Travel through Philately - Cocos (Keeling) Islands Australia - 50 Years of Stamps

Cocos Islands has as interesting a geography as Christmas Island - they are both part of Australia yet they are nearer to the Indonesian archipelago than the mainland, the latter more so than the former, and larger. Although the island inhabitants, mainly Cocos Malay, maintained a western culture, there are extensive influences from Malaysia and Indonesia due to their proximity. Historically, their geographical location had them placed under the administration of Straits Settlements, which included Penang, Singapore and Malacca, after their annexation by the British Empire in 1857. The islands' control transferred to Australia on 23 November 1955.

Travel through Philately - Romantic Bounty of Pitcairn Island

Much was shared about Pitcairn Islands in the last article, but the archipelago was tightly bound to the infamous mutiny aboard HMS Bounty, so it makes no sense to share the location without at least highlighting the ship behind that event. And that became my reason for sharing this FDC.

The Bounty was not initially named so. Originally a collier built in 1784 and christened Bethia, it was purchased by the Royal Navy and refitted to be the famed ship in history. Its mission: to gather breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies in an attempt to grow them there as a cheap food source for the slave labor. William Bligh was recommended as the captain for the newly christened ship, and set sail in 1787 for the journey which never saw the vessel's return.

The beauty of the Bounty was romantically captured in this set of stamps, showing her sailing amidst various backdrops.

Travel through Philately - Pitcairn Islands Definitives

I never knew about the existence of Pitcairn Islands until I chance upon this geographically remote island while researching the postage history of South Pacific islands. Such a remote and unknown location would have remained so were it not for the story of 'Mutiny on H.M.S. Bounty'. The name is not unfamiliar to me, but I never knew that the mutineers inhabited an island after their fiasco (instead of going back to England) and their descendants still do until this day.

FDC portraying the first 4 stamps from a definitive set of 12.