NORFOLK ISLAND

NORFOLK ISLAND.

Bicentennial of the observation of Venus by Captain James Cook.
Map of the Pacific Ocean showing transit of Venus across te Sun from Tahiti,
and portrait of Captain James Cook.
Stamp isued on 03.06.1969.
Face value: 10 cents of Australian dollar.
Designed by V. Whiteley from a sketch by J. Cowap.
Printed by Harrison and Sons Ltd., London.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 39 x 26 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 101.
- Scott No. 122.
- StampWorld No. 101.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 99.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 101.

On June 3, 1769, British navigator Captain James Cook, British naturalist Joseph Banks, British astronomer Charles Green and Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander recorded the transit of Venus on the island of Tahiti during Cook's first voyage around the world. During a transit, Venus appears as a small black disc travelling across the Sun. This unusual astronomical phenomenon takes place in a pattern that repeats itself every 243 years. It includes two transits that are eight years apart, separated by breaks of 121.5 and 105.5 years. These men, along with a crew of scientists, were commissioned by the Royal Society of London for the primary purpose of viewing the transit of Venus. Not only would their findings help expand scientific knowledge, it would help with navigation by accurately calculating the observer's longitude.

NORFOLK ISLAND

NORFOLK ISLAND.

125th anniversary of the annexation of Norfolk to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).
Simplied maps of the Norfolk and Tasmania islands.
Set of 2 stamps issued on 29.09.1969.
Face values: 2 and 30 cents of Australian dollar.
Stamping: Rotogravure.

Catalogues
- Michel Nos. 102-103.
- Scott Nos. 123-124.
- StampWorld Nos. 102-103.
- Yvert et Tellier Nos. 102-103.

Norfolk Island is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia. Together with the neighbouring Phillip Island and Nepean Island, the three islands collectively form the Territory of Norfolk.

The first known settlers in Norfolk Island were East Polynesians but they had already departed when Great Britain settled it as part of its 1788 settlement of Australia. The island served as a convict penal settlement from 6 March 1788 until 5 May 1855, except for an 11-year hiatus between 15 February 1814 and 6 June 1825, when it lay abandoned. On 29 September 1844 the administration of the island was transferred from the Colony of New South Wales to the Colony of Van Diemen's Land (the current Tasmania). On 8 June 1856, permanent civilian residence on the island began when descendents of the Bounty mutineers were relocated from Pitcairn Island. On 30 March 1914 the United Kingdom handed Norfolk Island over to Australia to administer as an external territory, but as a distinct and separate settlement.

NORFOLK ISLAND

NORFOLK ISLAND.

South Pacific islands.
25th Annivesary of the South Pacific Commission, 1947-1972.
Stamp issued on 06.02.1972.
Face value: 7 cents of Australian dollar.

Catalogues.
- Scott No. 149.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 126.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 128.

The Pacific Community (SPC) is an international development organization owned and governed by its 26 country and territory members. The organization's headquarters are in Nouméa (New Caledonia), and it has regional offices in Suva (Fiji), Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia), and Port Vila (Vanuatu), and field staff in other Pacific locations. Its working languages are English and French. It primarily provides technical and scientific advice, and acts as a conduit for funding of development projects from donor nations. The Pacific Community was founded in 1947 through the Canberra Agreement as the South Pacific Commission by six developed countries with strategic interests and territories in the region: Australia, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.