As the 78th ANARE settles into their new home and workplace, we spend some time exploring this amazing place.
At this stage we are largely confined to the station limits as our field and survival training is yet to come, but that provides opportunity to curiously check out buildings, hidden spaces, newly-scoped walking routes, local wildlife hangouts and admire at the surrounding scenery in all the contrasting lights.
The original Mawson Station buildings from 1954 are a significant highlight. They honour the Australian Antarctic exploration heritage, while also showcasing how comfortable the newer building are in comparison. The Old RAAF Hanger, which dates to the very early days of the station, also speaks to a different time of exploration. Then there’s the old dog kennels where the huskies would shelter, be fed and await their next worker mission.
The history is something that really makes this place special. The display in the Red Shed of the husky sledges, equipment, trinkets and tools, complements all the old photos, the generations of expeditioners who've walked the corridors and called this place home. The expeditioner and visitor signature book at the front door of the Red Shed (living quarters) is a great feature. The entries date back to the very beginning and is a record of continuity, commitment and resilience. The framed photo of Sir Douglas Mawson, hung above the taxidermied husky, adds to the layers of stories this place holds.
The colourful utility of the site service buildings, the mechanical workshop, the stores building, ops centre, ANARE sat dome, fuel storage tanks, science labs old and new, BOM infrastructure, wind turbine, explosive magazines, shipping containers storing precious cargo and countless radio transmission masts are becoming familiar places and reference points for when the weather turns to winter.
We are also starting to recognise the weather patterns that roll through this part of Antarctica. The renowned katabatic winds are a much talked about feature of Mawson, but truly an experience to be had in person. Winds to 30 knots blow from the early morning to late morning and you can almost set your clock by it. These rhythms of life will be ours to adapt to over the next 12 months.
Something that has really caught us all by surprise has been the generations of materials, waste, old containers, old equipment, decommissioned assets and frankly rubbish, strewn across the station. Perhaps it's not interesting enough to speak about openly, but it’s real and needs attention. The Cleaner Antarctica Program is a great initiative to quantify the issues and deliver a program of works that will be a true positive legacy piece. I think all Australians would expect that. Let's leave it even better then we found it, for we are just stewards for a short time.
