Mawson cultural heritage

Mawson lies on the rocky shore of Horseshoe Harbour, 5462 kilometres southwest of Hobart and almost directly south of Pakistan.

The history of Mawson, the longest continuously occupied station on the continent south of the Antarctic Circle, began with the establishment of the station on 13 February 1954. The station has been an excellent launching point for journeys to explore the coast and hinterland.

Aluminium building on foreshore at Mawson with Thala Dan in Horseshoe Harbour 1960. Photo: Phillip Law

Mawson was established using barge caravans and post-tension buildings. Later, several buildings were relocated from Heard Island including:

• the seismology hut and meteorological hut, both known as ANARE Mark 1 (constructed 1950)
• the balloon hut (constructed 1951)
• the absolute magnetic hut (constructed 1951)
• the magnetic variometer hut (constructed 1951).

Amphibious aircraft were used to explore Antarctica in the 1950s. From 1956 to 1960 Royal Australian Air Force pilots and engineers were stationed at Mawson, making regular flights to support remote field parties, undertaking aerial surveys and, from 1957, providing an air link with Davis. Helicopters have become integral to Mawson operations since 1961, and from 1994, larger helicopters were introduced to carry expeditioners and cargo over longer distances, including between Mawson and Davis.

Dakota coming ashore at Mawson 1960. Photo: C. Armstrong

Parties venturing out from Mawson discovered and mapped Enderby Land and the Prince Charles Mountains, investigated the Amery Ice Shelf, explored the coast and offshore islands, studying the rich bird life, and they have traversed the vast basin of the mighty Lambert Glacier, the world's largest.

Mawson Station was added to the Register of the National Estate in 2001. Under new Commonwealth heritage legislation Mawson station was listed on the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.