12.

COMMUNICATING WITH ANTARCTICA

12.1 Communications to and from Stations, Field Camps and Chartered Ships.
The ability for expeditioners to be able to maintain contact with family and friends is one of the
most important aids to maintaining morale.
But it is not just family and friends with whom expeditioners maintain contact. The same
communications services allow scientists to remain in contact with their research institutions to
transfer data or to swap ideas.
Expeditioners can use the web to obtain information, catch up on the latest news or sporting
results, or study using distance education.
12.2 Ways of Communicating.
There are a number of communications services that assist expeditioners to maintain contact
with family and friends and, depending on their location, an expeditioner may have access to the
following services:
• Australia Post mail during the summer shipping season,
• Email,
• Telephone
• Facsimile

An expeditioner who is working at Davis, Mawson, Casey or Macquarie Island Stations has access
to more facilities than an expeditioner who is working at a remote field camp or is travelling to,
or from, Antarctica.
12.3 Australia Post
Australia Post Mail whilst at AAD Headquarters, Kingston
Many expeditioners spend some time at Australian Antarctic Division Headquarters, Kingston,
prior to leaving for Antarctica. Any mail sent to them during this period should be addressed as
shown in the following example:
(name of expeditioner)
Australian Antarctic Division
Dept of the Environment & Water Resources
TRAINING
203 Channel Highway
Kingston Tas 7050

After arrival at AAD the mail will be delivered to the expeditioner’s work area via the AAD internal
mail system.
12.4 Australia Post Mail being sent to Expeditioners in Antarctica.
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has introduced an intra-continental air system that will
provide the opportunity to transfer personnel and a limited amount of high priority cargo
(including mail) to our continental stations.
While we appreciate that mail has high personal value to expeditioners, the size and range of our
aircraft require that we impose payload and space restrictions on all our cargo, including mail. To
ensure that all expeditioners have equal access to mail delivery, and because of the payload
limitations, equitable restrictions (size and volume) have been placed on all mail carried to and
from stations by aircraft. We seek your assistance and co-operation in applying these restrictions.
While the AAD will endeavour to transport mail to our stations by air it is important for families
and friends to understand that the AAD will be prioritising all cargo (including mail) for each
flight, and whilst every effort will be made to include mail we cannot guarantee its delivery.
In order to assist in limiting the volume and weight of mail the AAD has developed some
important guidelines for families and friends:-
• that you limit mail to a moderate number of C5 envelopes (27X19cm) with a maximum
weight of 500g each, and 2 ‘shoe box’ sized packages with a maximum weight of 3kg per
item, per expeditioner. You may find it useful to use the packing boxes available through
the Post Office (Australia Post) that will meet our guidelines, they are:
o BP (400x200x180mm) or
o BM (310x225x102mm)
• that you be aware that ‘delivery priority’ will be given to C5 envelopes.
• that any packages ‘rejected’ will be delivered on the next scheduled voyage when the
ship will visit the station.
• all mail items must meet Australia Post Dangerous & Prohibited Goods & Packaging Post
Guidelines. Further details are available from your local Post Office or the Australia Post
website (http://www.australiapost.com.au/).
• that if you are intending to send mail only on voyages that directly visit your
expeditioner’s station, then you will not need to follow the restrictions in respect to size
and weight - those restrictions only apply where mail will be transported by air
• that any parcels personally delivered directly to the AAD in Kingston and not sent via
Australia Post will be sent as cargo and may not be delivered on the expected voyage. In
order to have parcels treated as mail items and placed in the mail bags they must be
posted through the Australia Post system.

