2019

2019 AAT Mapping the Australian Antarctic Territory

Issued 20th August 2019

For centuries, the idea of a remote continent in the Southern Hemisphere – “Antarktikos” or “Terra Australis Incognita” – sparked the imagination of cartographers. Determined to be the first to map the continent, in 1772 Captain James Cook explored the Southern Ocean, crossing the Antarctic Circle, but failed to reach the landmass. During early exploration in the late 19th century, the first maps were produced by expeditions that charted lengths of the Antarctic coast by ship.

In 1911, Australia’s Douglas Mawson embarked on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition to conduct scientific research, including cartography. Land exploration was undertaken using dog teams and hauling sledges to survey and map more than 6,437 kilometres of what would become the Australian Antarctic Territory.

This stamp issue celebrates more than 100 years of Australian mapping of the Antarctic continent, from Mawson’s early surveys to the computer-assisted maps of the 1990s.

$1 - Douglas Mawson, 1914

Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–14) resulted in a significant cartographic survey.

$1 - Department of the Interior, 1939

Douglas Mawson also led the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (1929–31) which traced the coastline of east Antarctica. Australian cartographers used this information to produce the influential 1939 1:10 million Antarctic map.

$2 - Division of National Mapping, 1971

From the 1950s to 1970s, the Australian Antarctic Division oversaw the surveying of

remote regions of the AAT. Maps were manually composed from ground-level calculations in the field and aerial photography. In the 1970s, satellite imagery allowed for more detailed maps.

$2 - Australian Antarctic Division, 1993

In the 1990s, Geographical Information Systems used computer technology to manage geographic data and produce more accurate maps.

First Day Cover Postmarked Kingston Ta 7050