A place for convicts |
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The first sight of an island after a long and treacherous sea
voyage has always been momentous to seamen and explorers. And it is all the more exciting
if the island i |
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s an
unknown or unexplored one. Moments like these are memorable and become more so when
captured in pictures in a befitting manner on the stamps! In 1990, the 375th anniversary
of the first sighting of the Christmas Island was celebrated by releasing two
commemorative stamps. The first record sighting of the island was credited to John
Milward, master of the British East India ship, Thomas. It was a bright morning on
February 3, 1615. Milward noted the location of the island in his log but made no apparent
effort to name, or claim the island. So it was unnamed for along period of 28 years when
Captain William Mynors of the Royal Mary again sighted the island. He named it
"Christmas Island" as the day of this second sighting fell on December 25, 1643.
Christmas Island is situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies 360 kms south of Java, 1310 kms
from Singapore and 2623 kms northwest of Perth, western Australia. When Thomas first made
its approach towards this Island it was totally uninhabited. The total area of this Island
is only 135 sq. kms.