If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact the AAD on (free call) 1800
030 680 and we will be happy to help.
Expeditioners in Antarctica, either at a permanent station or a field camp, can only receive postal
mail during the summer shipping season, which usually runs from October until April. The mail is
taken to the stations by ship and outside of this period the sea ice prevents ships from reaching
the stations.
During the period when ships cannot reach the stations all messages must be sent electronically.
AAD provides a hybrid post/fax service, described later in this booklet, for people who do not
have access to fax or email.
The address to send mail by ship to expeditioners in Antarctica is shown in the following
example:
(name of expeditioner)
Australian Antarctic Division
Dept of the Environment & Water Resources
**Davis Station
203 Channel Highway
Kingston
Tasmania 7050
** or Casey, Macquarie Island, Mawson, Heard Island, as appropriate.
The mail will be held at the AAD warehouse (contact: Ph (03) 6232 3372 or email
warehouse@aad.gov.au) until the departure of the next voyage to the appropriate station. Advice
on the closing dates for mail will be made available once the shipping schedule has been
finalised. As a general rule all mail for a voyage should arrive at the AAD at least seven working
days prior to the scheduled departure date.
The following points should be noted when sending mail to expeditioners either at AAD Head
Office or in Antarctica:
• Mail arriving after the close of the shipping season will be held until the next available
transport to Antarctica, often around October or November.
• On rare occasions mail may be taken to stations by foreign or tourist ships, or aircraft.
Nominated contacts will be notified if this is planned.
• Money (cash) for expeditioners in Antarctica must be sent through Australia Post
registered mail. Cheques and postal notes cannot be cashed at the stations or on the
ships.
• Please do not send cash to AAD or request any AAD employee or expeditioner to deliver
money to expeditioners.
• Items sent to AAD via courier or freight companies will be delivered to the AAD
warehouse and treated as cargo. Only items sent through the Australia Post system will
be treated as mail.
• Mail sent to Antarctica may be inspected by Quarantine Tasmania officers on behalf of
the AAD to reduce the possibility of soil and other items that may contain non-native
species, and items representing a disease or other quarantine threat, from being
shipped. Unacceptable items include fresh fruit and vegetables, seeds, poultry products
and used clothing and equipment that has not been appropriately cleaned. If in doubt
about the status of any item you wish to send please contact the AAD and check with
Shipping and Air Operations Section staff.

Australia Post /Facilities in Antarctica

Each year an expeditioner at each permanent station is appointed as the Postal Agent.
The Postal Agent has a full range of stamps, covers and aerograms for sale. A franking stamp
and facilities for the registration of mail are also available from the Postal Agent.
Mail collected from the stations is returned to Australia for delivery through the normal postal
service. All queries regarding mail sent from Antarctica via Australia Post should be directed to
Australia Post, not AAD.
12.5 Australia Post/AAD Fax-Mail - Mail it to AAD and we'll fax it to the Station or Ship.
During winter, and for messages that can't wait for a ship to depart for a station, email is the
preferred method of communicating with stations. However we realise that some people do
not have access to email and, to assist these people, AAD provides a post/fax service.
Letters sent via Australia Post to the address below will be faxed to the appropriate station or
ship:
Personal Faxes
Australian Antarctic Division
Department of the Environment and Water Resources
203 Channel Highway
Kingston
Tasmania 7050
Alternatively, letters may be faxed to the AAD Communications Centre on 03 6232 3288 and
they will be forwarded to the appropriate station or ship.
The letter or fax must clearly state the name of the expeditioner and the station at which they
are working on the first page.
To assist in the smooth traffic flow between Australia and the stations please follow the following
guidelines:
• Do not write the name of the expeditioner on the outside of the envelope.
• Do clearly write the name of the expeditioner and the station at which they are working,
or ship on which they are travelling, on the first page of the letter enclosed in the
envelope.
• Do not use paper larger than A4 and only write on one side of the paper.
• Letters to expeditioners at permanent stations should be kept to a maximum of four
pages and letters to ships and remote field camps should be a maximum of one
page.
• Post messages early for delivery on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas,
Passover or Mid-Winter celebrations (21 June).
• During the shipping season an increased workload is placed on AAD telecommunications
systems. Cooperation from everyone, by using some restraint when sending messages,
would be appreciated and lead to smoother operations.

