Blaiklock Island
Our colleagues at the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust have completed one of their most ambitious conservation projects yet, at Blaiklock Island Refuge – a hut frozen in time in Marguerite Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula. The wild rocky site is one of the most remote places on earth and notoriously difficult to access.
Established in 1957, Blaiklock Island Refuge was built and used by early pioneers who created the first maps of the region. It is a rare example of an early sledging refuge which offered brave men a place to shelter and rest with their dogs. The site is brimming with artefacts which once supported basic survival making the museum in miniature a time capsule of Antarctic life.
The glacier which once surrounded the refuge is now open sea, and warmer conditions are causing faster degradation of wood and metal. The team has completed urgent repairs to the site, which included re-felting the refuge and strengthening the timber structure, as well as cataloguing artefacts and capturing digital footage.
Our Trust Heritage Manager Lizzie Meek travelled from Christchurch to Antarctica to lead the project. She says the team’s long and challenging journey to reach Blaiklock Island highlighted the impressive journeys made in the 1950s -70s.
“Those journeys were made using sleds and dog teams to cross miles of sea ice just to reach Blaiklock — before they traversed glaciers and climbed mountains to chart them.
“Our work to ensure Blaiklock Refuge is weathertight, rigged, fully condition assessed and catalogued has been rewarding. We were surprised and relieved to find the hut drier than expected, given its condition and location on the coast. I’ve enjoyed finding artefacts with connection to the sledging teams, including a stove box labelled ‘Vikings’, the name of one of the dog teams that travelled from Stonington Island to Blaiklock.”
