| Australian Antarctic Territory | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
 Map of Antarctica indicating Australian claim | ||||
| Capital | not applicable | |||
| Largest research station | Mirny Station(Russia) | |||
| Government | Territory of Australia | |||
| - | Governor-General | Quentin Bryce1 | ||
| Area | ||||
| - | Total | 5,896,500 km2 2,276,651 sq mi | ||
| Population | ||||
| - | estimate | less than 1,000 | ||
"The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is a part of Antarctica. It was claimed by the United Kingdom and placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1933. It is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation. Since the Antarctic Treaty came into force in 1961, Article 1 of which states "The treaty does not recognize, dispute, nor establish territorial sovereignty claims; no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force", most countries do not recognise territorial claims in Antarctica."
"AAT consists of all the islands and territory south of 60°S and between 45°E and 160°E, except for Adélie Land (136°E to 142°E), which divides the territory into Western AAT (the larger portion) and Eastern AAT. It is bounded by Queen Maud Land in the West and by Ross Dependency in the East. The area is estimated at 5,896,500 km².[1]
The territory is inhabited by the staff of research stations.
The Australian Antarctic Division administers the area primarily by maintaining three year-round stations (Mawson, Davis and Casey), which support various research projects."
The first issues came in 1957, and sporadically thereafter, settling into a pattern of an annual issue by the 1990s. All have been Antarctic-themed, and all are valid for postage in Australia and its territories, including Antarctica."
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