Christmas Island Christmas

Issue date: 01 November 2023

Overview

Land ahoy! This stamp issue takes us back in time to 1643, the year Captain William Mynors, of the East India vessel the Royal Mary, sailed past a small green island in the remote Indian Ocean. Because it was Christmas Day, Mynors named the lush, uninhabited volcanic isle Christmas Island.

Here we see Santa recreating this first sighting of the island by Europeans. The island and surrounding waters are home to a rich variety of birds, reptiles, crustaceans, and mammals, many of which greet Santa to join in the Christmas festivities. These include booby birds, frigatebirds, the Emerald Dove and Golden Bosun, crabs, Green Turtles and a friendly Dugong.

Today, the Christmas Island National Park offers some protection to the island’s extraordinary and unique biodiversity, which has been threatened by historical phosphate mining and invasive introduced species.

The illustrator of this stamp issue is talented Melbourne-based artist Rosie Marshall. Rosie has illustrated numerous children’s books, advertisements and private commissions.

Technical specifications

Issue date	1 November 2023
Issue withdrawal date	31 December 2024
Denominations	65c x 1, $3.00 (int.) x 1
Stamp & product design	Sonia Young, Australia Post Design Studio
Stamp illustration	Rosie Marshall
Paper - gummed	Tullis Russell 104gsm Red Phosphor
Paper: self-adhesive	S/A Sheetlet of 10 - Raflatac Cast gloss SP34 KS90, S/A Sheetlet of 5 - Tullis Russell Red Phos PSA (P55) 100gsm Release S/A
Printer	RA Printing (Rapid Labels S/A Sheetlet of 10)
Printing process	Offset lithography
Stamp size	26 x 37.5
Minisheet size (mm)	135 x 80
Sheetlet (mm)	192 x 120
Perforations	14.6 x 13.86
Sheet layout	Module of 50 (2 x 25 no design)
FDI postmark	Christmas Island WA 6798
FDI withdrawal date	30 November 2023

Stamps in this issue

Shop our stamp collectables

Set of Christmas Island Gummed Stamps

This set of stamps contains the two stamps from the Christmas Island Christmas stamp issue.

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Christmas Island Christmas Sheetlet of 5 x Self-Adhesive Stamps

This self-adhesive sheetlet of 5 x $3.00 stamps is from the Christmas Island Christmas stamp issue.

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Christmas Island Christmas Minisheet

This minisheet is from the Christmas Island Christmas stamp issue and presents the two stamps in an expansion of the full illustrative design.

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Christmas Island Christmas Sheetlet Pack

This Christmas Island Christmas sheetlet pack contains two embellished self-adhesive sheetlets of 10 x 65c stamps from the stamp issue presented in a high-quality folder.

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