Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

they had to be manouevred into position and driven down a rampart onto the No.3
hold hatch. It all went as quickly as possible. I talked with Doug Allen (Winter BC)
about the past winter, watched the operations and had a stroll on the ice. I started up
the skidoo to make sure that it would be all right for the next day. It was a quiet
evening as I packed stuff to take to the base. The sun shone above the horizon
around the clock.
We made a slow start next morning, but at 10 o’clock Eric and I sat on our skidoos
and set out for Old Halley. We refueled at the caboose in the creek and followed the
drumline, for about five miles. Allowing for its age (ten yrs) and its depth below the
surface, we found the old base was still in reasonable condition, although they had
let it go a bit in anticipation of the imminent move to the new base. We had a series
of talks with base members. The dormitory block was the worst affected by the ice
pressure, with its floors at all sorts of angles and my bunk sloped in two directions -
comfortable enough but cold. After lunch Eric and I drove over to New Halley; it
was overcast initially but we arrived in sunshine. The drive was about twelve miles
– upstream as it were - and there was a lot of sastrugi to cross; ‘Big Al’ Smith, leader
of the building team, was waiting for us and showed us around. It was very
impressive indeed in comparison to former bases. The basic concept was four
wooden tubes and a connecting tunnel in the plan of an "H". The tubes were
constructed of interlocking insulated wooden panels, 9 metres in diameter and about
40 metres long. Each of the four tubes contained double storey wooden huts. There
was evidence of good planning which gave a great feeling of space, with plenty of
storage areas. The living and dormitory blocks (A and C) were the only ones nearly
complete and they were a revelation. This must be one of the most comfortable
Antarctic bases. The lounge was very spacious, attractively and comfortably
furnished. The radio room was modern and well equipped. The generators were
enclosed in metal panels to reduce the noise, make use of waste heat (by ducting)
and make fire control (CO2) easier. The generator shed was a large cavernous space.
Workshops, refrigerated chambers etc all looked very adequate. The laboratory
block (B) was far from complete but one could see its potential. Altogether I found it
very pleasing, having followed the development from the initial concept. We drove
back to Old Halley in time for supper.
We were now at Old Halley, talking with base members individually. The overall
impression was that they were all much more relaxed and easy-going than was usual
at relief. Probably this was due to a fairly quiet mix of personalities and the fact that
the computer had taken a lot of the drudgery out of the data collection routines,
calculations and met statistics. The aircraft arrived with Garry Studd and Charles
Swithinbank - from the Pole. There was plenty to talk about their doings until after
dinner when they went to bed. Eric and I continued our talks with base members.
On 30 December we had a look at the outside facilities, including the AIS and VLF
experiments. The science was exciting and the instrumentation 'state of the art'.
Keith Yearby showed us round and I was very impressed too with the AIS dedicated
generator set-up. The rest of the day we talked with base members. At 6 o’clock I
addressed the whole base and then flew to New Halley with Garry. Eric and Charles
had left earlier by ground transport. We flew over the ship, the emperor penguin
rookery and the new base. There were two Russian ships nearby, noses into the
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