Port Lockroy
| Port Lockroy | |
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|---|---|
 Port Lockroy museum | |
| Location: | 64°49’30"S, 63°29’38"W |
| Information | |
Port Lockroy is a natural harbour on north-west shore of Wiencke Island off Graham Land in the British Antarctic Territory, and the name of a base on the tiny Goudier Island in the bay. The base has a museum and a post office; the most southerly operational post office in the world. The base was unstaffed after 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reopened. The museum house is unlocked and remains open to individual visits. On 4 October 2022 it was announced that a team of four women had been chosen to return to open the base for the summer 2022/23 season.[1].
The bay was discovered in 1904 and named after Edouard Lockroy, a French politician and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, who assisted Jean-Baptiste Charcot in obtaining government support for his French Antarctic Expedition. The harbour was used for whaling between 1911 and 1931. During the Second World War, a British military operation, Operation Tabarin, established Port Lockroy base (Station A) on Goudier Island in the bay, which continued to operate as a British research station until 1962.
In 1996 the Port Lockroy base was renovated and is now a museum and post office operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. It is designated as Historic Site no. 61 under the Antarctic Treaty and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Antarctica. Proceeds from the small souvenir shop fund the upkeep of the site and other historic sites and monuments in Antarctica.[2]
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The Trust collects data for the British Antarctic Survey to observe the effect of tourism on penguins. Half the island is open to tourists, while the other half is reserved for penguins.
Outside links
- Gazetteer and Map of The British Antarctic Territory: Port Lockroy
- Port Lockroy - UK Antarctic Heritage Trust
- British Antarctic Survey: Port Lockroy Station
- Images from Port Lockroy
References
- ↑ 'Four women to run post office and count penguins in Antarctica': BBC News 4 Oct 2022
- ↑ "Port Lockroy Station". British Antarctic Survey. http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/about_bas/our_history/stations_and_refuges/port_lockroy.php. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
