the place where Paleontology and Paleoanthropology meets Philately
Cocos Islands
Charles Darwin on stamps of Cocos Island
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Contents:
- Country overview
- Philately of Cocos Islands
- Official stamps of Cocos Islands
- Other stamps of Cocos Island sto consider
- Commemorative postmarks of Cocos Islands indirectly related to Paleontology
- References
- Acknowledgements
The Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka. The territory consists of two atolls and 27 coral islands, of which two, West Island and Home Island, are inhabited with a total population of approximately 600. [R1]
The archipelago has issued postage stamps since June 1963 and had postal independence from 1979 to 1993.
A ustralia Post issued stamps for the Cocos Islands between 1963 and 1979 and since January 1st, 1994 has published stamps for the territory. Both Cocos Islands territory stamps and Australian stamps are valid in the Cocos Islands. Following the example of Christmas Island in March 1993, the postal service of the Cocos Islands was transferred from the local authority to Australia Post. Cocos Islands stamps issued since 1994 and bearing the territorial label "COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS AUSTRALIA" are valid in Australia and the stamps of Australia are on the archipelago too. [R2]
Official stamps of Cocos Islands related to Paleontology: Charles Darwin.
| 28.12.1981 - "100th anniversary of death and 150 years since start of his trip on HMS Beagle of Charles Darwin" | 01.04.1986 - "150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's visit" [1] | |
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| The sketch of Charles Darwin stamp, created by Brian Clinton for Australian Post. |
Notes:
[1] Brian Clinton, the artist who designed the stamps for the "150th Anniversary of Charles Darwin's Visit" set for Cocos Islands, issued in 1986, proposed a similar stamp to Australian Post (see his sketch on the right).
Unfortunately, the stamp was not adopted.
Australian Post issued a postal stationery with imprinted stamp of Charles Darwin - "150th Anniversary of Charles Darwin's Visit to Australia", instead.
The envelope and the imprinted stamp were designed by Australian artist Ron Brooks from Melbourne.
Other stamps of Cocos Islands to consider: HMS Beagle [R3] and its captain[R4], anniversary of Charles Darwin's visit on the islands
| 29.03.1976 "Ships" [A1] | 24.08.1990 "Navigators" [A1] | 21.04.2009 "400th anniversary of discovery" [A2] |
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Notes:
[A1]
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HMS Beagle on stamp of Cocos islands 1976, MiNr.: 22, Scott: 22 |
Fitz Roy captain of HMS Beagle on stamp of Cocos islands 1990, MiNr.: 229A, Scott: 219 |
Stamp of Cocos islands 2009 dedicated to visit of Charles Darwin, MiNr.: 453, Scott: 351b |
The young naturalist Charles Darwin was on board, and his work made Beagle one of the most famous ships in history. [R3]
The captain of the ship, Robert FitzRoy, is also depicted on the 75c stamp of the “Navigators” set. [R4]
[A2] The stamp with a fish, face value 55c, is dedicated to Charles Darwin's visit.
Commemorative postmarks of Cocos islands indirectly related to Paleontology: HMS Beagle
| 01.04.1986 - "150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's visit" [FDC] [A1] | ||
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References:
- [R1] Cocos Islands: Wikipedia, WikiTravel, FlagCounter.
- [R2] Postal History and Philately of Cocos Islands:
Wikipedia,
Links to official website of the Post Authority, stamp catalog and a list of new stamps of Cocos Islands are here. - [R3] HMS Beagle: Wikipedia
- [R4] Robert FitzRoy: Wikipedia
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.
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