Map of the island.
First stamp in a set of 10, issued on 28.08.1963.
Face value: 2 cents of Australian dollar.
Design: George Lissenden.
Printing: Recess.
Pinted by Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne.
Size: 25 x 30 mm.
Catalogues
- Michel No. 11.
- Scott No. 11.
- Seven Seas No. 11.
- StampWorld No. 11.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 11.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 11.
Christmas
Island, officially known as the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian
external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the
Indian Ocean, around 350 km (220 mi) south of Java and Sumatra and around 1,550
km (960 mi) north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. It has
an area of 135 km2 (52 sq mi).
The first European to sight the island was Richard Rowe in 1615. The island was
later named on Christmas Day (25 December) 1643 by Captain William Mynors, but
only settled in the late 19th century. Its geographic isolation and history of
minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora
and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. The majority (63
%) of the island is included in the Christmas Island National Park, which
features several areas of primary monsoonal forest. Phosphate, deposited
originally as guano, has been mined on the island since 1899.
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