Christmas Island: 19th-Century Explorers

Overview

The first recorded sighting of Christmas Island occurred in 1615, by Richard Rowe, master of the Thomas. The Christmas Island: Early Voyages stamp issue (2017) looked at two other significant 17th-century voyages to Christmas Island: that of Captain William Mynors, who sailed past in 1643 and named the island “Christmas Island”, and the 1688 voyage of the Cygnet (with William Dampier on board), which resulted in the first recorded visit ashore.

This stamp issue continues the story of early British exploration of the island, with a focus on expeditions of the 19th century. When naturalist and oceanographer John Murray collected mineral specimens from sea-beds near the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during the Challenger expedition (1872–76), he predicted that phosphate deposits would be found in the area, which led to a renewed interest in British exploration of Christmas Island. Two key voyages led to the collection of almost pure phosphate of lime in the island’s rocky landscape. This valuable discovery led to the annexation of uninhabited Christmas Island by the British on 6 June 1888. 

The stamp design combines a photographic portrait of each explorer with a chart in the background that focuses on a relevant area of the island for each expedition. The minisheet features an illustrative map of Christmas Island, published in 1902.

Technical specifications