CHRISTMAS ISLAND - AUSTRALIA ( Territory of Christmas Island )

The Territory of Christmas Island is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean, around 350 kilometres (220 mi) south of Java and Sumatra and around 1,550 kilometres (960 mi) north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. It has an area of 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) Christmas Island lies 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) northwest of Perth, Western Australia, 350 km (220 mi) south of Indonesia, 975 km (606 mi) ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and 2,748 km (1,708 mi) west of Darwin, Northern Territory. Its closest point to the Australian mainland is 1,560 km (970 mi) from the town of Exmouth, Western Australia.

Christmas Island is a non-self-governing external territory of Australia, as of March 2019 administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities (from 29 November 2007 until 14 September 2010, administration was carried out by the Attorney-General's Department, and prior to this by the Department of Transport and Regional Services)  The legal system is under the authority of the Governor-General of Australia and Australian law. An administrator appointed by the Governor-General represents the monarch and Australia and lives on the island. The territory falls under no formal state jurisdiction, but the Western Australian Government provides many services through agreements with Canberra.

The first European to sight the island was Richard Rowe of the Thomas in 1615. The island was later named on Christmas Day (25 December) 1643 by Captain William Mynors but only settled in the late 19th century. Its geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. The majority (63 percent) of the island is included in the Christmas Island National Park, which features several areas of primary monsoonal forest. Phosphate, deposited originally as guano, has been mined on the island since 1899.

The postage stamps and postal history of Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, was linked to its original economic situation until 1993. Mainly ruled by a phosphate production commission, the island was part of the British Straits Settlements colony from 1901 to 1942, then of Singapore from 1946 to 1958. Although it was placed under Australian control in 1958, the island remained postally and philatelically independent until 1993 when Australia Post became the island's postal operator. The island issued its own postage stamps from 1958. Those issued by Australia Post since 1993 are also valid in Australia, as are Australian stamps in Christmas Island.

According to the Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue, 32 stamps were issued when postal responsibility was exercised by the Phosphate Commission between 1958 and 1969, and 335 under the responsibility of the Christmas Island Administration between 1969 and 1993. From March 1993 to February 2003, during its ten first years of postal responsibility, Australia Post issued 153 stamps for Christmas Island. During World War II, the Japanese forces invaded the island on 31 March 1942. After the British forces liberated Christmas Island, British Military Administration overprinted stamps of Malaya were in use in the island. The civil postal agency was reopened by the end of 1946. After these events, the local postal system followed the political changes in British Malaya. Administratively linked to Singapore in April 1946, Christmas Island received this colony's stamps in 1948, but the mail was transported by the Pan Malayan Postal Union.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Australia decided to impose full Australian legislation to Christmas Island. In postal matters, starting 2 March 1993, Australia Post became the postal operator of the island and responsible for its philatelic program. Consequently, Christmas Island stamps issued after March 1993 were usable in Australia, and Australian stamps in Christmas Island.

On 4 March 1993 the first five Australia Post stamps were issued with a new designation: "CHRISTMAS ISLAND / AUSTRALIA". The philatelic program topics remained limited. Australia Post promised three issues per year: a Christmas stamp that was issued every two years during the 2000s, a Chinese New Year stamp since 1995 (later a twelve stamp issue after 2002) and one issue on local life.

In earlier days Christmas Island had own postal administration and they issued stamps independently. Later the postal service merged with Australia Post, Now the stamps comes as 'Christmas Islands Australia' instead of 'Christmas Islands Indian Ocean'.