the place where Paleontology and Paleoanthropology meets Philately
|
|
Christmas Island
Paleontologist Charles William Andrews on stamp of Christmas Island
| << previous country |
|
next country >> |
Contents:
- Country overview
- Philately at Christmas island
- Official stamps of Christmas island related to Paleontology
- References
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean, comprising the island of the same name. It has a population of 2,072 residents, who live mainly in settlements on the northern tip of the island, including Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Silver City, Poon Saan, and Drumsite. Around two-thirds of the island's population are Malaysian Chinese, with smaller numbers of ethnic Malays and whites. Several languages are in use, including English, Malay, and various Chinese dialects, while Buddhism is the primary religion, followed by three-quarters of the population. The island was discovered on Christmas Day (25 December) 1643, but only settled in the late 19th century. Its geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. 63% of its 135 square kilometres is an Australian national park. There exist large areas of primary monsoonal forest. Phosphate, deposited originally as guano, has been mined on the island for many years. [R1]
The island issued its own postage stamps from 1958. Those issued by Australia Post since 1993 are also valid in Australia, as are Australian stamps in Christmas Island.
On 1 February 1969, postal responsibility on the island was transmitted by the Phosphate Commission to the Christmas Island Administration. It quickly created a philatelic office and in 1971 chose an agent for sale in the rest of the world, the Crown Agents. The stamp program was then decided locally, produced with the Agents' expertise and printed by specialised printers in Europe,[2] and in Australia starting in the late 1980s [R2] So far there are only stamp that related to Paleontology: paleontologist Charles William Andrews, issued in 1978.
Official stamps of Christmas island related to Paleontology: paleontologist
| 30.04.1977 -
01.09.1978
"Famous visitors" [1] |
||
 |
[1] From April 30 1977 to September 1st 1978, post of Christmas Island issued 4 sets of Famous visitors, 4 stamps at time. All together build a set of definitive stamps, as every stamp has unique face value from 1 cent to $2.
45c stamps ( last stamp in the third row), issued on May 31 1978, shows Charles William Andrews (1860 -1924) a British palaeontologist whose career as a vertebrate paleontologist, both as a curator and in the field, was spent in the services of the British Museum, Department of Geology. His first concerns were with fossil birds, and he described Aepyornis titan, the extinct "Elephant Bird" of Madagascar (1894). In 1897 he was selected to spend several months at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, to inspect it before the activities of phosphate mining compromised its natural history. The results were published by the British Museum in 1900 More info is on Wikipedia
References:
[R1] More information about Christmas Island is on Wikipedia WikiTravel Flag Country
[R2] More information about postal history of Christmas Island is on Wikipedia
Links to Christmas Island 's post authority and stamps catalog websites are here
| << previous country |
|
next country >> |