Ross Dependency
| |||||
| (no map) | |||||
| Political status | Dependency of New Zealand | ||||
| Governor | Dame Silvia Cartwright, ex officio as Governor-General of New Zealand | ||||
| Area - Total | 450 000 km2 | ||||
| Population | Negligible | ||||
| Currency | New Zealand dollar | ||||
The Ross Dependency comprises an area of Antarctica between the Ross Sea and the South Pole that the British government took possession of in 1923 and entrusted to the administration of New Zealand. It lies between longitudes 160 degrees east and 150 degrees west and to the south of the Antarctic circle. The Dependency takes its name from Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered the Ross Sea.
The Governor of the Ross Dependency is (as of 2004) the Governor-General of New Zealand. Officers of the Government of the Ross Dependency are annually appointed to run the Dependency.
The Dependency includes most of the Ross Ice Shelf. The scientific bases of Scott Base (New Zealand) and McMurdo Station (USA) currently form the only permanently occupied human habitations in the area - unless one includes the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The Dependency has an ice runway at Williams Field, normally only suitable for landing ski-equipped aircraft during the summer season.
The Ross Island, Balleny Islands and the small Scott Island also form part of the Dependency. New Zealand has a summer-only base in the western highlands of the dependency called Vanda Station.
Neither the Russian Federation nor the United States of America recognizes the juristiction of New Zealand over Ross Dependency, despite the specific mention of the territory by the Governor-General of New Zealand when this person assumes office (the Governor-General mentions all dependencies/territories of New Zealand seperately by name as his/her 'area of responsibility' when taking the oath of office). The Antarctic Treaty has served to smooth over this dispute - along with disputes over other territorial claims in Antarctica - though New Zealand authorities make it clear to all visitors that persons there are subject to New Zealand law.
Greenpeace maintains its own Antarctic station in the Ross Dependencey called World Park Base, which is on Ross Island. As this base is a non-governmental entity, the official policy of the signatory nations of the Antarctic Treaty is not to give any support or assistance to it.
Postage Stamps
The Dependency originally bore the name King Edward VII Land, and the New Zealand Post Office overprinted some 23,492 postage stamps with that name for use by the 1908 Shackleton expedition. Ernest Shackleton was sworn in as the first postmaster. In later years, the New Zealand Post Office issued stamps under the name "Ross Dependency" for use by expeditions in the Dependency. Stamp issues ceased for a time after the Scott Base Post Office closed as part of the rationalisation of New Zealand Post in 1987. But they were reintroduced again in 1994 due to demand.
External links
- Government of the Ross Dependency -- official description (http://www.mfat.govt.nz/foreign/antarctica/ross/rossdependency.html)
- Half a dozen profiles of relevant websites (http://zeal.com/category/preview.jhtml?cid=10117054)
- History - From University of Canterbury (http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/resources/history.html)
- http://www.south-pole.com/homepage.html
- Stamps of Ross Dependency (http://www.nzstamps.co.nz/cgi-bin/nzstamps/web_store/web_store.cgi?cart_id=&page=ross_dependency/ross_stamps.htm)
| | 
|
|---|---|
| Cook Islands | Niue | Ross Dependency | Tokelau | |
de:Ross-Nebengebiet