1950s Antarctic research station offers glimpse into long-lost world

ANTARCTICA

Near the bottom of the world, a onetime British research station at Antarctica’s remote Horseshoe Island offers a trip into a time machine from decades past.

Founded in 1950, Base Y was used by British scientists for five years, from 1955 to 1960, and now is open as a museum for intrepid travelers and scientists.

The research station was used in the early Cold War era to do research in various fields, including topography, meteorology, geology, and geophysics.

The base, which was last renovated in 1969, is currently being kept alive as a museum by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust foundation.

The research station includes a sled workshop, radio room, dormitory, kitchen, study room, infirmary, and generator room, all offering glimpses into the spartan, rustic life of early Antarctic scientists.

Atilla Yilmaz, environmental officer of Turkiye’s Sixth National Antarctic Science Expedition and researcher from the Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (TUBITAK) MAM Polar Research Institute, told Anadolu Agency that despite its distant location, well off major travel routes, Base Y is visited by hundreds of tourists every year.

"The base, which has been kept intact from the era it was used in, offers its visitors something like a journey through a time machine," he said.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.