The unpopulated Heard and McDonald Isles have been in the news recently, thanks to the southern Orange Menace's decision to impose a 10% Tariff on them, and I got curious about whether they were one of those places that stamps have been "issued" for even though no one lives there. So I did a little poking around on the web and this is what I've found.
This is some information from the Wikipedia article on the islands (
Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islands)
The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall land area is 72 km2 (144 sq mi) and it has 101.9 km (63 mi) of coastline. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the islands lie on the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean and have been an Australian territory since 1947.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands contain Australia's only two active volcanoes. The summit of one, Mawson Peak, is higher than any mountain in all other Australian states, territories or claimed territories, except Dome Argus, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies in the Australian Antarctic Territory. This Antarctic territory is a land claim unrecognized by most other countries, meaning that Mawson Peak is the highest mountain with undisputed Australian sovereignty.
The islands are among the most remote places on Earth: They are located about 4,100 kilometers (2,500 miles; 2,200 nautical miles) southwest of Perth, 3,850 km (2,390 mi; 2,080 nmi) southwest of Cape Leeuwin, Australia, 4,200 km (2,600 mi; 2,300 nmi) southeast of South Africa, 3,830 km (2,380 mi; 2,070 nmi) southeast of Madagascar, 1,630 km (1,010 mi; 880 nmi) north of Antarctica, and 450 km (280 mi; 240 nmi) southeast of the Kerguelen Islands (part of French Southern and Antarctic Lands).
The islands, which are uninhabited, can be reached only by sea, and typically require a two-week voyage from Australia to visit.
I couldn't find any stamps purporting to be issued by Heard Island & McDonald Isles but I found this article on the Australian Post's site -
Heard Island featuring these stamps:
$1 Seals
$1 Kerguelen Cabbage (Pringlea antiscorbutica) and lichen
$1 King Penguins at Atlas Cove
(or angry mob protests tariffs!)
$1 Baudissin Glacier
Technical specifications
Issue date 5 September 2017
Issue withdrawal date 31 March 2018
Denominations 4 x $1
Stamp design Melinda Combes, Whitechurch Coombes Design
Product design Melinda Combes, Whitechurch Coombes Design
Printer EGO
Paper gummed, Tullis Russell Red Phos
Printing process Offset lithography
Stamp size 35mm x 35mm
Perforations 14.28 x 14.28
Sheet layout Module of 50
FDI postmark Kingston TAS 7050
FDI withdrawal date 4 October 2017
credit for Stamp photos & etc. are on the Australian Post site.
