Oceania

1922-24: Definitive 'Leopard in Ambush'

The French territory of Oubangui and Chari took its name from the two rivers, one of which the Military Postal Service extended along from 1893 onward and then headed northwards during the 1900s. This stamp however is for civilian mail which for some time used overprinted Middle Congo stamps.  The area would become the Central African Republic in 1960.  From the heart of Africa I travel to the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and another French overseas territory,

1913: Definitive 'Tahitian Woman'

the Oceanic Settlements, a scattering of  some 118 islands which were later named French Polynesia. I don't have any other French Polynesia stamps but do have some featuring the great explorer of Oceania, Captain Cook

1974: Bi-Centenary of Captain Cook's three landings on the West Coast of Niue

his bi-centenary celebrated here by Niue although in June 1774 the locals were not keen on him landing and despite three attempt he had to return to his ship, in retaliation naming it Savage Island.  

So we have top - 2c The bow of Captain Cook's ship with Niue in the background, 3c Niue landing place.  Bottom 8c Map of Niue, 20c The present Niue Administration building against the ensign of 1774

Later a Polynesian group of islands was named after him.  I wonder if he saw these birds?

1989: Endangered Birds

The Cook Island's endemic and today endangered birds the lilac crowned fruit dove (Ptilinopus rarotongensis). Leaving Polynesia I now set sail to Melanesia and

1952-55 Definitive (Designer and Engraver ER Murray Jones)

Papua New Guinea, a country famous for its Rugby League players whose national team are known as the Kumuls (birds of paradise) and are at the moment in Australia and playing in the World Cup

1973: Diamond Jubilee of Fiji Rugby Union

but the other code of Rugby is played in Fiji which featured Rugby Union on its Diamond Jubilee stamps.

Sunday Stamps II prompt of the letter O -  for Oubangui and Chari, Oceania and Oval Ball - navigate over to See It On A Postcard 

Papua New Guinea

For this week's Sunday Stamps theme of "Ocean and Island nations of the Pacific" I had lots of choice from my 'Eye of the Wind' covers, the ship visited Fiji, Sulawesi (Indonesia), Cocos Islands and Papua New Guinea. I chose these headdress stamps from Papua New Guinea which I thought would brighten up any weekend.  The two on the right portray a man from Kundiawa (a town on the Highlands Highway), the other stamp is a masked dancer of the Abelam area of Maprik.  The bird of paradise whose feathers are sometimes used for these headdresses is the national emblem of the country, and appears on the cover above the map of Papua New Guinea.  The map shows the Strickland and Fly Rivers where the young explorers were navigating using inflatable boats.  Because the country has no railways and few roads the possibility of the rivers being opened for transport was the idea behind the project of mapping the rivers. Permanent low cloud and spray from the falls means detailed maps from aerial photography at this time were impossible. Reconnaissance on the expedition had to be on foot to identify the main hazards around which the inflatables would have to be portaged. During the navigation of these rivers a second party concentrated on a crocodile survey.  Which of those projects would you choose, crocodiles or rapids?  I'd have liked to be on the coast watching birds

This Little Egret stands in front of the stilt houses which stand about 4 metres high allowing for water levels at high tide.

The White Faced Heron possibly competing with the man fishing in the background; as night falls the Nankeen Night Heron appears; the Crested Tern on the beach and the Bar-tailed Godwin. Lastly

 in the golden light sits a Little Pied Heron as a canoe paddles past.

An entry to Viridian Postcard's Sunday Stamps

Tropical Waters

 "This cover was taken on 'Eye of the Wind' from Jakarta to Cocos (Keeling) Islands for franking. It continued on the ship to Kenya for backstamping in Nairobi. It returned on a VC10 direct flight to Royal Air Force Brize Norton on 22nd October 1980"

I think the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is just the sort of place one thinks of when the word  tropical island is mentioned. Their tourist website calls it "Australia's last unspoilt paradise in the azure waters of the Indian Ocean".  When HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin on board  sailed here in 1836 his mind was on scientific exploration,  and resulted in his  paper on the geology of these types of islands called the "Theory of subsidence of atolls and coral reefs"

The large sailing ship on the cover is the 'Eye of the Wind', the smaller boats typical fishing boats used by the islanders. This group of 27 small coral islands in two separate atolls was one of the calling places of Operation Drake's round the world expedition; a youth project which included scientific exploration and land based community service. Over 2 years the 'Eye of the Wind' travelled 37,000 miles and 414 young people from 28 countries sailed the oceans .   The marine biologist Dr Trish Holdway whose signature is on the cover signed up for a few months and ending up spending much longer with the boat and directing research.  Maybe she saw some of the fish featured on the stamps

The 20c stamp is Amphiprion clarkii or Clark's Anemone-fish, the two 1c Forcipiger flavissimus, the Yellow Longnose Butterfly fish.  Fascinating fish so here is another

butterfly fish, featuring on one of the island of Mauritius's definitive stamps issued in 2000, the Pavillon (Forcipiger wheeleri). They live on reefs and corals using their long jaws for probing in reefs and nipping off tube-worm tentacles as well as catching small crustaceans.  And lastly

the Freckled Rock Cod (Cephalopholis Coatesi) part of the 1976 Tropical Fish issue of Papua New Guinea. This fish is another one fond tropical reefs but is also found on sub-tropical waters along the coast. It has rows of teeth so don't get too close.

An entry to Sunday Stamps whose theme this week is the Oceans