Australia established its first station in December 1947, at sub-Antarctic Heard Island. The station at Macquarie Island was established a few months later, in March 1948.
Mawson was Australia’s first permanent base on the Antarctic continent. It was established in 1954. Mawson is now the longest continuously operating station in Antarctica.
Davis was established in 1957. It was set up to conduct scientific activities during the International Geophysical Year (IGY).
In 1959, Australia took over Wilkes. Wilkes station had been built by the United States for IGY. The station quickly deteriorated from the build-up of snow and ice. Plans were made to build a replacement station known as Repstat. Wilkes closed and Repstat opened in 1969. It was replaced by present day Casey in 1988.