The postage stamps and postal history of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are linked to those of the two British colonies and of Australia to which the Indian Ocean archipelago was successively attached.
A postal agency existed there between 1933 and 1937, and has been there permanently since 1952. The archipelago has issued postage stamps since June 1963 and had postal independence from 1979 to 1993. Between 1963 and 1979 with the Australian Post Office and since 1 January 1994 with Australia Post, the Cocos Islands' and Australia's stamps are valid in both these territories.
According to Stanley Gibbons catalogue, [1] the Australian Post Office issued 31 stamps between 1963 and 1979, compared to 264 by the local authority between 1979 and 1993. During the ten first years of postal responsibility, Australia Post issued 112 stamps.
During World War I, the Battle of Cocos opposed the German Kaiserliche Marine and the Royal Australian Navy for the control of Cocos telegraphic post, that permitted communications between the United Kingdom and the Pacific Ocean Dominions. [2]
A postal agency was opened in the Cocos between 1 April 1933 and 1 March 1937. Postage stamps of the Straits Settlements were available successively picturing Kings George V and George VI. [3] The Cocos were administered by the Settlements.
During World War II, the British forces defended the islands' telecommunication devices against the Japanese advance. [3] The postal agency reopened on 2 September 1952 with stamps of Singapore. [3]
In 1955, with the independence of Singapore being prepared, the United Kingdom gave control of the Cocos Islands to Australia. The Australian legislation was introduced, including the postage system, stamps and the currency, the Australian pound replacing the Malaya and British Borneo dollar. [3] However the post office was considered a non official one: the local postmaster was paid a commission depending on his financial results. [4]
On 11 June 1963, the Australian Post Office issued six stamps bearing the mention "COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS", that appeared on all the islands' stamps until late 1993, and illustrated with subjects linked to the islands' life and geography. The series was drawn and engraved by E. Jones. [5] [6]
On 14 February 1966, the Australian decimalisation imposed the use of Australian stamps alone, whose denominations were in Australian dollar and cents. [3] The new definitive series for Cocos Islands in the new currency was issued on 9 July 1969. The twelve stamps pictured local fauna and flora. [7] They were replaced on 29 March 1976 by a new twelve stamp series about the ships of the Cocos history. [8]
In the late 1970s, Australia bought the Clunie-Ross family's property of the islands and gave a large amount of autonomy to the inhabitants. The post service became independent from Australia and issued its two first postage stamps on 1 September 1979 picturing the flag of Australia, map and the atoll landscape on the 20 cents, and the Statutory Council on the 50 cents. [9] Stamps of Australia were no longer valid in the islands.
The philatelic program was entirely printed by printers in Melbourne. Topics were linked to the archipelago and its patriotism: fauna and flora, local and maritime history for the first ones, Australian flag and events of the royal family for the second. [10]
Following the example of Christmas Island in March 1993, the postal service of the Cocos Islands was transferred from the local authority to Australia Post. Cocos Islands stamps issued since 1994 and bearing the mention "COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS AUSTRALIA" are valid in Australia and the stamps of Australia are on the archipelago too. [11]
One or two annual issues have been issued since 1994, only about local topics, with a large part about fauna. [11]
Years | Stamps available |
---|---|
Value in Straits dollar. | |
1933–1937 | Malaya / Straits Settlements |
Value in Malaya and British Borneo dollar. | |
1952–1955 | Malaya / Singapore |
Value in Australian pound. | |
1955–1966 | Stamps of Australia |
1963–1966 | Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Value in Australian dollar. | |
1966–1979 | Stamps of Australia |
1969–1993 | Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
1994- | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Australia and stamps of Australia |
Key | |
italic | mention on stamps |
The native states of India, also known as feudatory or princely states, were typically vassals under a local or regional ruler who owed allegiance to the British Raj. There were about 675 native states in all but many were not parts of British India proper because they never become possessions of the British Crown; rather, they were tied to it in a system of subsidiary alliances. Following the Partition of India in 1947, the suzerainty of the Raj was terminated and native states had to choose between independence or formal accession by either India or Pakistan. In practice, all of the native states had acceded or been annexed by the end of 1949.
This is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of Australia. encompassing some history of the Australian colonies and the main stamp issues that followed the takeover of the colonies as well as later issues and also an precis of the external territories.
Each "article" in this category is in fact a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
The postage stamps and postal history of Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, was linked to its original economic situation until 1993. Mainly ruled by a phosphate production commission, the island was part of the British Straits Settlements colony from 1901 to 1942, then of Singapore from 1946 to 1958. Although it was placed under Australian control in 1958, the island remained postally and philatelically independent until 1993 when Australia Post became the island's postal operator.
The postage stamps and postal history of Papua New Guinea originated in the two colonial administrations on the eastern part of the island of New Guinea and continued until their eventual merger, followed by independence in 1975.
The postage stamps and postal history of Norfolk Island depended on Australia until 1947, when the island, an Australian territory since 1914, received its own stamps and postal autonomy.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Brunei.
Postage stamps and postal history of Singapore surveys postal history from Singapore and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day. Postal service in Singapore began with the delivery of stampless letters whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a system of universal prepayment that required all letters to bear nationally issued adhesive postage stamps. Singapore is an island country off maritime Southeast Asia, located between the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.
Postage stamps have been issued in the Turks and Caicos Islands since 1867.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Newfoundland.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of New Brunswick.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tasmania, a former British colony that is now part of Australia.
The first postal service took place using mail sent with captains of packet ships, using agents in the England and in the islands for the end delivery. The cost was normally 3d. The first pillar boxes in Britain were introduced in the Channel Islands as an experiment in 1852, to collect mail for the Royal Mail packet boats. The oldest pillar box in use in the British Isles is in Guernsey.
A postal fiscal is a revenue stamp that has been authorised for postal use. Postal fiscals may arise because there is a shortage of postage stamps for a country or out of economy to use up obsolete or excess stocks of revenue stamps. Postal fiscals are to be distinguished from stamps marked "Postage and Revenue" which were always intended for either use, or revenue stamps used postally by accident or because local postal regulations did not prohibit such use. Postal fiscal status may usually only be identified from the cancels on used stamps or where the stamp is found on cover.