The man with all the power

Press, 22 February 1978, Page 14

The man with all the power

The chance to repeat “the experience of a lifetime” is the main reason why 25-year-old John Thomson, from Temuka, has chosen to spend his second winter in two years in Antarctica. John was the mechanic in the Scott Base winter team of 1976 and at the end of this year’s term he will become the 16th man to have spent more than one winter there. John joined the R.N.Z.A.F. 10 years ago and trained as an aircraft technician. He spent some time at Ohakea before transferring to Wigram in 1975. He describes .his first winter in Antarctica as “the most interesting and satisfying employment I’ve ever had. “It’s sometimes a great effort to get things done —• there are highs and lows, of course, but it’s all part of a great personal challenge.” John is responsible for the running of all the mechanical equipment at Scott Base. This ranges from the two Caterpillar generators which provide the power and heating for domestic and scientific purposes, to the small motor toboggans which

are used for transport by summer field parties. A continuous supply of power is vital to the yearround scientific programmes which are carried out at Scott Base, so John also services two standby Lister generators which must be available at a moment’s notice. In a -land where water is scarce, fire is the greatest threat; and one member of the base staff

checks the generators and other electrical equipment every hour through the night. John spends most of his spare time at the ski-field, which he helped to construct, about 5 km from Scott Base. He has earned his Scott Base ski-club badge many times over. Would he go South a third time? “Possibly, but I doubt whether I’d winter over again. You can’t go on living that way forever,” he said.