Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343:front:0:p52
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 134118–136985

AAE for whom the site was a base and home for two years. It is a memorial to the members who lost their lives, and also to the contribution that Mawson and his team made to Antarctic science and geography.

     Attributes:

    -          All of the historic fabric including its form, layout, setting, external relationship of buildings, and associated artefacts.

2.6 Natural Heritage Values

While the site is listed nationally and internationally for its historic values, it is also located in a wilderness universally recognised for its unique natural features. The natural setting of the site contributes to its aesthetic values. Perhaps the most striking natural feature of Cape Denison is the towering height of the Antarctic plateau. This ice cap extends along Commonwealth Bay in the form of huge ice cliffs, which periodically calve into the sea.

The huts, perched on a small rocky peninsula, are dwarfed by the vast Antarctic ice cap with its snow and ice scapes, rocks and relentless winds, convey a strong sense of time and isolation. As such, the setting meets criterion (e) on both National and Commonwealth Heritage Lists.

The ASMA management plan notes that there is a 'paucity of relatively ice-free areas in the immediate region', and therefore the rocky site offers habitat supporting an important assemblage of fauna and flora. Excluding the Antarctic Peninsula, only approximately 0.05 % of coastal Antarctica is ice-free, and the nearest ice-free areas of equal or greater size are approximately 20 km to the east, and approximately 60 km to the west.

2.7 Condition of Fabric

The condition of the fabric which reflects the site's heritage values has been assessed by various expeditions, particularly since 1984-85. Following an early AAD report on deterioration of the fabric at Cape Denison, the first formal condition report was prepared by Project Blizzard in 1984-86. Further assessments and observations made by subsequent expeditions were incorporated into updated but briefer condition reports in the conservation/management plans developed for the site. Recent expeditions working on the site have also reported the condition of the fabric.

Until the 1970s, most elements on the site were gradually deteriorating due to ongoing exposure. Since the expedition that built the structures only needed them to stand for a year or two, the fact that any buildings at all remain structurally sound many decades later was evidence of the effectiveness of the design, and the success of the AAE's subsequent efforts to weatherproof their base. In recent years, works parties have documented various aspects of the structures' deterioration, and submitted recommendations on the relative priorities for interventions.

Of the four key timber huts, two (both sections of the Main Hut and the Magnetograph House) are in sound condition;