1961 Winter Over Personnel of Wilkes Station
WILKES - Winter 1961 all IN on V2(60-61) Officer in charge: Neville Robert Smethurst Medical Officer: Mervyn Noel Orton Cook: Ronald Lester Maines Senior Diesel Mechanic: Hilton James White Assistant Diesel Mechanic: Maxwell George Berrigan Mechanic Driver: John McGhee Electrical Fitter-Mechanic: Arnold S Thorp Plumber: Maurice Geoffrey Hickey Supervising Technician (radio): Peter Bernard Stansfield Radio Officer: Stanley William Church Radio Officer: Thomas James Cordwell Radio Officer: William Edley Hogan Radio Officer: Raymond Melville Torckler USA? Biologist: William Stanley Wilson USA Assistant Biologist: Murray Robb USA ?? Technical Officer (biology): W Saunders Meteorologist: John E Breckenridge USA Weather Observer: Edward Charles Harrigan USA Weather Observer: Peter George Paish Weather Observer: Joseph (Sepp?) Stadler Weather Technician: George Larry Hemphill USA Technical Officer (ionospheric): Stephen William Grimsley Geophysicist: William Martin Burch Geophysicist: Fred Jewell Glaciologist: William Francis Budd
The station was manned during winter by 20 Australians and four Americans. Eight field parties travelled a total of 2400 km in mechanised vehicles and 1600 km by dog sledges. The main field journey was a seismic traverse taking three months and reaching 563 km south of the station.
On 8 November an American aircraft en route from Mirny to McMurdo called at Wilkes. Shortly after take-off the aircraft exploded resulting in five deaths. Four survivors were treated for burns at Wilkes before returning to McMurdo.
Reference "Antarctic Events Database" data of the Australian Antarctic Data Center
Wilkes 1961 Winter Crew
Large version of Wilkes base group photo 1961. Photo thanks to AAD Image Library.
