Bills blogs #12 -

#12 Tantalisingly close to Mawson February 28

What a beautiful sight this morning! A sunny perfect windless Mawson

day. One can well understand why ex Mawson 'explorers' drool over

the awesome scale and natural beauty of the station setting,

especially with this big patch of fast ice out front, the various

discreet mountain ranges starkly piercing the snowy plateau backdrop,

and a line of icebergs guarding the coast.

The only problem for us is

that we have been bashing our way through a barrier of thick fast ice

since yesterday am, so not much sleep last night. Aurora Australis

is really guzzling her fuel from the effort of it all - about 40

tonne per day - double the usual cruising rate. Each 100m charge

into the ice has only gained us about 50m. At last count we had

made about 4km with another 20 to go!

But helicopter operations

have now started with the first run being to deliver mail and fresh

food, returning with the Station Leader, Narelle Chapman, for a

briefing for all those going ashore.

If all goes well with the

weather and operations, three of us will be taken out to a field hut

at "Fang" Peak in the David Range, some 30km SW of Mawson for a night

followed by a further night on station. Yet another wonderful mini

adventure in this ever shifting kaleidoscope of Antarctic experiences.

#13 Mawson -Rumdoodle - Fang - Mawson Sun March 3.

The dream "Jolly" continues while the "A" factor bedevils the resupply

operation! Three of us, Peter Corcoran (remember VoMiT!), Andi

Smithies and myself, shoehorned ourselves into the immersion flying

suits with some necessary help and were helicoptered into Mawson

around 10h00 local time Friday. There we had time to help our

guide Rob Brittle (Field Training Officer) with some preparations for

our field trip to Fang Hut via Rumdoodle. We had a little time to

explore the station first while he delivered another group to "Hendo"

(Mt Henderson) in the one Haaglunds unit available, returning to

collect us. Then it was off over the endless expanse of blue ice

streaked with long broad splashes of white, up the edge of the

plateau and over to Rumdoodle to deliver a primus stove and share a

brew with another party doing a field training course. What a sight

those dessicated rock pinnacles are, piercing the plateau's ice

fields like jagged offset serrated teeth in a giant shark's mouth!

And it just kept getting better. We buzzed across from the Rumdoodle

serrations to the David Range serrations and one sharp edge in

particular, the appropriately named "Fang" peak. Through a gap

between the teeth, we turned right up a long snow bank complete

with an intricately sculptured wind scour that must have followed the

vortices of wind around the curved rock face which dropped into a

large frozen meltwater lake about the size of a big ice skating rink.

Where the snow bank ran up into the rock scree is Fang Hut tucked in

the lee of the Fang itself. Fang Hut is a very cosy little structure,

smaller than Platcha, so 4 large males had to sashay around each

other, taking it turn about even to change clothes. But we settled

in quickly, and Rob soon had a fine meal of a tomato-based 'soup'and

cuscous, preceded by biscuits and cheese, set in front of us. It

was gusting and overcast when we arrived, and overnight the INSIDE of

the hut went to -9deg, as the gas heater is turned off for safety.

But next day dawned without a cloud in the sky, although the wind

remained around 50kph, and before being collected by the helicopters

we had two magical walks, one to the ridge line leading up to Fang

peak from where we could look back to

Rumdoodle, and the other across the snow bank to the ridge

overlooking an expansive valley of blue ice and many crevasses across

to the Casey Range. No words I can find are adequate to describe

the awesome spectacle of Nature at her most majestic, yet seemingly

serene icy best. We all just sat there entranced and humbled by the

timeless infinity of it all, noting how our presence in place and

time was unregisterable on the scale of this landscape. I am sure

even our best photos will not do justice to the whole aura we

imprinted in our memories on that ridge line.

But I include 3 as a sample of what we saw.

One, from the window of our hut after the

-9Deg overnight ice crystals had cleared, the second looking back

down the long snow bank to the South Masson range, and the third from

the Fang ridge into the sun across the plateau towards Rumdoodle in

the North Masson range.

Even the helicopter ride back to Mawson was special as we were taken

over the wreck of the Russian plane, equivalent to our wartime DC-3,

that blew away from Rumdoodle many years ago, presumably while the

Russians were bivouacing there with one of our parties. It became

lodged in one of the many crevasses in the area, a total wreck, and

there it lies still. I heard part of a story about one of our teams

trying to recover an engine, but lost one of their vehicles in

another 'slot' on the way out. There's an intrepid yarn in there I

#14. Mawson March 3.

Ex Mawson 'explorers' are renowned for their bias, referring to

Mawson as "The Premier Station", and now I would have to say that in

terms of its overall setting and strong links to its history, this is

not unreasonable bias at all. Having now visited all 3 mainland

stations in short order, there is a stronger visceral feel about

Mawson as a polar outpost with a long tradition than was evoked by

Davis and Casey. Informal chat with other unbiassed travellers on

this voyage indicate similar feelings. Its a coalescence of factors:

the compactness of the buildings around Horseshoe Harbour with the

immediacy of the plateau and those wondrous mountain ranges behind;

the way the new buildings wrap themselves around the original

structures of Biscoe and Weddel Huts as though cherishing and

protecting that history; the creation of the "dog room" on the scenic

end of the Red Shed upper floor looking out over the harbour with its

guard dog at the entrance, dog photos on the walls and a fully laden

sled inside, all dedicated to the memory of the Mawson dogs; and even

the pseudo heritage wooden box filled with -dare I say lovingly

-restored "Playboy" centrefolds rescued from the ceiling of one of

the old huts and now placed at the head of the stairs leading to the

bar and rec. room.

