Australia’s most isolated weather and science research location in Australian territory will undergo significant renovations in the coming months, as carpenters, builders, asbestos remediators and electricians journey to Macquarie Island to complete the work.
The research station is home to 20 researchers and scientists and the renovations are the first for the location in 73 years.
Sussan Ley, Minister for the Environment, explained that the tradespeople will spend a year on the renovations, although the overall remodel will take up to seven years.
“The team of highly skilled tradespeople are prepared for all eventualities; they will be reusing and recycling as much of the infrastructure they can,” Minister Ley said.
“The World Heritage-listed Island is home to around 3.5 million seabirds, 80,000 elephant seals and about 20 expeditioners but no hardware store – so if they run out of nails, the nearest Bunnings is about 1500kms away.”
The renovations will include consolidating the current number of buildings and renovating to ensure ongoing operation year round, while refurbishing remote field huts and removing asbestos across the site.
“Renovating the current buildings will ensure the Macquarie Island station is functional and able to support long term science for all key stakeholders including the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency and the Tasmanian Government,” Minister Ley added.