Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L00160:body:0:p6
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L00160
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in a day and were to become the preferred construction method throughout the Antarctic.
The first wintering party of ten members erected three other buildings, one of which remains—the living quarters – Biscoe Hut. Biscoe is the only timber frame and timber board clad structure to be erected on an Australian station. It was manufactured in Norway for the Norwegian-Swedish-British Antarctic Expedition. When it was not able to be transported to Maudheim it was left in Cape Town where it was purchased for use at Mawson.
Makeshift maintenance was constantly required, equipment was trialled with varying degrees of success, and the long winter was punctuated by arduous field sorties. Australia's interests in the Antarctic matured and the station came to be viewed as permanent rather than an annual prospect. Ten more huts were erected during the hand-over to the OIC of
the 1955 Mawson party, John Béchervaise. From 1957, the station hub centred on 'Coronation St' –  Weddell hut, Shackleton hut, the Mess, Wilkins hut, Ross hut and Law hut. It was during this period that the station began to take on a distinctive village feel.
As Australia's earliest station, Mawson was, by default, a test site for an evolving prefabricated panel system, particularly four successive versions of a post-tensioned box (PTB) construction, the first two of which (Mark I and Mark II) were developed for Heard Island and Macquarie Island. These building types, prepared by the Department of Works on the advice and request of the Antarctic Division, had to be readily transportable by ship and small unloading craft, quickly erected by unskilled labourers (i.e. scientific parties) and easy to heat and maintain. Two Mark I and two Mark II buildings were moved to Mawson after several years of service on Heard Island in 1954.
The basic structure of a Mark III (and beyond) evolved in light of increasing familiarity with Antarctic conditions. Although aspects of the building remained the same as its predecessors, various alterations and improvements were made. The method of fixing the panels from which the building was constructed to the building frame changed. Instead of bolting (Mark I) or using external brackets to join the panels together (Mark II), the panels were attached using horizontal clamping rods which ran through each panel. These rods were then tightened from the outside of the building to compress the rubber seals, and then the exterior and interior surfaces were covered with a latex based sealant called 'Hornex'. The effect of the clamping rods was to sandwich the several layers of cladding together.
The first building constructed at Mawson using this method was the Electricians' Workshop (originally the Works Hut). Mark III buildings also featured:
       * improved insulation, including