tiabunna's photos with the keyword: Cape Denison

I'll leave Mawson's Hut with this stitched panorama. After visiting the hut interior, I felt the need to take it all in context, so I headed onto the ridge to the west. Mouse over the note at top left to view large. Near the hut is one of the more improbable sights: people queueing in Antarctica! They were waiting their turn to visit the interior. The smaller dots on the snow are Adelie penguins.

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914 established their base in the small inlet at far right, alongside Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay. To the left, the Antarctic ice cap stretches polewards. The site was chosen by the AAE because it gave a rock base and was free of sea ice. Only after the base was established, in calm weather such as we experienced, did the true nature of the area become apparent. Extreme and near-continuous katabatic (cold air drainage) winds howled down from the plateau, while one blizzard followed another - leading Douglas Mawson, the expedition leader, to describe the place as "Home of the Blizzard". To quote Wikipedia. "It is listed in both the Guinness Book of World Records and the Eighth Edition of the National Geographic Atlas as the windiest place on Earth with winds regularly exceeding 240 kilometres (150 mi) per hour and an average annual wind speed of 80 kilometres (50 mi) per hour". Panorama from stitched photographs. Mouse over the note at top left to view larger.

Section of the roof, showing the erosion of the timbers. Incessant blasting by snow carried by high winds has reduced the timber thickness, leaving nails proud of the surface and raised "shadows" where now-gone timbers have protected the surface for a period before being torn off by the wind. The capping on the left is steel.

If I had to choose my "ultimate wish" travel destination, this was it: I never expected to actually get there! One of only six surviving explorers' huts from the "Heroic Era" of Antarctic exploration, this was erected in late 1911-early 1912 by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-14, led by Dr (later Sir) Douglas Mawson. It is at Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay, south of Australia. The main hut on the right was the living quarters for 18 expeditioners, the hut to the left was the workshop. When this was taken, the latter had recently been fitted with an over-roof of new timbers to protect the original and deteriorating roof (and a similar protection has since been put over the main hut). The living area in the main hut was only 53sq metres (7.3x7.3) and was not just the sleeping space for the 18 men but also the recreation area, kitchen, laundry, Mawson's office, and Frank Hurley's darkroom. Around it was an enclosed verandah 1.5 metres wide, used for storage. In the foreground are Adelie penguins and sleeping Weddell seals. The strange tower on the hill is a modern addition with automatic equipment to monitor and relay conditions at the huts. Mouse over the note at top left to view larger.