Letters and faxes are retained by the AAD Telecommunications Group until delivery to the
expeditioner has been confirmed and are then shredded for privacy/security.
12.6 ANARESAT Telephone System in Antarctica.
An AAD-owned satellite network, known as ANARESAT, provides telephone access between the
stations and the rest of the world.
Telephones are located at the stations in all workplaces and bedrooms in the main sleeping and
medical quarters (SMQ). Telephones are not installed in all summer accommodation buildings at
the continental stations nor in the individual bedrooms of Southern Aurora Donga at Macquarie
Island.
There are public telephone booths at each station to allow people who do not have a phone in
their room to make private calls. At Casey the booths are in the SMQ, at Davis it is in the
Operations Building, at Mawson they are in the SMQ and Operations Building and at Macquarie
Island it is in a small room on the southern side of the mess.
The telephone systems at the stations use “Voice over IP” (VoIP) technology that is incompatible
with standard telephones. Consequently, expeditioners cannot take their own phones or fax
machines to Antarctica.
Mobile phones do not work at the stations.

Calling Antarctica
The stations can be direct dialled from Australia or overseas. It is necessary for the caller to know
the access code for the station and the expeditioner's extension number.
The procedure for calling a station from Australia is:
• If required, dial the access code for the carrier of your choice.
• Dial 0011 (International access code).
• Dial 672 (Country code for Australian territories and Macquarie Island).
• Dial the access code for the station:
• 10 for Davis,
• 11 for Mawson
• 12 for Casey
• 13 for Macquarie Island

• Dial XXXX (Where XXXX is the four digit extension number at the station).

Extension numbers for the station should be provided by the expeditioner, either whilst they are
at Kingston or after arrival at the station.

For example, to call extension 8857 at Casey a caller in Australia would dial:
0011 672 12 8857
Callers from outside Australia should substitute 0011 in the above example with the international
access code required by their local carrier.
There are a number of telecommunications carriers, including Telstra and Optus, who offer
international direct dial services. The carriers have different charging regimes and offer
competitive discounts and calling plans. It is up to each individual to decide which carrier best
suits their needs in terms of cost and convenience.
Phone cards – Telstra have advised that the ‘Telstra Phoneaway Card’ can be used to call
Antarctica at a cost of 49 cents connection and 65 cents per minute (at April 2007).
Calling from an Antarctic Station
Expeditioners can phone from their room (if fitted with a telephone), work area or a public
phone booth.
Prior to arrival at a station all expeditioners are issued with a four digit Personal Identification
Number (PIN) that must be entered when making a call into the public switched telephone
network (PSTN). The station telephone system is programmed with a list of all valid PINs at the
station and access to the PSTN will not be given unless a valid PIN is entered.
The cost of the telephone call is debited against the PIN, not the extension from which the call is
made.
Each month a summary of the call charges made against each PIN is sent to AAD, Kingston, and
the costs are debited against the expeditioner's pay. An account is issued after the expeditioner
returns to Australia if they are not an AAD employee.
Telephone calls from stations are subsidised by AAD at a rate of 20 cents per minute. The cost of
calls to the expeditioner, after the subsidy has been applied, is:
• To Australia: 15 cent flag fall plus 48 cents per minute.

• To IDD destinations: 15 cent flag fall plus the standard Telstra rate as if the call
originated in Australia unless the standard rate from Australia is less than 48 cents per
minute, in which case 48 cents per minute is charged.
Cheap IDD rates, sometimes offered by Telstra for special periods, are not available from
Antarctica.
Calls to some 13 and 1800 numbers are available.
Directory Services
Directory assistance may be accessed from a station by dialling:
• *7 + (PIN) + 1223 for Australian numbers
• *7 + (PIN) + 1225 for International numbers

Although a PIN is entered, there is no charge for these calls.

