A permanent, year round research station run by the Australian Antarctic Division, one of four such stations to be owned by Australia, the others being, Mawson, Casey and Macquarie Island. It is situated in the Vestfold Hills, south of Heard Island and south west of Australia. In 1935 a Norwegian whaling crew named the Hills, due to their supposed resemblance with the Vestfold province in Norway. The whaling Captain's wife, Caroline Mikkleson was the first woman to set foot in Antarctica and a cairn was erected in her honour near the site of the current station. Davis expeditioners found the cairn in 1960.
Both American and Russian exploration teams visited the area over the next twenty years, prompting Australia to investigate establishing a station there. It was revealed in later years that the Australian Government was keen to declare the area as Australian territory. In 1954 an ANARE team, headed by Dr Phillip Law, sailed off the coast of the Vestfold. Unable to find a suitable site and with time and supplies running low, they headed for a hut they knew to be in the area. Fortuitously, this site turned out to be appropriate and 5 men wintered over in 1957 at the newly built station, named after Captain John King Davis, Antarctic navigator.
Davis was closed in 1965 to free up resources for the construction of Casey Station, and was reopened in 1969, operating continuously to this day.
Scientific research conducted at the station includes biology, medicine, meteorology as well as atmospheric and space physics. Two important fields of science carried out at Davis are the study of the Earth's magnetic field and long term global climate change research. In any given year, up to 25 personnel will spend the winter at Davis.
Further information and a webcam can be found at,
http://www.aad.gov.au/stations/davis/index.html
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