Scott Base facilities taxed to limit

Press, 4 December 1979, Page 13

Scott Base facilities taxed to limit

NZPA Scott Base How do 68 people fit into 60 beds at New Zealand's Antarctic headquarters? That is the problem confronting acting base leader (Mr R. B. Thompson), who is director of the D.S.I.R. Antarctic Division. in the aftermath of the DCIO tragedy. The short answer, of course, is that they don’t. Temporary sleeping quarters in the base’s small library and workshops have been pressed into use to cope with the sudden influx of personnel involved in the crash investigation and recovery work. But sleeping accommodation is not the real problem, with anyone at the base easily able to throw down a sleeping

bag in a convenient corner. More critically strained have been the resources needed to serve such a big group. Catering and dining facilities have been taxed to the limit, ablution blocks overtaxed, and the base’s alw'ays-critical water problem heightened further. Fresh water at the base comes from melted ice and snow, and with eight people above normal capacity, water supplies are strictly’ limited. Showers are being reserved for people returning from hard physical activities to emphasise the need to conserve hard-won supplies. It is definitely out Of step to ask even for w'ater in vour whisky or brandy at the base bar, a popular

gathering point at the end of the day’s work. Mr Thompson has been high in his praise of the way Scott Base staff have responded to the pressures of the crash investigation. "Their reaction has typified the people w r e have working in Antarctica,” he said. “The people here have been well prepared to meet m. t circumstances, but we could never anticipate something of this magnitude. “The effect of the crash has been substantial. But it is typical of them that while the thought of the tragedy is uppermost in everyone’s mind, they are still able to talk of other things.” Among the hardest workers at Scott Base have been the four Post Office staff, who have had to cope with the big communication demand imposed on them by the crash. The team is led by Mr L. Slattery, of Christchurch, and includes two technicians, Messrs A. J. Haden, of Invercargill, and W. Zwart, of Wellington, and an operator, Mr J. Ross, of Motueka.

They will get some relief in the next day or two with the arrival from Wellington of another operator Mr B. Scammell.

The Post Office people have been working 18 hours a day keeping lines of communication open on the one radio telephone circuit to Wellington. Only official calls have been permitted into and Out of Scott Base with private calls virtually suspended — another hardship imposed on permanent Scott Base staff by the air crash visitors.

The presence of crash investigators has meant that the scientific and research programme at ScOtt Base has been seriously affected. All efforts are being directed towards the crash investigation; and 10 people from Scott Base will return home tomorrow earlier than usual to ease some of the pressure at the base.

Mr Thompson has had to cancel or delay a variety of programmes scheduled for the coming weeks. Two Members'of Parliament, Messrs P. C. East (Rotorua) and R. W. Prebble (Auckland Central) have had their December 9 trip to Scott Base postponed while a big group due on December 12 has also had to delay its immediate plans. This group includes a Canterbury University team which was to conduct biological studies on the Ross Ice Shelf; a marine biologist of the Oceanographic Institute; an architect working on Scott Base rebuilding; and two caretakers who visit the area maintaining three historic huts for the New Zeqjand Antarctic Society.