tiabunna's photos

From an old negative. I've at last found my negatives from Mawson (I used two camera bodies, one with slides one with B/W). So I'm going back to the start of the 1966 Spring Trip from Mawson, showing two tractors hauling caravans to the plateau. Once there, the caravans and sledges were organised into trains. The husky pups really aren't hauling anything. :) Minolta SR1 with Adox film, Auto Rokkor 55/1.8.

From an old slide. To quote from my 1966 diary "Arrived at the top and what a view. As far as the eye could see to the south was just mountains, mountains and more mountains! The nearest ones were about 15 miles away, the next lot about 30, and we estimated mountains some 100 miles distant were visible..." OK, this photo was taken in a slightly different direction, but it gives the idea and shows the two drum survey trig point marker being erected. I wonder if it's still there. To see the location of this photo, click on "Antarctica" under "Location" to the right and change to satellite view. Kodachrome slide, Minolta SR1, Auto Rokkor-PF 58/1.4 .

From an old slide. Heading for Peak 7, about 170 miles south of Mawson, Antarctica. Sunset was about 2230 and the sun then travelled along just below the horizon, so we made the most of the good weather and travelled late into the night. Minolta SR1, Auto Rokkor_PF 58/1.4 .

Clear weather and good travelling. With frequent fuel stops, we made a little over 25 miles (40 km) on our best day: the D4 tractors rattled along at about walking speed. Given the right conditions, such as this, walking alongside was enjoyable.

From an old 1966 slide. Not long into the Spring Trip we had our first of many blizzards, and "blizz'd in" was the term. Typically, after waiting several days for the wind and drifting snow to finish came another day of digging out buried sledges and equipment before we could move. Here the pre-heater (the item with the large yellow tube) has been attached to one of the D4 tractors, which has the engine covered in the heating shroud. Best viewed on black (press Z).

From an old 1966 slide. Looking across from Mt Twintops toward Mt Hordern. Antarctica has a habit of making you feel awfully small. The colours in this slide were showing their age a little - I've done my best to fix them.

From an old 1966 slide. Looking down on our tractors, caravans, and the tracks we left as we arrived. This was our first base camp on the field trip. (Suggest viewing on black).

From an old 1966 slide. The major field trip away from the station was the Spring Trip, here seen at its first stop. This was to the northern Prince Charles Mountains and involved seven of us surveying previously unvisited mountains, some 300 km inland - we were away for four months. Everything was moved in caravan trains, drawn by D4 bulldozers. Only a short distance inland, the blue ice seen at the edge of the plateau gives way to compacted snow, carved by the wind into waves known as "sastrugi", as seen here.

From an old 1966 slide. This group of serious looking people was part of one of the doctor's regular experiments on acclimatisation (generally called "cold runs"). The idea was to stand around outdoors for a given period, then record how cold it felt ... goodness knows if it proved much!