Pitcairn Islands

Fossils, Charles Darwin, prehistoric humans on stamps of Pitcairn Islands


<< previous country back to index next country >>


Contents:
Pitcairn Islands, officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The four islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno – are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 47 square kilometres. Only Pitcairn, the second-largest island, that measures about 3.6 kilometres from east to west, is inhabited with about 50 permanent inhabitants, originating from four main families.

Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 by the British and settled in 1790 by the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.
Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific.
Outmigration, primarily to New Zealand, has thinned the population from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50 today. [R1]

In June 1927, a postal agency was set up on Pitcairn to sell New Zealand stamps.
The first Pitcairn postage stamps, consisting of eight denominations, were issued on October 15, 1940.
The New Zealand-based Pitcairn Islands Philatelic Bureau coordinates the territory’s stamp program.
The program issues up to six commemorative stamps per year, and new definitive stamps are issued on an average cycle of five years. The sale of philatelic issues has been a source of revenue for the territory. [R2]



Official stamps of Pitcairn Islands related to Paleontology: fossils, Charles Darwin

24.06.2009 "200th anniversary Charles Darwin"
Dinosaurs on stamps of Papua new Guinea 2004



Other stamps to consider

30.08.2006 "Early Civilization Part l - Cave Dwellers of Henderson" [A1] 13.06.2007 "Early Civilization Part II - Rock Carvers of Pitcairn" [A1]
Dinosaurs on stamps of Papua new Guinea 2004 Dinosaurs on stamps of Papua new Guinea 2004

Notes:
[A1] Two sets with a common title "Early Civilization" issued by Pitcairn islands in 2006 and 2007. The first set shows some primitive, modern humans: Homo sapiens sapiens, who arrived on Henderson Island around AD 900. The second set shows some primitive humans who arrived on Pitcairn Island around AD 800.
Design of these stamps are very similar to stamps of Vanuatu 2005:

explorers of pacific on stamps of Vanuatu and Pitcairn islands



References:
  •   [R1] Pitcairn Islands: Wikipedia, WikiTravel, Flag Counter
  •   [R2] Postal History and Philately of Pitcairn Islands: Wikipedia,
              Links to official website of the Post Authority, stamp catalog and a list of new stamps of Pitcairn Islands are here.



Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for the draft page review and his valuable comments.

<< previous country back to index next country >>