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’.
01.01.1873
1873: Discovery
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Alfred-Wegener Institut
German explorer Eduard Dallman discovers Port Lockroy in 1873 while exploring the area for whales on board the ship Grönland.
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01.01.1904
1904: Port Lockroy gets its name
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Public Domain/Libary of Congress
Captain Jean Baptiste Charcot visits and charts Port Lockroy during the first French Antarctic expedition. Charcot names it Port Lockroy after French politician Édouard Lockroy who helped fund his expedition.
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01.01.1911
1911: Whalers move in
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Edward Hay
The Port becomes known as a safe harbor and is used by the whaling industry until 1931.
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01.01.1943
1943: Britain plans Antarctic base
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Ivan Mackenzie Lamb/British Antarctic Survey Archives Service (ref AD6/19/1/B160)
The British government mounts a mission, code-named Operation 'Tabarin' (named after a famous Parisian nightclub of the time), to establish a permanent presence in Antarctica.
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01.01.1944
1944: Base established at Port Lockroy
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Peter Gale
Britain establishes a base at Port Lockroy during Operation 'Tabarin', a British World War II expedition. The purpose of the Operation is to reinforce territorial claims through the establishment of a post office and a permanent British presence on the Peninsula. The main building, called Bransfield House, is constructed.
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01.01.1944
1944: Nissen hut constructed
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Peter Gale
A semi-circular steel Nissen hut is built at Port Lockroy and used for storage throughout the base's operation. The original building collapsed sometime in the 1990s.
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01.01.1945
1945: Scientific research begins
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British Antarctic Survey Archive (Image 1a42_7)
Following the end of the war the base is handed over to science. The British Antarctic Survey operates the base as a science research station until 1962. The primary scientific work at Port Lockroy was ionospheric research (the study of the upper atmosphere) which was critical in understanding high frequency radio. Other scientific work included the study of how lichens, birds and mammals survived the harsh conditions of the Antarctic.
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01.01.1962
1962: Base abandoned
The base is closed as the British have established other more modern science stations along the Antarctic Peninsula. It subsequently falls into disrepair.
01.01.1985
1985: Gentoos arrive
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Liam Quinn/Wikimedia
Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) are thought to have first established a colony on the island in 1985.
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01.01.1995
1995: Historic recognition
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Liam Quinn/Wikimedia
Port Lockroy's historical importance is recognized when an international treaty designates the site as Antarctic Historic Site and Monument No. 61.
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01.01.1996
1996: Restoration
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British Antarctic Survey (Image ad9)
The base is re-opened. A small team of four carpenters spends two to three months restoring the base as much as possible to its 1962 condition. An environmental monitoring program is established to investigate potential visitor disturbance to the gentoo penguin population.
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01.01.2006
2006: The 'Penguin Post Office' opens to tourists
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UK Antarctic Heritage Trust
The United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust takes over management of Port Lockroy. The UKAHT, a not-for-profit charity, employs a small team during the summer months to operate the base and welcome visitors. It is operated as a museum and representative British Antarctic base from the 1950s. The small gift shop and post office help to finance the operation of the museum, ongoing maintenance work to the buildings at Port Lockroy and all the conservation work that is carried out at other Historic Sites and Monuments on the Peninsula.
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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