Communications

Issue Date: 30 November 2006







Until the modern era of e-mail, all communication with one of the remotest places on earth were greatly influenced by the weather and this is still true today if you wish to send more than a picture or message.

25p RAF Hercules Mail Drop

The first aircraft to arrive and fly at South Georgia were two Walrus float planes aboard HMS Exeter during November 1938. From 1982 to 2001 the Royal Air Force used to regularly airdrop mail and other items for the British Army Garrison at King Edward Point. Waterproofed packages were dropped by parachute from Hercules aircraft above Cumberland Bay East, where boats would be waiting to retrieve them. The construction of a landing strip on South Georgia has received serious consideration but the problems are very great, there is very little flat ground, and what there is is surrounded by steep mountains, and the meteorological conditions would often preclude landings anyway.

50p Radio/Wireless Room

Whaling ships were using radio long before the first radio station was built on South Georgia in 1925. The station was built at the same time as the marine laboratory and accommodation of the Discovery Investigations. The first transmissions started on 1 April 1925. The two high steel aerials remained as prominent landmarks until early 1954. The stamp design shows the South Georgia radio room circa 1980. The international radio call sign ZBH was used a good deal two years later during the Falklands War.

60p MV Sigma

The current mail carrier is the Fishery Patrol Vessel, which patrols South Georgia waters policing any illegal fishing activity. South Georgia falls within the area covered by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) so many special regulations apply to fishing activity in the area.

The toothfish fishery in South Georgia has secured certification from the Marine Stewardship Council, a major achievement, as this is an international certificate of the quality of management of the fishery.

£1.05 SS Fleurus

Fleurus was the first regular carrier between Port Stanley and South Georgia (and other parts of the then Falkland Islands Dependencies). She was built in 1919 at Savannah, Georgia, in the United Stares. Contracted between The Tonsberg Whaling Company and Falkland Islands Government to provide a mail service, she operated from 1924 until 1933. After making over 30 voyages from South Georgia, she was later renamed the Thorodd and was in the service of the Norwegian Navy during WW2 and is associated with the famous dog Bamse, who received war decorations for bravery.

The First Day Cover design shows the Radio Mast, King Edward Point, in the 1940s

Release Date: 30 November 2006
Designer: Ross Wardle
Printer: BDT International Security Printing Ltd
Process: Lithography
Stamp Size: 28.45 x 42.58mm (please note amended stamp size from that provided previously)
Sheet Format: 20 (2 x 10) SG Radio Call Sign & Post Office Sign in sheet gutter
Watermark: CA Spiral
Perforation : 14 per 2cms




Copyright: FI Philatelic Bureau Created and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited