South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
Quick reference
General issues: British overseas dependency 1985-2002, British overseas territory 2002-Present
Country name on general issues: Falkland Islands Dependencies, South Georgia and (the) South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia and (the) South Sandwich Is.
Currency: 1 Pound = 100 Pence 1985-Present
Population: No permanent population – a fluctuating number government, scientific and support staff resides in the territory.
Political history South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
Please click on the image to enlarge
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands is located in the southern Atlantic Ocean. South Georgia was supposedly first sighted in 1675. James Cook visited South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in 1775 and claimed the islands for Great Britain. A more formal claim was made by Great Britain in 1908, as part of a larger claim that also included the South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands and part of Antarctica – including Graham Land – territories that came to be administered as dependencies of the Falkland Islands.
The South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands and the British claim to Antarctica were detached from the Falkland Islands to form the British Antarctic Territory in 1962. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands were detached from the Falkland Islands, in 1985, to form the separate territory of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands. Technically, the territory was formed as a British overseas dependency to become a British overseas territory in 2002. Although de jure a separate territory, South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands is administered from the Falkland Islands – the governor of the Falkland Islands is the commissioner of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands.
The territory has no permanent population. South Georgia has, in the 19th century, been a base for sealers and, in the 20th century, a base for whalers. Currently, a fluctuating number of government, scientific and support staff reside in the two permanent stations that are operational on South Georgia. The main station is King Edward Point, which is also the main tourist destination in the territory. Currently, no stations are operational on the South Sandwich Islands.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands were claimed by Argentina in 1927 and 1938 respectively. To assert this claim, Argentina has operated military and scientific stations, both on South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. During the Falklands War, Argentina occupied South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Postal history South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
1989 – Glacier headwall, from a set with different glacier formations
The only post office in the territory is operated in King Edward Point on South Georgia and was opened in 1909. The first stamps used on South Georgia are the issues of the Falkland Islands. In 1944, stamps are issued for the individual dependencies of the Falkland Islands, also for South Georgia. These issues for the individual dependencies are, from 1946, superseded by joint issues for all Falkland Islands dependencies. From 1963 until 1979, stamps are issued for use on South Georgia – then still a Falklands Islands dependency – inscribed ‘South Georgia’. In 1980, the Falklands postal administration returns to stamps inscribed ‘Falkland Islands Dependencies’.
When South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, becomes a separate territory it is also awarded separate postal administration. As with other parts of the administration, the postal administration is closely linked to that of the Falkland Islands: the post master of the Falkland Islands doubles as postmaster of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, a deputy postmaster resides on South Georgia. From 1986, stamps are issued for use in South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands inscribed ‘South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands’. The stamps issued have themes mainly related to life on South Georgia and the British royal family.[1]All worldwide catalogs list the issues for South Georgia and South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands in different ways, either as subsections of the listing for the Falkland Islands, or as separate sections for ‘South Georgia’ or ‘South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands’.
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