Casey Station

Casey Station is a permanent base in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). It lies on the northern side of the Bailey Peninsula overlooking Vincennes Bay on the Budd Coast of Wilkes Land in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Casey is 3880 kilometres due south of Perth, Australia.

History

Casey is close to the now-abandoned Wilkes Station established by the United States of America to support science and exploration of Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in 1957–1958. The base was named after Richard Casey, Baron Casey.

Australia took over Wilkes after the IGY, but the American buildings were already unusable due to the build-up of ice around them. Australia built the first Casey Base (originally as 'Repstat') on the opposite south side of the Newcomb Bay in 1964 with works completed in 1969. This set of buildings was a unique attempt to prevent the problem of ice build-up by elevating the buildings on stilts, to encourage the wind to blow beneath as well as above, and connecting the entire line of buildings with a corrugated iron tunnel. This would, it was hoped, clear the buildup of snow each year, while allowing personnel to move between buildings without having to brave the elements. It worked for some time until corrosion occurred.