to return to Australia.
Once these jobs are done we head to the computer to check out what other work/inspections need to be completed for the month. But I won’t bore you with any more plumbing jobs.
Another job is called 'slushy' - a fan favourite that everyone gets the chance to do. You get to be the chef’s sidekick for the day, which involves chopping veggies and doing the dishes. With banter with Kez (our chef) and music of my choice playing loudly, it’s easy to create a good vibe for the day.
We knock off at 4 pm, so there's time to enjoy some free time. A popular thing to do is go for a walk around station. We haven’t yet completed our field training so we are confined to our station limits, but going for a walk along the station coastline is nothing short of amazing. If nature isn’t your thing, don’t worry. The dart board in the bar gets a serious workout, and you’ll find a lot of people tightening up their skills for the upcoming darts competition.
Jacob Sinclair - Plumber
