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From Military Operation to Tourist Attraction: The History of the Penguin Post Office

Peter Gale

Historic photo of Bransfield House, the building that currently houses Port Lockroy’s post office and museum. (Photo Credit: Peter Gale)

 

Port Lockroy on the Antarctic Pensinsula is home to 3,000 gentoo penguins and Antarctica’s most-visited tourist attraction, a unique British post office known informally as the ‘Penguin Post Office’. However, it wasn’t always this way. The port has at various times been a center for whaling, a military base and a scientific research facility. Click on the yellow nodes of the timeline below to find out more about Port Lockroy’s colorful past and the origin of the ‘Penguin Post Office’.

 

 

 

Sources:

Port Lockroy information sheet
Email correspondence with the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Credits:

Developer – Brian Santalone
Producer – Eric R. Olson

Special thanks to Lisa Avis of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust AHT logo new
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