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Polar Philatelic Items for Sale on Behalf of
The Mawson's Huts Foundation

6. CENTENARY OF THE AUSTRALASIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1911-14

Stage I: A. The issue of stamps to celebrate the Centenary of the AAE; B. the departure of the SY Aurora from Hobart on 2nd December 1911; & C. the arrival at Caroline Cove, Macquarie Island on 11th December 1911.

The Mawson's Huts Foundation's 2011/12 Conservation Expedition to Cape Denison, which was due to depart from Hobart on board the L'Astrolabe on 2 December 2011 was cancelled. This was because during November 2011 the L'Astrolabe became icebound on her return journey from Dumont D'Urville and her arrival in Hobart was significantly delayed.


Thus the Centenary year for the 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) got off to a bad start. However, the Aurora Australis, with a number of dignitaries on board departed Hobart on 5th January 2012 bound for Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay. Here it was planned to hold a Ceremony to mark the Centenary of the arrival of the AAE on 8th January 1912. Once again Ice conditions and the weather caused delays. The Aurora Australis could only get to within 20 km of Cape Denison and had to park in the fast ice. While some personnel (including the Mawson's Huts Foundation postmaster) were flown into the Huts by helicopter on the 14th January, fog delayed the rest of the party. Finally, on 16th January conditions improved and it was possible to fly in the rest of the party. The ceremony was held and all personnel returned to the Aurora Australis. Covers postmarked at Cape Denison are presently on their way back to Australia, where they should arrive at the end of January and will be available later in the year.

The voyage of the Aurora Australis to Cape Denison and the commemoration ceremony has been recorded by the ABCs Karen Barlow whose blog is well worth perusing:

See also David Ellyard's blog:

The first in a four-year programme of stamps celebrating the Centenary of the AAE were issued by Australia Post on 2nd August 2011 (Stamp News No. 311 July-August 2011, pages 14-15 & 23). In addition, there were two other issues of AAT stamps in 2011, namely the "Icebergs" stamps, which were issued on 7th June 2011 (Stamp News No. 310 May-June 2011, pages 14-15), and the AAT Elephant Seal stamp, which was one of the WWF for Nature: 50 years stamps issued on 30th August 2011 (Stamp News No. 311 July-August 2011, pages 18-19). Stamps and overprinted minisheets from all three AAT issues will be used in the philatelic items to be produced by the Mawson's Huts Foundation to raise money for the conservation of Mawson's Huts at Cape Denison.

In Stage I the philatelic items that are now available include covers and minisheets marking the issue of the AAT "Centenary of the AAE" stamps; the Centenary of the departure of the AAE from Hobart on 2nd December; and the arrival at Caroline Cove, Macquarie Island on 11th December 1911. The items in Stages II and III will include covers and overprinted minisheets marking the First Day of Issue of all three issues of AAT stamps at Cape Denison; the Centenary of the arrival of the AAE at Cape Denison on 8th January 1912; and the Centenary of the arrival of the AAE at the Western Base on the Shackleton Ice Shelf on 15th February 1912.

Click here to download PDF order form.

A. The issue of stamps to celebrate the Centenary of the AAE
The first in the series of Centenary of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition AAT stamps issued by Australia Post comprise a se-tenant strip of 5 x 60¢ stamps. This initial five-stamp strip shows the key moments in the departure of the AAE from Hobart and the journey as far as Macquarie Island. The illustrations used in the stamps come from photographs taken by members of the AAE and in some cases they have been given a different orientation to the originals. The limited set of numbered First Day Covers (i.) produced for sale by the Foundation have been affixed with a special Foundation label, and a special cachet has been applied to the back of the cover.

i.

i. Cachet on reverse

B. The departure of the SY Aurora from Hobart on 2nd December 1911

Australia Post has produced a special pictorial commemorative postmark to mark the Centenary of the Departure of the AAE from Hobart on 2nd December 1911. The postmark is similar in design to that used on the FDCs but with different wording in the inner circle. The Foundation has produced two types (ii. & iii.) of numbered covers to mark this occasion. Both have the se-tenant strip of stamps cancelled with the commemorative postmark but the covers are illustrated with different scenes from original photographs taken at the time of departure from Hobart. In addition a limited number of mint minisheets (iv.) featuring the Centenary of the AAE stamps have been overprinted to commemorate the departure.

ii.

Commemorative postmark

ii. Cachets on reverse

iii.

Commemorative postmark

iii. Cachets on reverse

Minisheets


iv. The departure of the SY Aurora from Hobart on 2nd December 1911

SOLD OUT

C. The arrival at Caroline Cove, Macquarie Island on 11th December 1911.

The arrival of SY Aurora at Caroline Cove in the southern region of Macquarie Island on 11th December 1911 has been commemorated with two different overprinted minisheets and three types of cover. Limited numbers of the "Centenary of the AAE" and entire WWF AAT minisheets are available (v. & vi.).

v.   SOLD OUT

vi.  SOLD OUT

C. Covers

Three different covers were produced (vii. – ix.). Two of them are similar to those described in B. above except that the stamps have been cancelled with the Macquarie Island everyday postmark (located at Kingston) on 11 DEC 2011 and the covers are illustrated with different scenes from original photographs taken at the time of arrival at Caroline Cove. The third type of cover is the Elephant Seal FDC for the WWF issue to which the WWF AAT minisheet has been affixed. All but the Elephant Seal stamp have been removed and the Macquarie Island everyday postmark is enclosed within the remaining frame of the minisheet. These covers have been signed by Kevin Stead who designed the stamp and the cover. The background for the minisheet is a scene from Macquarie Island.

vii.  SOLD OUT

vii. Cachets on reverse

viii.  SOLD OUT

viii. Cachets on reverse

ix.  SOLD OUT

ix. Cachets on reverse

Some of the events that will be commemorated in Stages II & III:

D. The arrival at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica on 8th January 1912;
E. the first day of issue of 2011 AAT stamps at Cape Denison and the first day of use of the new Cape Denison everyday postmark on 14th January 2012;
F. the celebrations to mark the Centenary of the AAE at Cape Denison on 16th January 2012;
G. the establishment of the Western Base on the Shackleton Ice Shelf, Queen Mary Land, on Shackleton’s birthday, 15th February 1912.

As a foretaste of things to come, this is a picture of Marty Passingham, Postmaster at Cape Denison for 2012, at work in the Sorenson Hut at Cape Denison cancelling covers for Stage II during the brief time he was there in January 2012.  (AAP image/Dean Lewins used with permission for the promotion of cover sales by the Mawson’s Huts Foundation.)
Marty Passingham

Some of the postmarks and cachets to come:

(NEW)
 

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