Sunday, 20 February 2011

Port Lockroy, Antarctica



The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is custodian of historic site no. 61, Port Lockroy 64° 49' S, 63° 29' W.
The Trust aims to preserve Antarctica's unique heritage of exploration and scientific endeavour.
There are six abandoned bases that have been declared historic monuments: Damoy, Detaille Island, Horseshoe Island, Port Lockroy, Stonington Island, and Wordie House.  Port Lockroy has been restored to its 1962 condition.  It is now a "living museum" and operates a post office and gift shop, the proceeds going towards the upkeep of the base.

Each year around 70,000 cards are posted from the post office at Port Lockroy, destined for over 100 different countries, and I have one of them.  So they aren't exactly a rarity, but I'm delighted to have it nevertheless.

The stamp doesn't show a President, but it does show an emperor, an emperor penguin. It doesn't even show a queen, which is unusual for a British stamp.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"
Posted by Sheila @ A Postcard a Day at 20.2.11
Labels: , , ,
Location: Antarctica

11 comments:

  1. Emm20 February 2011 at 08:54

    I can't believe 70,000 postcards are sent from there a year! (Is that cards or all mail?) I thought they only got 20 visits a year! Hmmm. Maybe Antarctica isn't the travel no-go zone I thought it to be.

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  2. Emm20 February 2011 at 08:56

    Gosh, I didn't realise the Antarctica got 700 visits a year, never mind sending out 70,000 items of mail a year. (Is that mail or just postcards?)

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  3. Sheila @ A Postcard a Day20 February 2011 at 09:00

    According to their site, yes they do send out that many cards. Seems incredible.

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  4. Unknown20 February 2011 at 13:15

    I never would have thought the number would have been even a third of that. I am impressed and I love the image on the card.

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  5. Postcardy20 February 2011 at 13:41

    I wonder if there is a postcard showing the post office. I am always surprised when I read about things at Antarctica because in my mind it is uninhabited.

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  6. Bob Scotney20 February 2011 at 13:46

    This is very recent postcard too going by the date stamp on the stamp. A whale of a card.

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  7. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy20 February 2011 at 19:01

    This is really neat. Thanks for sharing and for the background info. Have a wonderful week!
    Kathy

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  8. viridian21 February 2011 at 00:04

    The baby penguins are adorable. a beautiful stamp. Thank you for participating.

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  9. Four-eyed-missy21 February 2011 at 10:10

    Lucky you to have one from Port Lockroy! I love the emperor penguin stamps - aren't they cute?


    Postcards Crossing

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  10. Joy21 February 2011 at 12:40

    A wonderful thing own. Great place to run a post office although I think I would just like to visit, Emperor Penguins may be able to adjust their body temperatures, but not me.

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  11. RNSANE26 February 2011 at 08:40

    Lucky you to be a recipient of one of those cards!

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Welcome to my postcard collection! I love hearing what you think of the cards - but spam WILL be deleted.

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