Australian Antarctica, 100 Different Stamps

The Ends of the Earth —
Explore the Australian Antarctic Territory
With 100 Different Used Stamps

The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is the largest slice of Antarctica claimed by any nation on earth — a vast, ice-covered wilderness covering more than 2.2 million square miles of the world's last great frontier. Britain first laid claim to this territory in 1841, and Australia assumed control in 1933. Today, three year-round scientific research stations — Mawson, Davis, and Casey — maintain Australia's presence on the continent and carry on a tradition of polar exploration stretching back more than a century.

Stamps were first issued for the Australian Antarctic Territory in 1957. Every one of them is Antarctic-themed, and they're valid for postage in Australia as well — though they carry their own distinctive inscription. Building a collection of AAT stamps means building a visual record of one of the most extraordinary places on the planet.

One hundred different used stamps gives you a sweeping collection right from the start, covering decades of history, science, exploration, and wildlife. Here are just a few of the remarkable stamps you may find in your packet:

• Sir Sidney Nolan's Antarctica (1994) — In January 1964, Australia's most celebrated painter traveled to Antarctica for eight days as part of a US Navy resupply operation. He returned with around 200 watercolor sketches and a head full of images, then produced a series of 68 oil paintings in just five months back in London — vivid, muscular canvases depicting the landscape, explorers, and scientists of the ice. The series toured the UK, US, and Australia to international acclaim. This AAT stamp issue reproduces paintings from that series.
• HMS Challenger (85¢) — Before there was modern oceanography, there was HMS Challenger. Between 1872 and 1876, the British naval vessel crossed the Antarctic Circle and sailed nearly 69,000 nautical miles, conducting experiments at more than 500 ocean stations, discovering over 4,000 previously unknown species, and taking the first photographs ever made of Antarctic icebergs. The deepest known point in all the world's oceans — the Challenger Deep — still bears the ship's name. This AAT stamp honors one of the greatest scientific voyages in history.
• Emperor Penguins — Several stamps in this packet feature the magnificent emperor penguin, the largest penguin species and one of Antarctica's most iconic inhabitants. You'll find them in sweeping group portraits and close-up studies, the unmistakable yellow markings vivid against ice and sea.
• Weddell Seal (60¢) — The Weddell seal is the southernmost mammal on earth, perfectly adapted to Antarctic conditions. This richly detailed stamp captures the animal in the water, its dark spotted coat and serene expression making it one of the striking wildlife images in the AAT catalog.
• Killer Whale / Orca — A striking underwater view of an orca in southern waters — a reminder that the seas surrounding the AAT teem with wildlife as dramatic as anything on the ice above.
• Research Equipment and Antarctic Science — The packet also gives you a strong selection of stamps documenting the scientific work that defines the territory today: research drilling rigs, radar and satellite equipment, hydrology instruments, and more. These stamps from the Environment, Conservation and Technology series capture the less-glamorous but essential work of the people who winter over in the world's most remote outposts.

Beyond these highlights, I saw expedition ships under sail and power, the ethereal colors of the Aurora Australis, Adélie penguins on ice floes, crabeater seals, Antarctic landscape photographs, Macquarie Island subjects, and the famous Last Huskies series commemorating the sled dog teams that worked the continent for decades before being removed under the 1991 Madrid Protocol. It's a rich, varied, and visually stunning collection get your collection of 100 today.