This year marks the bicentenary of the circumnavigation of Van Diemen’s Land by Bass and Flinders. Two stamps commemorate their epic voyage, which proved the existence of Bass Strait and established that Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) was an island. Their findings had significant impact on the sailing time and saferty of ships sailing from Europe to Australia.
The Bass stamp features an excerpt from his letter to Sir Joseph Banks in 1799 detailing his finding of Bass Strait. Flinders’ sextant is also show, along with a map detailing the separation of Tasmania from the mainland. This same map continues in the Flinders tamps, together with an excerpt from the Narrative of the exploration undertaken in the Norfolk and Flinders’ telescope.
Details
- Date of Issue: 10 September 1998
- Withdrawn Date:
- 8 Oct 1998 (FDC)
- 30 April 1999 (stamps, coin cover, stamp pack, maxim cards)
- Designer: Lynda Warner, Hobart
- Printer: McPhersons
- Press:
- Process: Offset lithography
- Colours:
- Paper: Harrisons
- Watermark: None
- Perf: 14.6 x 13.86 (comb)
- Sheet: 50 stamps in two panes of 25 stamps (R5 x 5) separated by vertical gutter
- Quantity:
Gutter Strip
First Day Cover
Coin Cover
Stamp Pack
Maximum Cards
Australia Post Publications
1998 Australian Stamp Bulletin No.246 (August-September)