12.7 Facsimile Services.
Fax Machines.
There are two AAD-owned fax machines at each permanent station.
One is located in the Communications Centre and is designated for fax reception. In the interests
of privacy, the only people who have access to this machine are station telecommunications
personnel. The second machine is located in a public area of the station, and expeditioners have
access to this machine to send faxes to the outside world.
Sending Faxes to Stations
The station can be faxed from any fax machine which has international access. The numbers to
call are:

Davis + 672 10 6657

Mawson + 672 11 7757

Casey + 672 12 8857

Macquarie Island + 672 13 9957

Where "+" is the international access code (0011 from Australia).

An alternative to faxing directly to the stations is to use the AAD post/fax service as described at
Section 12.4.
Incoming faxes are distributed by telecommunications personnel after having been either folded
and stapled or placed in envelopes. Total confidentiality is assured.
Sending Faxes from Stations
Expeditioners may send faxes from the station's communal fax machine. All calls require the
entry of the expeditioner's telephone PIN and will be charged at the standard rate for ANARESAT
telephone calls.
Alternatively, expeditioners may fax their message to the Kingston communications centre
(extension 3288) and it will be forwarded to the addressee via Australia Post. To minimise
handling, messages sent by this means must be formatted in a standard manner. A copy of the
standard format is available from the Telecommunications section at the station.
12.8 Computers at Stations
Computers perform many tasks at the stations. They are used to control scientific experiments
and to store and transfer data to research institutions in Australia and overseas. Other computers
are used for administrative purposes. A third, and very important, use of computers is for email
and access to the World Wide Web.
The Station Computer Networks
Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Ethernet local area networks (LAN) interconnect the computers at
each station, allowing easy access to other users, printers, file servers and the Internet.
Outlets for connecting computers to the LAN are installed in work areas and the bedrooms in the
main sleeping and medical quarters (SMQ). Outlets are not installed in the individual bedrooms of
Southern Aurora Donga at Macquarie Island.
Additional outlets are also installed in some public areas for those without an alternative access
point.
Windows servers, installed at each station, provide MS domain security services (the corporate
domain), POP3 email server, and MS file and print services for PCs connected to the LAN. The
servers also operate DHCP for the dynamic allocation of IP addresses. Networked black and white
laser printers are available for use.
The Link to the Internet
The LAN at each station is connected back to Kingston, and then into the Internet, over the
ANARESAT satellite network. The link between each station and Kingston is a maximum 384 kbps
and must be shared by all users at the station. The link is also used to transfer scientific data and
carries four telephone tie lines.
Communal Computers
Two "communal" computers per station are located in a public area and are available for use by
any expeditioner who does not have access to another computer. These computers are heavily
used, particularly during summer, and may not be available for use at a convenient time. If you
want guaranteed access to a computer it is strongly recommended that you take your own.
Privately Owned Computers
Many expeditioners take their own computer to Antarctica thus giving themselves maximum
flexibility for accessing the AAD LAN/WAN. Considerable thought must be given, however, when
selecting a computer to take to Antarctica and certain rules must be followed before being
allowed to connect the computer to the network.
What sort of computer to take
When deciding what sort of computer to take to Antarctica you should consider your travel
arrangements. There are weight restrictions on personal gear if you are going to a station on a
fly-off voyage and if you need immediate access to your computer it would be best to take a
laptop. If cost is a major consideration it would be cheaper to buy a desktop or tower, however
the computer may not arrive at the station until sometime after your arrival.
In order to connect to the station LAN you will need to have a UTP Ethernet card installed in your
computer and a UTP patch lead to connect to the wall outlet. UTP Ethernet cards and patch leads
use RJ45 plugs and sockets (the type that look like wide telephone plugs) and are available from
most computer shops. The station LANs run at 10 MBPS and 100 MBPS and you should buy a
10/100 Ethernet card.
When purchasing an Ethernet card make sure that it comes with the appropriate drivers for your
operating system.
Software
To ensure centralised authentication, all computers, both private and official, must connect to the
LAN via the corporate domain unless specifically exempted by the IT Services Manager or
Telecommunications Manager. Therefore the computer must be running Windows XP PRO or
later to enable the domain connection. Other MS operating systems are not permitted.
Apple Macs may be used on the network but are not generally supported at the stations or on
the ships. Appletalk is not supported on the network.
It is each user’s responsibility to supply their own web browsing, email and application software.
Applications recommended by the AAD for internet and email include the latest Microsoft Internet
Explorer and Microsoft Outlook.
Rules for Connecting to the LAN/WAN
Prior to being allowed to connect to the AAD LAN/WAN for accessing the email, file and print
services, each user must complete an Access Change Request Form, which is sent out to all
expeditioners in the starter pack. Access must be authorised by the relevant supervisor and
approved by the IT Services Manager. This form must be completed by ALL expeditioners
before departure.
By completing the Access Change Request Form the user is acknowledging that they require the
approval of their supervisor at AAD to use their personal computing equipment at the AAD, or to
connect it directly to the AAD network. The user is also authorising IT Services or
Telecommunications staff, at any time, on any computer or device under the user's control or
ownership to:
• Install or remove software, or remove the equipment from the AAD network as they
require, for the purposes of security and protection of the AAD's network, systems or
other infrastructure
• Freely inspect its contents
• Remove any unauthorised or unlicensed software, or information that is the property of
AAD.

