In a previous life, I wintered in Antarctica as part of ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition) and this month travelled to Hobart for the 25th Anniversary of that winter – Davis 1982. I had wintered also wintered at Davis in ’72 but that is another story.
As you would expect, over the 25 years there have been some changes. ANARE is now part of AAP (Australian Antarctic Programme) which sounds nowhere near as exotic but is probably a more accurate reflection of the times. Day One was a visit to the AAP offices. In a way nothing had changed, there were the usual stunning photographs on the wall, the names were different but the faces were the same. As luck would have it, Dr. P. G Law was visiting the offices. Dr Law now well into his 90’s and looking frail is a legend in the Antarctic community. He was the first director of the then Antarctic Division and more than anyone else, greats like Mawson notwithstanding is the father of the modern Australian presence in Antarctica. I had by coincidence met him in about 1969 and in one sense he was part of the catalyst that had me joining the 1972 Expedition. It was then and it was now an honour to meet him.
In 1982 excluding the people that visited Davis during the summers, there were 26 of us that actually wintered. 19 made it to Hobart which was a credible result. Over the years, thinning of the ranks had taken place with 2 expeditioners no longer with us, the 2 non-Australian scientists (Russian and Chinese) that wintered were unable to attend and three others were unable to make it due to other commitments.
Time takes its toll and some people had changed but some also seemed unchanged. It was a relaxed 3 day affair with an event each day but lots of recovery time built in to the programme. Yes, copious amounts of alcoholic beverage were consumed, stories retold that had got better from 25 years of honing with the telling and a good time was had by all. The generally agreed plan is to do it again in 5 years. Looking forward to that.