The first ANARE expedition coincided with the handover of Heard Island to Australia by Great Britain in 1947. The stamp features a photograph by David Eastman showing the raising of the Australian flag at Atlas Cove, where the first sub-Antarctic station was established. Seven years later, in 1954, Mawson Station, Australia’s first research station in Antarctica was established. Heard Island station was then closed. The color illustration shows the Mawson station in recent years. (Photo: Australia Post)
The year 2022 marks the 75th anniversary of the Australian government’s scientific research program in Antarctica. It all began in 1947 with the founding of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE), now known as the Australian Antarctic Program. The issue date of the anniversary stamp series was August 9, 2022.
ANARE led directly to the establishment of the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) in 1948, which has since directed and managed all Australian activities in Antarctica, as well as supporting the work of both governmental and non-governmental scientific and educational organizations.
AAD’s first director was physicist Dr. Phillip Law, who led the science program on the first ANARE trip in 1947-48. While this first expedition had unsuccessfully attempted to reach the Antarctic mainland to explore a site for a permanent research station, it did lead to the establishment of bases on the sub-Antarctic Heard and Macquarie Islands for data collection and scientific monitoring and to support future Antarctic expeditions.
Field expeditions are essential to Antarctic research, and effective transportation in the hostile environment is critical and evolving. This stamp depicts an early expedition in which sledding and snowshoeing technology supported an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to climb volcanic “Big Ben” on Heard Island in the first year of the ANARE program. The stamp is combined with the latest modern transport vehicle, one of five tractors painted with a distinctive design by Australian artist Ken Done. (Photo: Australia Post).
There are now three Australian research stations in Antarctica that operate year-round – Mawson, Davis and Casey. Together with a number of smaller “summer” field camps and bases, they have supported exploration and scientific work in Antarctica since the first station, Mawson, opened in 1954. Today, AAD’s diverse and comprehensive program includes a range of terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric sciences. Important research aims to address environmental challenges, including climate change, the human footprint in Antarctica, wildlife conservation in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and fisheries sustainability in the Southern Ocean.
The early photo by Alan Campbell-Drury shows a geologist at his microscope and is paired with a color photo by Anthony (Tony) Fleming showing a glaciologist working an ice core in the Aurora Basin in recent years. (Photo: Australia Post)
Since ANARE’s inception, exploration and research in Antarctica have been supported by fixed-wing aircraft. The stamp features a photograph by Phillip Law showing an “Oyster Mark 6” damaged in 1954 while being transported to Mawson Station on the ship Kista Dan. Access to the continent was transformed in 2008 with the establishment of air service from Hobart to Wilkins Aerodrome near Casey. During the summer months, the Airbus A319 was the main means of transport for passengers and light cargo. Since 2015, these flights have been supplemented by the “RAAF C-17A Globemaster III” shown in the second photo, which can bring in heavy equipment and perform airdrops throughout the year. (Photo: Australia Post)
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal / Australia Post