Users must also comply with the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct and the AAD policies
as set out in:
• IT SECURITY POLICY – AAD Administrative Instruction No. 109
• EMAIL POLICY - AAD Administrative Instruction No. 108
• APPROPRIATE USE OF THE AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION NETWORK AND
INTERNET CONNECTION - AAD Administrative Instruction No. 100
• STANDARD OPERATING ENVIRONMENT (SOE) – AAD Administrative Instruction No. 101.

These policies are available on the AAD intranet, or upon request from the IT Helpdesk.
The user is further agreeing that failure to abide by these conditions may result in the
immediate termination of any rights to locate such equipment on AAD premises or to
connect into the AAD network.
Users must agree to all relevant terms, conditions and policies of the AAD before access can be
granted.
Users must ensure that passwords for accessing AAD network resources are different from the
passwords used for any external resources, eg. private ISP account, Hotmail or ICQ. New
passwords must be selected carefully and comply with the rules defined on the IT Services web
page https://secure.aad.gov.au/system/pass/ The integrity of the entire AAD data network
depends on all users taking security seriously.
It is suggested that for your password, you need something that is easy for you to remember but
difficult for others - including those who know you quite well - to guess. Random sequences of
letters and digits are best, but are difficult to remember. A good compromise is to insert at least
two digits into a word you can remember easily, or combine two or more unrelated words. The _
(underscore) and $ (dollar) punctuation marks can also be used. The case of the letters used
does matter - mixing upper and lower case letters makes cracking the password more difficult.
All IT resources connected to the LAN or WAN must be clearly identified together with the parties
responsible for their management. Identification will be in accordance with AAD IT naming policy
and will be implemented by IT Services and Telecommunications personnel. This means that
private machines will be required to be renamed to clearly identify ownership.
To ensure centralised authentication, all computers, both private and official, must connect to the
LAN/WAN via the corporate domain unless specifically exempted by the IT Services Manager or
Telecommunications Manager. Therefore the computer must be running Windows XP Pro or later
to enable the domain connection. They must also have the Standard Operating Environment
(SOE) antivirus software, Sophos, installed which will be automatically updated via the domain.
Contact IT Services on extension 3488 to ensure a computer is made part of the domain and that
Sophos is installed. Users who do not agree to domain connection and having Sophos
installed will not be allowed to connect to the LAN/WAN.
Inappropriate Use of the AAD Network
It is forbidden to possess, install or use any malicious software capable of intercepting network
traffic not specifically addressed to a user, disrupting network services or enabling unauthorised
access to systems. IT Services and Telecommunications staff may introduce measures to detect
and prevent the introduction of malicious software.
Sending messages or accessing any resource on the network under a hoax name, or username
other than your own or knowingly allowing someone else to use your username to access any
resource on the network or to send a message, is strictly forbidden.
Sending messages, documents or programmes knowing them to be infected with viruses, worms
