AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA.

Navigators.
William Dampier (1651-1715) and ship "Roebuck".
Stamp issued on 25.11.1964.
Face value: 5 Australian shilling.
Design: Walter Jardine (1884-1970).
Engraving: P. E. Morriss.
Printing: Recess.
Print: 4,789,317 copies.
Size: 24 x 28 mm.

Catalogs
- Brusden-White No.405.
- Michel No. 332.
- Scott No. 375.
- Seven Seas No. 387.
- StampWorld No. 331.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 356.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 300.

William Dampier (1651 - 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian. The publication of the book A New Voyage Round the World (1697) was a popular sensation, creating interest at the Admiralty. In 1699, Dampier was given command of the 26-gun warship HMS Roebuck, with the mission was to explore the east coast of New Holland, the name given by the Dutch to what is now Australia.