It is not difficult to understand the connection between Patagonia and Antarctica. Only 1,000 kilometers separate Argentina’s southernmost city, Ushuaia, from the Antarctic Peninsula. It was only a matter of time before the nearest countries established permanent settlements and laid claim to this continent.
Until then, Antarctica was a little-known place, even kept secret by whalers and seal hunters. No one wanted to reveal locations that might jeopardize the monopoly of certain companies.
This general attitude on the part of the whalers hindered the development of knowledge about this continent, which was a mystery to the entire world and, in part, still is.
Following negotiations between Perito Moreno and Professor Bruce, the Scotia set sail from the port of Buenos Aires on January 21, 1904, and arrived at Laurie Island on February 14. There, Professor Bruce handed over the facilities to the Argentine government, as he would be unable to continue his surveying work at that location.
It was on February 22, 1904, that the Argentine Republic opened the South Orkney Islands Meteorological and Magnetic Observatory. It has been in operation ever since. Thus, the Argentine Republic has maintained an uninterrupted presence in Antarctica since 1904.
On March 30, 1927, the sounds of Morse code were heard for the first time in Antarctica. On that day, at the South Orkney Islands Meteorological Observatory, the Orkney Station (LRT) was officially inaugurated; it established contact with the LIK Station in Ushuaia, and through it, with Buenos Aires.
