In photos: Blaiklock Island Refuge over the decades

As we prepare for a groundbreaking season of conservation at Blaiklock Island Refuge, we explore this remote site through archive photography.

#UnchartedAntarctica

In photos: Blaiklock Island Refuge over the decades

As we prepare for a groundbreaking season of conservation at Blaiklock Island Refuge, we explore this remote site through archive photography.

#UnchartedAntarctica

In photos: Blaiklock Island Refuge over the decades

16/01/2025

As we prepare for a groundbreaking season of conservation at Blaiklock Island Refuge, we explore this remote site through archive photography.

Soon, our field team will depart for the wild and remote Blaiklock Island Refuge in Marguerite Bay to complete one of our most ambitious conservation projects yet.

We are sending a team of four to Blaiklock, including artefact conservator and cataloguer Lizzie Meek, conservation carpenters Dale Perrin and Graham Gillie, and filmmaker Michael Duff. The team will use a sailing boat to access Blaiklock Island in what will be a once-in-a-generation moment for the charity. You can read more about conservation plans for Blaiklock here.

Blaiklock Island Refuge was established in 1957 and used intermittently from 1957 to 1958 as a refuge and satellite base for survey and geological parties from nearby bases including Base Y, Horseshoe Island, Base W, Detaille Island and Base E, Stonington Island. You can read the original report on the establishment of Blaiklock Island Refuge here.

Building the Blaiklock Refuge March 1957

Blaiklock Island Refuge under construction in 1957 (© Margaret Rothera)

Blaiklock provided men a place to shelter and rest with their dogs in bad Antarctic conditions. As such, it is a rare and unique example of a designated 1950s British sledging refuge.

Blaiklock is considered an integral part of Base Y, Horseshoe Island. In 1995, the two sites were collectively designated Historic Site No. 63 and have been managed by UKAHT since 2014. 

The original 1957 report of Blaiklock’s establishment (BAS Archives)

Blaiklock Island Refuge has been so infrequently visited since the 1950s that most people have seen very little of the site. When our team returns, we’ll have lots of new images and videos to share with you, but until then, we’re showcasing some archive photography to give an insight into this remarkable museum in miniature on the Antarctic Peninsula.

B&W photo of the finished hut

The finished refuge, 1957 (© Margaret Rothera)

 

A dingy ferries men to the RRS John Biscoe (© Margaret Rothera)

 

A bearded man stands in a doorway of the hut

John Rothera at Snowshoe Lodge, AKA Blaiklock Island Refuge, in 1957 (© Margaret Rothera)

 

A wide shot of a man standing besides Blaiklock Island Refuge

John Rothera at Blaiklock Island Refuge, 1957 (© Margaret Rothera)

 

Awider shot with snow everwhere and ice

Blaiklock with the sea ice of Bigourdan Fjord behind, spring 1958 (BAS Archives)

 

Blaicklock with drifted snow around the refuge hut in spring

Sledgedogs keep watch over Blaiklock in spring 1958. Note the drift snow piled up on the wall of the hut (BAS Archives)

 

A colour photo of the hut on a clear day with ice in the background

Blaiklock in summer 1958, with brash ice clogging the fjord behind (George Lamour/BAS Archives)

 

Blaiklock Island refuge with sledging gear piled around

Supplies and sledging gear piled around Blaiklock, summer 1958 (BAS Archives)


pages of the Visitors book 1966

The visitors' book, 1966 (BAS Archives)


Visitors book 1971 pages

The visitors' book, 1971 (BAS Archives)

 

Visitors book pages 1982

The visitors' book, 1982 (BAS Archives)

 

Visitors book pages 1995

The visitors' book, 1995 (BAS Archives)

 

A helicopter beside Blaiklock hut

Blaiklock was cleaned up and repaired during a conservation survey by BAS in 1996 (BAS Archives)

 

tools on the inside wall of the hut

The refuge’s interior, 1996 (BAS Archives)

 

cooking utensils and ingredients inside the hut

The refuge’s interior, 1996 (BAS Archives)

 

a white repaired door blaiklock

The refuge’s exterior following a hasty repair in 1996 (BAS Archives)

 

a page of the visitors' book

The visitors' book, 2002 (BAS Archives)

 

ruth on the roof while geoff takes a photo

UKAHT’s Ruth Mullett and Geoff Cooper briefly visited Blaiklock in 2021 and made some hasty repairs (UKAHT/Ruth Mullett)

 

The visitors' book, 2022

The visitors' book, 2022 (BAS Archives)

Special appeal: Blaiklock Island Refuge

Antarctica’s historic buildings are unique in the world, but they are vulnerable. Warmer, wetter conditions threaten the survival of these sites, and we must act now. We need your help to deliver conservation in one of the most challenging and remarkable places on Earth.

We have four options available, from funding essential tools and materials to sponsoring a conservation carpenter. However you choose to support Blaiklock, know that you've helped us expertly care for this very special place, protecting it for years to come.


Search #UnchartedAntarctica on social media.

Blaiklock Island The refuge in need of rescue

We are preparing for a groundbreaking season of conservation in Antarctica. This year, we are sending a conservation team to the remote Blaiklock Island Refuge in Marguerite Bay. The site is notoriously challenging to access which requires a significant amount of planning and preparation compared to our other heritage sites. Every donation we receive, no matter how small, helps our expert teams deliver vital conservation work at this unique site.

Donate to Blaiklock