Postage stamps and postal history of the Australian Antarctic Territory

File:Cover AAT 1959.jpg

This 1959 cover commemorated the opening of the Wilkes post office.

Australia has issued postage stamps for the Australian Antarctic Territory since 1957. All have been Antarctic themed, and are also valid for postage in Australia, so in practice they are just Australian stamps with a different inscription.

First stamps

The first stamp issued specifically for the territory was a two shilling blue stamp with a design of explorers and an Antarctic map, as shown in the picture to the right. This was first issued in Australia on 27 March 1957 and in Antarctica on 11 December 1957.

Used stamps

Used stamps from the territory are usually found with either mainland Australia postal cancels, or first day cover cancels as there is relatively little genuine mail from the bases.

Bases

The Australian Antarctic Territory bases are:

• Casey
• Davis
• Heard Island
• Macquarie Island
• Mawson
• Wilkes

All AAT mail will be cancelled with a postmark from one of these bases, though First Day Covers are now thought to be cancelled with the relevant base name at the Australian Philatelic Bureau, and not all bases are currently in use or permanently occupied.

Further reading

• Milner, Roy M. Postal History of the Australian Antarctic 1911-1965. London: Published for the Polar Postal History Society of Great Britain by Robson Lowe Ltd., 1975 ISBN 0853971536 48p.
• Woolley, Colleen A. and Janet S. Eury. Postmarks of the Australian Antarctic Territory 1911-2004. Diamond Creek, Vic, Australia: Australian PictorMarks, 2004 ISBN 0646401718 97p.

External links

• Enjoy polar philately on a cold winter's evening by Janet Klug
• Official Web Site
• Sandafayre Stamp Atlas - Antarctica