There's a very real sense of living history here, from the wharf and

the walk past the bronze bust of Mawson by the flag poles, to the

various mooring bollards where ships have tied up here over the

years, even to the scatter of seal bones along what had clearly been

the dog lines of old. Back to the East, there is the old aircraft

hanger still in good shape, and seemingly being well maintained.

I had the privilege of a personal guided tour around the old

buildings by the Heritage Carpenter Mike Staples, who is doing a

superb job restoring Biscoe Hut after a near disastrous fire some

years back. Mike is funded from the insurance payout after the

fire, but is really concerned that even this wont fully cover the

outlays needed to complete the job.

[See note below on origin of Biscoe]

Mike has successfully restored the structural members, but he

would like to have any photos of how the inside was laid out in terms

of the partitions and other fittings. If anyone knows of photos of

the inside of the Hut which could be made available for the

restoration project, Mike would love to hear about it. Biscoe is

linked via a sealed 2m long section to "Weddel" Hut, which was one of

the original Australian made modular wooden huts shipped to Heard

Island in 1948 and relocated to Mawson in 1954. The unique feature

of Weddel is that every panel is identical so it could be placed in

the roof or wall. However, time and weather have played havoc with

the structural integrity along with some modifications made to the

hut, with the result that Mike is concerned about it collapsing in a

big blow. There is no plan to restore this hut, and perhaps this is

where old Mawson explorers could offer some financial aid through

bequests or up front donations to ensure the Weddel-Biscoe complex is

retained as a heritage site. Mike said the linking section housed

the early Met Observers equipment, another element of history to be

preserved.

I have chosen this non-traditional Mawson photo to exemplify the link

from the old to the very new in the 54 year story of Mawson. The

other shot is taken of the inside of Biscoe Hut.

Biscoe and Weddell.

Bill Burch

What a way to leave Antarctica! Flares rising into the sky from

Mawson Station, pancakes of new ice forming to herald the refreezing

of the sea in Kista Strait, a biting cold Katabatic rushing down from

the plateau to send us on our way, then the shadow of the ship

panning over the pale redness on nearby icebergs in the setting sun,

as we thread our way north through iceberg alley towards Hobart.

Its no surprise then that the men and women of the 61st ANARE are

being infused by the same spirit I was on the 14th ANARE at Wilkes in

1961, and it no doubt remains effectively unmodified since the very

first ANARE in 1947. That spirit in turn is a direct descendent of

what first drove the original explorers to Antarctica, of that I am

sure. It is ageless and self-sustaining as long as we keep our

stations in operation on this uniquely beautiful continent.

You can see it in their eyes, their whole bearing; they are a class

of people quietly and unconsciously set apart from others by what

they have seen and done as a shared experience, whether it be only

via round trips, summers, or the ultimate, a winter in Antarctica.

As one fellow traveller put it, "you cannot really find the words to

describe what Antarctica does to you, it has to be experienced".

All around me 'explorers' are talking of their forward plans, a

winter or another summer down here, yachting and other adventures in

far corners of the world, or simply going back to live in remote or

wild places in our own country. Not for them a permanent routine 9-5

working day, topped and tailed by a stressful commute in a big city.

That's for ordinary folks who have not been lifted onto that higher

plain an Antarctic sojurn inevitably creates. New friendships

forged on the ice are being reinforced by exchanges of addresses to

all points of the compass linked with promises to visit.

While there is a mounting excitement for home now, especially among

those who have just done the long haul at one stretch, like 2 summers

and a winter, many are feeling a little wistful about our leaving,

and even somewhat envious of two who have been given the chance to

remain at Mawson for the winter at the last minute.

Our immediate Past President, Syd Kirkby, penned a most eloquent

piece on the ANARE spirit for "Aurora" as part of the 50th ANARE

celebration (September, 1997). It was reprinted in the Club's

Jubilee book, and an excerpt is appended below. I stongly recommend

a re-read of it to remind us all of what its about. Syd's name and

reputation have been much in evidence on this voyage as his

biographer, Lynette Finch, has herself been absorbing that all

pervasive spirit while she visits the stations, and especially the

field huts like "Hendo", "Rumdoodle" and "Fang" at Mawson so that all

her senses are well tuned to the ambience for writing Syd's story.

What is a particular joy, is the degree of interest in the long

tradition and history of ANARE: the pride with which many wear

station logo shirts embroidered also with "61st ANARE"; the large

turn out to presentations about Wilkes all those years back; the many

questions on station life in those times from the current generation,

and the 20 new enrolments to the Club already on this voyage with 9

This cartoon by Nick Cartwright, which will be the rear panel of the

voyage T-shirt, aptly captures the 'A' factor - resolving by

practical unwritten solutions based on experience - the unexpected,

unscheduled issue like an iceberg blocking Horseshoe Harbour thereby

forcing the need to hold the ship close to the rocky edge in Kista

Strait for a day while pumping oil to Mawson.

It has been an honour and a privilege to represent the ANARE Club for

this voyage. I thank the NSW Branch for my nomination. The Voyage

Leadership of Nicki Chilcott, Rob Bryson and Peter Corcoran saw to it

that my journey was made so memorable, as did the Master, Murray

Doyle, and his crew on 'Aurora Australis' who are well integrated

with the expeditioners. All the men and women of the 61st ANARE on

the voyage and at the stations made me feel a welcome participant in

their adventure. Finally, on behalf of the club I wish to express

my gratitude to Tony Press and the AAD for making the whole trip

possible within a busy resupply program.