The last living member of the 10-man team that built Australia's Mawson Station in 1954 has passed away in Brisbane, aged 101.
A legend of Australia's Antarctic exploration history, John Russell sailed to the icy southern waters on the MV Kista Dan to construct the first permanent structures that became Mawson Station 68 years ago.
Located about 5,200km south-west of Perth, Mawson Station is the longest continually operating facility south of the Antarctic Circle.
As a young English diesel fitter and engineer fascinated with the ice-floes and wintry weather of the far south, Mr Russell came to Australia hoping to join the country's growing involvement in Antarctica.
War and peace
World War II, however, put Mr Russell's dreams on hold.
He enlisted to fight for his adopted homeland of Australia but was later discharged after weeks of serious illness in Alice Springs.
Fully recovered, and with his original division already overseas, Mr Russell signed up to relieve the crew of British troop carrier Aquitana, spending weeks working in the ship's engine room.
After his maritime career ended, Mr Russell returned to Australia and joined the civilian construction group sent to rebuild a shattered Darwin after the bombing in 1942.
It was known as the Darwin Overland Mobile Force.
But as Australia slowly recovered from war and turned its attention once more to the south, his Antarctic dream remained very much alive.
Sir Douglas Mawson had been championing for an Australian commitment to invest in Antarctica and, in 1947, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) was launched
Mr Russell's opportunity came when he was appointed engineer for ANARE and a telegram summoned him to Melbourne.
Embarking on icy adventures
Mr Russell travelled to Macquarie Island in the winter of 1949, Heard Island in 1952, and then began work on the project to build Mawson Station in 1953.
His role was challenging — modifying equipment and machinery so the team could work in Antarctica's freezing conditions.
Working in Melbourne, the team sourced and developed pre-fabricated buildings that could be quickly put together on-site to form what would become Mawson Station.
The team set sail on the MV Kista Dan in 1953 and by February 1954 arrived in Horseshoe Bay.
"The only place we could find which looked possible from aerial photographs for this particular base, [was] with a fairly narrow entrance into [Horseshoe Bay],' Mr Russell told the ABC last year.
"Around the bay were little bare-nosed rocks sticking out, and one big rock shelving down from the ice.
"That's where we built the base and it's still there today."
He said the team had to work fast, with the ship staying put for 10 days, by which time they had built the kitchen, living area and two store huts.
By the end of 1954, after months of work, the 10 men had built a living quarters, works hut, engine shed, store huts and a carpenter's shop.
Biscoe Hut, the eight square metre original living and sleeping quarters Mr Russell's team built, still stands today.
After Antarctica
After the Mawson Station expedition concluded, Mr Russell returned to Antarctica in 1958 with Americans at McMurdo Station — his last trip south before settling into married life with his wife Joan and daughter Sue.
Through his long and varied career, he worked for BP, ran a banana plantation, and lived in Singapore before eventually settling in Brisbane.
Mr Russell outlived all of his 1954 Mawson Station expedition peers and later collaborated on a book about his experiences.
In January, shortly before moving into respite care from his Deception Bay home of many years, Mr Russell donated to the ANARE club his collection of journals, papers, photos and technical drawings, which dated back to 1948.
His daughter, Sue, said Mr Russell passed away peacefully on Monday night — two months shy of his 102nd birthday.
As per his wishes, his body has been donated to science, after living a "full and remarkable life".
Mr Russell is also survived by his daughter's husband, six grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
