Ross Dependency

My second attempt at getting a card from Ross Dependency, with a pretty spectac payoff with this card of an explorer from the 1910–1913 Antarctic Expedition sledding past a glacier in front of Mount Erebus. Mount Erebus is the most southerly volcano in the world and, despite it’s remote location, is regularly studied by the nearby McMurdo and Scott research stations on nearby Ross Island.

This completes my collection of Antarctic postal agencies. It's the first complete continent in my collection! Perhaps not the greatest feat when there are just four postal agencies for the continent (Australian Antarctic Territory, British Antarctic Territory, French Antarctic and Southern Lands, Ross Dependency), but my first continent nonetheless! :-)

Quite interestingly for avid postcards nerds like myself, it would seem that the postcard actually did make it all the way to Antarctica, judging by all the extra expedition stamps that made it on to the card. — Ross Dependency is New Zealand’s Antarctic territory. In the past, Ross Dependency post was all processed in Christchurch, on mainland New Zealand, and was never sent for processing in Antarctica. Even if the mail was actually send from an Antarctic research base, post was sent to Christchurch (and cancellation stamps would say “Christchurch”). Now, the cancellation says “Ross Dependency” and has come along with stamps from New Zealand’s Scott Base. Colour me one happy postcard camper!

Australian Antarctic Territory

Postcard of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) on the iceflows of Australian Antarctic Territory. Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of all penguins and are found across the Antarctic. It is the only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, trekking over the ice, sometimes more than 100 km, to breeding colonies of thousands of individuals. 

Stamp from a 1993 set of three featuring Antarctic wildlife. Picture here the fur seal, a common breeder in Antarctica and in sub-Antarctic islands. Sent from Davis research station, the "capital" of Australia's Antarctic territory, with a summer population of 70 researchers.

British Antarctic Territory II

Postcard from Port Lockroy in the British Antarctic Territory. The harbour was used for whaling through the 1930s and military base was established during the Second World War that was used as a research station until 1962. In 1996, the Port Lockroy base was renovated and is now a museum and post office, one of the most popular stops for Antarctic cruise ships due to its good harbour and favourable landing conditions. – A staff of four typically process 70,000 pieces of mail sent by 18,000 visitors that arrive during the five month Antarctic cruise season!

Upper stamp from a 1982 set of six commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals. Lower stamp from a 2008 set of five featuring the aurora australis. 

British Antarctic Territory

A crèche of emperor penguin chicks and their adult guardians in the blustery cold of British Antarctic Territory near the Weddell Sea.

Upper stamp from a 1982 set of six commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals. Lower stamp from a 2008 set of five featuring the aurora australis. 

French Southern and Antarctic Lands – Terre Adélie

Postcard from Terre Adélie, the French claim in Antarctica, showing a group, or a "waddle" as they are known, of emperor penguins. Emperor penguins are the largest penguin species, with an average height of 1.2 metres. Their diet consists primarily of fish, but can also include crustaceans and squid. In hunting, they can remain submerged up to 18 minutes, diving to a depth of 535 metres!

Stamp of DC4 plane from a 2012 series of six showing the evolution of transport in polar areas. DC4s were initially produced during World War II and continued to be used in civilian service through to the 1960s.

French Southern and Antarctic Lands – Kerguelen II

Postcard of an elephant seal pup, Mirounga leonina, lounging on beach of the French sub-Antarctic island Kerguelen. Southern elephant seals are the largest seal species and, in fact, the largest carnivores living today, with males typically weighing 2,200–4,000 kilograms and measuring 4.2–5.8 meters long! They can dive for 20 minutes at a time and have been recorded at depths exceeding 2,000 meters.

Stamp showing the Weddell seal, Leptonychotes weddellii, a relatively large and abundant seal noted for having the most southerly distribution of any mammal, with a habitat that extends as far south as McMurdo Sound at 77° S.

French Southern and Antarctic Lands – Crozet

The Roche Percée off the coast of Possession Island, which is part of the subantarctic Crozet Archipelago, located halfway between Madagascar and Antarctica. The island is an important breeding site for seabirds and is also home to the French research station, Alfred Faure, which is where the card was postmarked. Alfred Faure is visited a few times a year by an oceanographic research vessel that delivers supplies and rotating crews of scientists, so this card had quite a journey to get there and back to me!

Set of two stamps from a series featuring minerals found in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands territory.

French Southern and Antarctic Lands – Kerguelen

Seaward bound king penguins on Kerguelen Island, a sub-Antarctic island equidistant from African and Australia.

Artedidraco orianae, or plunderfish, lives in Antarctic waters. Funnily enough, it is a common prey for emperor penguins!