or destructive agents or sending hoaxes regarding these programmes is strictly forbidden. If in
doubt expeditioners should first contact the IT Services Helpdesk who will assess the threat and
advise users accordingly.
Particular attention is drawn to the requirement to keep the size of personal email messages to
less than 200kb including attachments.
Peer-to-peer file sharing and voice applications (for example KaZaa, LimeWire, BitTorrent or
Skype) are not permitted on the AAD network. The network is regularly scanned for these
applications and they will be removed from any computers on which they are detected.
Video and audio streaming is not allowed without specific approval from the IT Services Manager
or the Telecommunications Manager.
Some points to note.
Some important points to note when taking a private computer to Antarctica are:
• Organise what you need before you depart for Antarctica - after you depart you won't be
able to buy anything that is forgotten
• Take all system, application and driver software, manuals and documentation with your
equipment - if the computer crashes it is quite possible that nobody else will have the
software to allow restoration
 • Ensure you know the administrative passwords to your computer and any applications
you have installed such as personal firewalls
• Have your computer setup for domain access – call the IT Helpdesk (03 6232 3488) to
arrange this
• On return from Antarctica and before connecting to the AAD Kingston LAN, it is
necessary to present your computer to the IT Helpdesk to have required configuration
changes made
• On return from Antarctica and before leaving the AAD, it is necessary to present your
computer to the IT Helpdesk to have all AAD configurations removed. Otherwise you may
not be able to use your computer away from the AAD network.

If you have any other questions:

• Call Telecommunications personnel on 03 6232 3384, 03 6232 3335, 03 6232 3218, 03
6232 3229 or 03 6232 3452
• Send an email to comeng@aad.gov.au or
• Visit the Telecommunications Section at AAD (first floor rear of Mawson Building).

12.9 Email
Email is the preferred method of written communication between the stations and the
rest of the world. It is cheap and efficient and rarely requires action by anybody but the
originator and recipient.
AAD User ID and Email Address
In order to gain access to the AAD LAN/WAN an expeditioner must complete an Access Change
Request form. Completion of this process results in the expeditioner being granted access to the
LAN/WAN and being allocated a User ID and email address.
The User ID is the name of the account where the user checks their email. It consists of the first
six letters of the expeditioner's first name and the first three letters of the expeditioner's surname
separated by an underscore (_). If the expeditioner's name consists of less than six letters the
entire name is used. The surname is followed by the AAD domain identifier @aad.gov.au.
The email address is the address to which people should send email to the expeditioner. It
consists of the user's first and surnames separated by a dot (.). Like the User ID the email
address is followed by the AAD domain identifier @aad.gov.au.
Thus an expeditioner with the name Anthony Swabble would have the User ID
anthon_swa@aad.gov.au and would have the email address
anthony.swabble@aad.gov.au
Note: The email address of an expeditioner while on board a ship is different – see Section 12.10.
Assistance is available from AAD IT Services and Telecommunications personnel in setting up your
email client. Note that mail servers outside the AAD network cannot be accessed from the
stations via POP3/SMTP.

