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Revision as of 12:19, 16 April 2005 by Ratzer (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is the part of Antarctica claimed by Australia. It consists of all the islands and territory south of 60° S and between 44°38' E and 160° E, except for Adélie Land (136°11' E to 142°02' E), which divides the territory into Western AAT (the larger portion) and Eastern AAT. It is bounded by Dronning Maud Land in the West and by Ross Dependency in the East. The area is estimated at 6,119,818 km. The territory is uninhabited, except for the staff of research stations. The main station is Mawson Station.
The territory is divided into nine districts, which are from West to East:
| No. | District | Area (km) | Western Border | Eastern Border | Station | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enderby Land | 044°38' E | 056°25' E | Molodezhnaya (Russian) | 67°40'00.1" S | 45°51'00.0" E | |
| 2 | Kemp Land | 056°25' E | 059°34' E | ||||
| 3 | MacRobertson Land | 059°34' E | 072°35' E | Mawson Station | 67° 36' 09.7" S | 62° 52' 25.7" E | |
| 4 | Princess Elizabeth Land | 072°35' E | 087°43' E | Davis Station | 68° 34' 35.8" S | 77° 58' 02.6" E | |
| 5 | Wilhelm II Land | 087°43' E | 091°54' E | ||||
| 6 | Queen Mary Land | 091°54' E | 100°30' E | Mirny (Russian) | 66° 33' 00.0" S | 93° 01' 00.1" E | |
| 7 | Wilkes Land | 100°30' E | 136°11' E | Casey Station | 66° 16' 54.5" S | 110° 31' 39.4" E | |
| Vostok (Russian) | 78°28' S | 106° 48' E | |||||
| 8 | George V Land | 142°02' E | 153°45' E | ||||
| 9 | Oates Land | 153°45' E | 160°00' E | Leningradskaya (Russian) | 69° 30' 00.0" S | 159° 22' 59.9" E | |
| AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC TERRITORY | 6,119,818 | 044°38' E | 160°00' E |
The mainland territory was first claimed 24 August 1936, although Mawson Station, the first Australian station on the continent proper, was not established until 11 February 1954. However, since Australia's signature of the Antarctic Treaty, territorial claims are effectively suspended, and the Australian Antarctic Division administers the area, primarily by supporting various research projects.
Postage stamps
Nevertheless, Australia issues postage stamps for the territory. 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, so in practice they are just Australian stamps with a different inscription.