Port Lockroy is a bay forming a

natural harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

on the north-western shore of

Wiencke Island Wiencke Island is an island long and from wide, about in area, the southernmost of the major islands of the Palmer Archipelago, lying between Anvers Island to its north across the Neumayer Channel and the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsul ...

in the

Palmer Archipelago Palmer Archipelago, also known as Antarctic Archipelago, Archipiélago Palmer, Antarktiske Arkipel or Palmer Inseln, is a group of islands off the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends from Tower Island in the north to Anvers ...

to the west of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

. The Antarctic base with the same name, situated on Goudier Island in this bay, includes the most southerly operational

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

in the world. The base was left unstaffed from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the museum house remained open to individual visits. On 4 October 2022 it was announced that a team of 4 women had been chosen to return to open the base for the summer 2022/23 season.

History

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 Jean-Baptiste-Étienne-Auguste Charcot (15 July 1867 – 16 September 1936), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a French scientist, medical doctor and polar scientist. His father was the neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893). Life Jean-Ba ...

in obtaining government funding for his

French Antarctic Expedition The French Antarctic Expedition is any of several French expeditions in Antarctica. First expedition In 1772, Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec and the naturalist Jean Guillaume Bruguière sailed to the Antarctic region in search of the fable ...

. The harbour was used for

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

between 1911 and 1931. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the British military

Operation Tabarin Operation Tabarin was the code name for a secret British expedition to the Antarctic during World War Two, operational 1943–46. Conducted by the Admiralty on behalf of the Colonial Office, its primary objective was to strengthen British claims t ...

established the Port Lockroy Station A on tiny Goudier Island in the bay, which continued to operate as a British

research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resear ...

until January 16, 1962. In 1996 renovation of the Port Lockroy base buildings was begun by staff from the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

, funded by the Government of

British Antarctic Territory The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories, of which it is by far the largest by area. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between ...

. The

United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust The United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) is a British charity, registered in 1993 and re-registered in 2015. The UKAHT is a member of the Antarctic Heritage Trust coalition. The UKAHT's Patron is Princess Anne, The Princess Royal. The ...

took over management and conservation of the site in 2006 and operates a museum and

staffed in the Antarctic summer (usually November–March). It is one of the most popular tourist destinations for cruise-ship passengers in Antarctica. Proceeds from the small souvenir shop fund the maintenance of the site and other historic sites and monuments in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. 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. A staff of four typically process 70,000 pieces of mail sent by 18,000 visitors that arrive during the five month Antarctic cruise season. A souvenir

passport stamp A passport stamp is an inked impression in a passport typically made by rubber stamp upon entering or exiting a territory. Passport stamps may occasionally take the form of sticker stamps, such as entry stamps from Japan. Depending on nationality, ...

is also offered to visitors.

Historic site

The historic importance of the site relates to both its establishment as an

base in 1944, and for the scientific work performed there, including the first measurements of the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...

, and the first recording of an atmospheric whistler (electronic waves), from Antarctica. It was also a key monitoring site during the

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; french: Année géophysique internationale) was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific ...

(1957). The site has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 61), following a proposal by the United Kingdom to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

Features

Jougla Point Jougla Point () is a point forming the west side of the entrance to Alice Creek in Port Lockroy, lying on the west side of Wiencke Island, in the Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica. It was discovered and named by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903� ...

, forming the west side of the entrance to

Alice Creek Alice Creek () is a cove forming the southernmost portion of Port Lockroy, Wiencke Island, in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica. It was discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903–05, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, and named by him for ...

Lécuyer Point Lécuyer Point () is a point which forms the south side of the entrance to the harbor of Port Lockroy, Wiencke Island, in the Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica. It was discovered and named by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903–05, under Jean-Bapti ...

, forms the south side of Port Lockroy harbor entrance

References

External links

*
British Antarctic Territory Government: Port Lockroy
*
Port Lockroy
, ''

UK Antarctic Heritage Trust The United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) is a British charity, registered in 1993 and re-registered in 2015. The UKAHT is a member of the Antarctic Heritage Trust coalition. The UKAHT's Patron is Princess Anne, The Princess Royal. The ...

'', Accessed 25 April 2010 *
British Antarctic Survey: Port Lockroy Station
, ''

Natural Environment Research Council The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences. History NERC began in 1965 when several environmental (mainly geogr ...

'', Accessed 25 April 2010 *
Images from Port Lockroy
*

{{Coord, 64, 49, 31, S, 63, 29, 40, W, display=title British Antarctic Survey Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica Museums in Antarctica Wiencke Island Ports and harbours of Graham Land Tourism sites in Antarctica Postal infrastructure Postal system of the United Kingdom

History

Historic site

Features

See also

References

Further reading

External links