Sending Email to Antarctica

People wanting to send email to expeditioners will need to have their own email account either
with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or with a company that offers email accounts accessible
from an Internet cafe or kiosk.
There are numerous ISPs around Australia. They may require a joining, monthly or annual fee
and a usage charge, or any combination of these. There is also the cost of the telephone call to
connect to the ISP.
Each individual should select their own ISP and charging plan based on their anticipated usage
pattern. AAD is not able to offer advice as to which ISP to select.
Accurate email addresses of expeditioners are available from ETFLO on 1800 030 680.
12.10 Communicating with Chartered Ships.
Although not up to the standard of the permanent stations, the telecommunications facilities on
the Aurora Australis are well developed. Expeditioners have access to email, satellite telephone
and fax.
The World Wide Web cannot be browsed from the ship however an internal ship intranet usually
mirrors the AAD web site at the time of departure and may carry items of topical interest.
Ship Computing & Email Facilities.
Computer outlets installed in all passenger cabins on the Aurora Australis allow expeditioners to
easily connect their computers to the ship LAN. Expeditioners who do not have their own
computer may use the three “communal” computers located in the E deck conference room.
It is essential that you take all cables, software and drivers if you want to use your computer on
the ship. Please contact AAD Telecommunications personnel if you have any questions.
Like the communal computers at the stations the computers on the Aurora Australis are heavily
used and no-one should assume that one will be available for use at a convenient time. If you
want guaranteed access to a computer it is strongly recommended that you take your own
laptop.
There are black and white networked laser printers installed in the same room as the communal
computers and these can be accessed by any computer connected to the network.
An email messaging system is operated on the Aurora Australis. This is not a standard Internet
email system and expeditioners should not anticipate the type of ‘instant’ messaging services
they have come to expect as ‘routine’ either at home or in the office. Please note that during the
voyage, official communications needs will have priority over private usage at all times.
Email is transferred to and from the ship using the Inmarsat satellite system. The satellite access
charges, which are paid for by AAD, can be up to A$20 per minute and hence, in the interests of
economy, real-time email is not available.
Limited computer support is available on the Aurora Australis. You should ensure that you take all
system, application and driver software, manuals and documentation with your equipment - if the
computer crashes it is quite possible that nobody else will have the software to allow restoration.
Activation of recently purchased programmes
Some computer programmes require activation via the internet prior to being able to be used for
the first time.
The internet is not accessible from the ships and people who purchase programmes that need to
be activated should do so prior to departure.
Ship Email Restrictions
It is essential that email transfer times are kept to a minimum and to achieve this certain rules
have been put in place:
• A size restriction of 30KB is applied to all messages (including mail headers and MIME
encoding of content), both to and from the ships. Larger messages are automatically
rejected, and the originator informed, except in special circumstances and with the prior
approval of the Telecommunications Manager or Voyage Leader.
• If replying to a message, do not include the entire original message.
• Do not use long signatures, preferably turn the signature off.
• The sending of attachments is not permitted except in special circumstances and with the
prior approval of Telecommunications personnel or Voyage Leader.
• Do not set other mailboxes to automatically forward messages to a ship mailbox.
• Email messages should only be sent as "plain text". Do not send email messages as
HTML or Rich Text Format (RTF).
A number of popular email packages have these options turned on by default. Please switch
them back to plain text.
For example: Microsoft Outlook Express defaults to HTML format for email messages. To turn this
setting off, select Options from the Tools menu. Then click on the Send tab and select Plain Text
as the mail sending format.
Microsoft Outlook defaults to RTF. When composing a message, select “plain text” from the
format menu.
In normal circumstances the only people who will see a message are the originator and the
recipient but if a message is incorrectly addressed it will be redirected to an operator who will
attempt to correct the address. AAD retains the right for Voyage Management staff and
Telecommunications personnel to peruse and control all email to and from the ship.
Email from the Ship.
On Aurora Australis, emails may be sent from an expeditioner's computer at any time of the day
or night. However the email is then stored on the ship’s server until the next email transfer time,
when the messages are then compressed and transferred to Kingston. At Kingston the file is
decompressed and the emails automatically sent to the final recipient.
Email transfers occur at least twice a day and it can take two or three days to receive a reply to
an email. The exact time of transfer varies depending on the ship's location but one transfer
always occurs at approximately 16:00 Kingston time.
Configuring Your Email Client
Your email programme needs to be configured differently for ship-board use than when it is used
elsewhere.
Although each email programme is configured in a different way, the same parameters need to
be set.
For the Aurora Australis the parameters should be set as shown in the following table:-

