Mawson's 79th ANARE/AAP expeditioners celebrate Midwinter in style.

2026 Winter solstice celebrations at Mawson

On Sunday 21st June, the 79th ANARE/AAP team at Mawson station joined other Antarctic/sub-Antarctic stations and communities to celebrate Midwinter day, arguably the biggest day in the Antarctic calendar.

We celebrate Midwinter day on the winter solstice. This is the shortest day of the year with the least amount of daylight hours (although here at Mawson we haven't had a true sunrise/sunset since 14 June and have our next one on 29 June). The day traditionally includes a swim, gift giving and a feast as a wintering family. To mark the day this year, we had suitably Antarctic weather, complete with a 99 knot (183 km/h) wind gust and blizzard conditions for much of the day. Not conducive to completing the swim - although during the swim preparations we did have a little seal visit to see what all the fuss was about.

We started our Midwinter day with a brunch, lovingly prepared by some of the crew (shout-outs to Charlie K and Pat). Next came the traditional Midwinter gift-giving, where some of our talented expeditioners made some amazing gifts, ranging from coasters to framed paintings. We then settled in to watch some messages from our family and friends – there were certainly a few laughs and a few tears amongst the crew. After some well-needed recharge time, we all donned our formal attire of suits and dresses in time for canapes in the bar prior to our evening Midwinter dinner. Our incredible chef Jordan took it up a notch, preparing a three-course feast. Toasts were given (with a couple of excerpts below) and conversation flowed before our Mawson family photo. Our night was completed with some live music and karaoke until the wee hours.

On Behalf of the Mawson 79th ANARE, we'd love to wish everyone a happy Midwinter. We now look forward to the days getting longer and hopefully completing our Midwinter swim in the coming week (weather dependent) with or without some seal friends.

Toast to our friends and family back home (delivered by Cris Ambrozie):

It takes a special kind of patience to love someone who chooses to spend a year in Antarctica. Thank you (to them) for putting up with the distance, the silence and the missed moments while we are down here. They might be half a world away, but they are with us tonight. To our loved ones.

Toast to expeditioners past and present (delivered by Deb Holmes):

To those of the heroic age of explorers, such as Mawson and Shackleton, we thank you for starting the explorations of Antarctica. Thinking about experiencing these harsh conditions without the comforts of the red shed is truly humbling. To the ANARE expeditioners of the last 78 years, we thank you for paving the way to our own Antarctic journey with the Australian Antarctic Program. We hope to continue your legacy for future Antarctic seasons to come. Finally, to all the 79th ANARE expeditioners at Casey, Davis and Macquarie Island, we wish them a happy and safe rest of the season. We may have our battles in darts...but we are all still the same ANARE expedition.

Toast to the 79th ANARE/AAP expeditioners of Mawson (delivered by Dave Buller):

I thank everyone for everything that you bring to our team, our community and our station…both individually and collectively. I am honoured to spend this special occasion with you all. We are Mawson’s 79th ANARE and no-one else will have license to claim this. I therefore have the pleasure of the last official toast and that is to us: the 2026 Mawson 79th ANARE expeditioners. To Mawson’s 79th !

Compiled by Deb Holmes - BoM Observer

An expeditioner surveys the array of seafood being plated up in the kitchen.
Chef Jordan putting the finishing touches on one of the desserts.
Picture of multi-layered desserts with colourful dried raspberries and mint on top.
Expeditioners carrying food dishes from the kitchen, to be placed on the dinner table upstairs.
Chef Jordan giving instructions to a couple of expeditioners on food preparation and delivery from kitchen to dining room.
Expeditioners carrying food dishes from Kitchen - to be placed on the dinner table upstairs.
Expeditioners carrying food dishes from Kitchen - to be placed on the dinner table upstairs
Expeditioner carrying food dishes from Kitchen - to be placed on the dinner table upstairs
Four different dessert dishes on display in the dining area
Picture of two menus showing options on offer for the night
All of Mawson's expeditioners having a casual group photo in the historic 'Dog Room'
Expeditioners sitting at the dining table, surrounded by plates of food and decorations.
Expeditioners sitting at the dining table, enjoying food and drink.
Two expeditioners posing for a photo at the dinner table.
Expeditioners at the table listening to the midwinter speech.
An expeditioner at the dinner table holding an unknown book.
Two expeditioners with guitars ready to play some tunes.
An expeditioner getting the keyboard ready to play, with a guitarist in the background.
An expeditioner laughing at the bar.
An expeditioner standing in front of the bar - apparently deep in thought.
Two expeditioners posing together for the camera.
An expeditioner reading a poem in front of other expeditioners.
Two expeditioners sitting at a table in the bar area, surrounded by photos on the wall behind.
An expeditioner in the bar area, wearing sunglasses.

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