Australian expeditioners celebrate Mawson Antarctic research station's 70th anniversary

The 10-man team that established Australia’s Mawson Station in 1954. (Supplied: Australian Antarctic Division)

It’s been many years since Mark Curran first set foot in Antarctica, but the ice scientist still recalls the sheer awe of arriving at Mawson Station — Australia’s first permanent research base.

“It just absolutely blows you away how amazing the scenery is,” Dr Curran said.

“The station seems so small amongst this vastness … [it] was quite beautiful.”

These days, the 54-year-old leads the Australian Antarctic Division’s ice core research group.

But back in the summer of 1991-92, he was a young scientist who spent a handful of days at Mawson Station during a voyage aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australis.

One of Dr Curran’s most memorable experiences was venturing out on a “brutally cold” day to meet some of the station’s friendliest residents.

The huskies, which were used to pull heavy sledges across the ice during scientific expeditions, had been at Mawson since 1954, when the station was first established on this day 70 years ago.

For Dr Curran, the huskies were a joy to play with.

“They [would] jump up and give you a big hug and you’ve got to scratch them and pat them and whatever,” Dr Curran said.

“It was amazing experience.”

Besides their utilitarian value, the dogs played an important role in providing companionship to expeditioners who had to endure months away from family and friends.

“If people were having a bad day, a bit of [a] disagreement with someone or things maybe not going their way, I’m sure you could just go down and lose yourself on the dog line,” Dr Curran said.

“And by the time you’ve hugged 15 or so dogs, you’re probably feeling better.”

But within a year of his brief visit, none of the huskies remained at Mawson.

An international protocol meant all non-native species (besides humans) had to be removed from Antarctica, with the dogs relocated initially to Australia and later to the United States.

From rudimentary huts to a modern base with creature comforts

While the dogs are long gone, their historic connection to the station remains strong.

Among the memorabilia held on site are two taxidermied huskies, one of which is on display beneath a portrait of the station’s namesake, Sir Douglas Mawson.

There are also several dog sledges, including one still set up as if it is about to head off on a long-range traverse of the ice.

For Cat Humphries, who was station leader at Mawson last year, the huskies are a poignant reminder of Australia’s seven-decade presence at the site.

“Even on some of the trips out over recent years, we’re still finding some of the remnants of when the dogs did the long distance [missions] of hundreds of kilometres inland and across the sea ice,” Ms Humphries said.

Other heritage items also remain, including some of the first rudimentary huts that were built in the months and years after a small group of expeditioners did their first winter at Mawson in 1954.

“Trying to imagine 10 to 15 people all enclosed in what is really quite a small building, and living through those blizzards and possibly having weeks on end where they’re really not going out, is quite eye opening,” Ms Humphries said.

These days, expeditioners have their own bedrooms, as well as a dining hall, home theatre, small gym, pool tables and access to the internet.

They are necessary comforts in a place where temperatures regularly drop below -25 degrees Celsius and wind gusts reach cyclonic speeds.

“We do enjoy it these days in comparison to what you can imagine those first explorers had 70 years ago,” Ms Humphries said.

“The great part about Mawson is you can still see that history there … you can see what it was like for them.”

Resupply voyages keep stations operational over long winter

Mawson Station is one of Australia’s three permanent bases on the continent (along with Davis and Casey) and provides a platform for a range of scientific programs.

These include everything from monitoring radionuclide atmospheric samples to studying penguins and seabirds at nearby colonies.

“It is very important to have the stations well set and well maintained,” Ms Humphries said.

“And that’s our job as expeditioners — to conduct that work year-round, to make sure that we continue that on behalf of the nation and on behalf of the world.”

Situated on a small rocky outcrop next to Horseshoe Harbour, the station is more than 5,000 kilometres south-west of Perth.

To ensure it can operate throughout the year, the Australian icebreaker Nuyina is about to depart Hobart carrying essential supplies and a new team of expeditioners and scientists.

The ship is expected to take almost three weeks to reach Mawson after initially picking up helicopters from Casey Station.

“We have about 57 expeditioners in total onboard the ship when we depart,” voyage leader Chris MacMillian said.

“That is including 20 people that are going to winter at Mawson.”

The ship will deliver about 580,000 litres of special Antarctic-blend fuel to provide energy throughout the winter.

Ms MacMillian has led two previous voyages to Antarctica, and spent a year as station leader at Casey, but this will be her first visit to Mawson.

“I think that all those early explorers that went into Mawson and across [the] continent were amazing in what they did with what they had,” she said.

“I feel privileged to follow in those footprints.”

She said they set up a vital platform for Australian researchers.

“When you look at the conditions they had, the vessels they used, the ingenuity they had to be able to establish a station in the continent, I think that that desire to continue that tradition, to work hard for science and the environment, has remained strong through the 70 years of our program,” she said.

“And I think those that work within it really feel privileged to be part of it, helping to continue that tradition into the future.”

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