Parameter Setting Example

Return Address name@aurora.aad.gov.au anthony.swabble@aurora.aad.gov.au
Mail Server or POP postoffice.aurora.aad.gov.au postoffice.aurora.aad.gov.au
Server
Login or User Name user name anthon_swa
SMTP Server postoffice.aurora.aad.gov.au postoffice.aurora.aad.gov.au
Domain to add aurora.aad.gov.au aurora.aad.gov.au
to unqualified
addresses
Send styled text NO Click button to send plain text
(HTML)? only

Email to the Ship

Email may be sent to expeditioners travelling on the Aurora Australis by sending the message to
their ship email address.
The format for a ship email address is very similar to a non-ship email address but has the
abbreviated name of the ship included in the domain portion of the address.
Thus an expeditioner with the name Anthony Swabble would have the following ship email
address:
• If travelling on the Aurora Australis: anthony.swabble@aurora.aad.gov.au
Emails sent to this address are stored on a server at Kingston until being automatically
compressed and transferred to the ship at the next email transfer time. On arrival at the ship the
file is decompressed and the email automatically transferred to individual mailboxes in
anticipation of the expeditioner checking their mail.
It should be noted that email sent to the expeditioner's non-ship address
(anthony.swabble@aad.gov.au) will not be available to the expeditioner until they disembark
from the ship.
Telephones on the Ship
Telephone and fax calls can be made to and from Aurora Australis via the Inmarsat or Iridium
satellite systems.
Accounts for the cost of outgoing calls are sent to the expeditioner after the completion of the
voyage.
The telephone numbers for the ship varies depending on the ship's location, which in turn
determines which satellite is being used. The number change approximates to being east or
west of Casey.
The Inmarsat telephone numbers are:

Telephone Aurora Australis

East of Casey 0011 872 350 300 271

West of Casey 0011 873 350 300 271

Facsimile

East of Casey 0015 872 350 300 273

West of Casey 0015 873 350 300 273

The current cost of Inmarsat calls from the ships to Australia, New Zealand and the stations is
A$4.40 per minute. The price is subject to change by the satellite carrier.
The current cost of Iridium calls from the ship to Australia is A$2.00 per minute. However the
quality of the call may not be as good as an Inmarsat call.
The above rates should not be used for calculating cost of calls to the ship. Please check with
your carrier (Telstra, Optus etc.) for the cost of satellite calls to ships. Generally they are greater
than the above costs. Peak and off peak times are:

Ocean Region Peak Time (UTC) Off Peak Time (UTC)

Indian Ocean 05:31 - 19:30 19:31 - 05:30

Pacific Ocean 20:01 - 10:00 10:01 - 20:00

UTC = AEST minus 10 hours. Thus midnight on the 27th/28th UTC is 10:00AM on 28th AEST.
UTC = AEDT minus 11 hours. Thus midnight on the 27th/28th UTC is 11:00AM on 28th AEDT.
12.11 Time Differences.
When phoning, it is important that you consider time differences to avoid disturbing
expeditioners whilst they are still sleeping. Time differences between Australia and the stations
vary from state to state, and also with daylight saving regimes during summer, however the
following will assist in calculating the local time at each station.

Station Aust. Eastern Standard Time Aust. Eastern Summer Time

(AEST) (AEDT)
Macquarie Island Same time Same time
Casey 2 hours behind 3 hours behind
Davis 3 hours behind 4 hours behind
Mawson 4 hours behind 5 hours behind