1607, 3027 UNITED KINGDOM / AUSTRALIA - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and their son, Prince George

1607 The Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge
with their newborn son
a day after his birth on 22 July 2013

Duke of Cambridge is a title which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart (1660-1661), the eldest son of James, Duke of York (later James II), though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge, because he had died at the age of six months. The title became extinct several times, before being revived after a hiatus of over a hundred years in 2011, when it was bestowed upon Prince William on 29 April 2011 upon his marriage on the same day to Catherine (née Middleton; born 9 January 1982), who become Duchess of Cambridge.

3027 The Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge
with Prince George at his Christening,
on 23rd of October 2013

Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and  Diana, Princess of Wales. Following his father, William is second in line to succeed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as monarch of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms (including Australia). He was educated at four schools in the United Kingdom and obtained a degree from the University of St Andrews. He spent parts of a gap year in Chile, Belize, and some parts of Africa.

0107, 2872 AUSTRALIA - Indigenous Australians

2872 Australian Aboriginal men in Top End, taking part in a ceremony
which is accompanied by the haunting music of the didgeridoo

Human habitation of the Australia is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago, possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. Australia's Aboriginal culture probably represents the oldest surviving culture in the world, with the use of stone tool technology and painting with red ochre pigment dating back over 60,000 years. Australians never developed an "iron age", "bronze age", or pottery.

0107 An elder Australian Aboriginal,
his grandson and a Goanna

There is great diversity among different Indigenous communities in Australia, each with its own mixture of cultures, customs and languages. At the time of initial European settlement, over 250 languages were spoken; it is currently estimated that 120 to 145 of these remain in use, but only 13 of these are not considered endangered. Although Aboriginal society was generally semi-nomadic, moving according to the changing food availability found across different areas as seasons changed, the mode of life and material cultures varied greatly from region to region.

2602 AUSTRALIA - Eddie Koiki Mabo (1936-1992)

2602 Eddie Koiki Mabo (1936-1992)

Eddie Koiki Mabo was an Indigenous community leader and human rights activist who achieved national prominence as the successful principal plaintiff in the landmark High Court of Australia ruling on native land title. In 1992 the historic Mabo decision of the High Court of Australia recognised traditional land rights for Australian Indigenous People, overturning the legal doctrine of terra nullius (land belonging to nobody) which characterised Australian law with regard to land and title.

1778 AUSTRALIA (Australian Antarctic Territory) - Mawson Station vicinity

1778 Australian Antarctic Territory - Mawson Station vicinity

Mawson Station is one of three permanent Australian bases in the Australian Antarctic Territory of East Antarctica, actually Australia's oldest Antarctic station and the oldest continuously inhabited Antarctic station south of the Antarctic Circle. Named after Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, the base was established in 1954, and is managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). It houses approximately 20 personnel over winter and up to 60 in summer, being accessible by sea for only a short period each austral summer, between February and March.

1641 AUSTRALIA (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) - Aerial views of the islands

1641 Aerial views of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos (Keeling) Islands is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka. The territory consists of two flat, low-lying coral atolls and 27 coral islands, of which two, West Island and Home Island, are inhabited with a total population of approximately 600. The climate is pleasant, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year and with moderate rainfall. There are no rivers or lakes on either atoll. Fresh water resources are limited to water lenses on the larger islands, underground accumulations of rainwater lying above the seawater. These lenses are accessed through shallow bores or wells.

1376 AUSTRALIA (Victoria) - Virgin and Child in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne

On October 31, 2014 Australia Post has issued, as in every year, a series of stamps and also a set of maxicards to celebrate Christmas. The set contains five stamps, divided into two distinct categories, in fact two themes. Four of the stamps, festive and colourful, represent the familiar trappings and sentiments of Christmas celebration and recall techniques of paper cut design as well as snow crystals. The other two have a religious theme, being based on stained-glass windows in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.

1340 AUSTRALIA (Tasmania) - West Coast Wilderness Railway

1340 West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania

The West Coast Wilderness Railway is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company railway between Queenstown and Regatta Point, Strahan, in Tasmania, now operating as a tourist experience with a focus on sharing the history of the Tasmania's West Coast. Following track rehabilitation work, the railway was re-opened between Queenstown and Dubbil Barril on 6 January 2014, while rehabilitation of the section through to Strahan continues. This railway is significant because of its Abt system to conquer the mountainous terrain through rainforest, with original locomotives still operating on the railway today.

1329 AUSTRALIA (Christmas Island) - The annual red crab mass migration

1329 The annual red crab mass migration in Christmas Island

Located at 500km south of Indonesia, and at 1,560km from the town of Exmouth, the closest point of the Australian mainland, Christmas Island is quite isolated, so had a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna. Unfortunately two species of native rats have become extinct, the endemic Christmas Island Shrew has not been seen since the mid-1980s, while the Christmas Island Pipistrelle (a small bat) is critically endangered and possibly also extinct. Now the land crabs and sea birds are the most noticeable fauna on the island.

1229 AUSTRALIA - Koala

According to biologist Stephen Jackson: "If you were to take a straw poll of the animal most closely associated with Australia, it's a fair bet that the koala would come out marginally in front of the kangaroo".In 1997 e.g. about 75 percent of European and Japanese visitors to Australia placed the koala at the top of their list of animals to see. Factors that contribute to the koala's popularity in nowadays include its childlike body proportions and teddy bear-like face, even if early European settlers in Australia considered the koala to be a prowling sloth-like animal with a "fierce and menacing look".

0040, 1215 AUSTRALIA (New South Wales) - Sydney Opera House (UNESCO WHS)

0040 Sydney Opera House (1)

"There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world - a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent", wrote Hyatt Foundation in the memo supporting the granting of Pritzker Architecture Prize (architecture's Highest Honor) to Jørn Utzon in 2003. But many had to bear the danish from the Australian authorities during the construction of the Sydney Opera House, although just these authorities have chosen his project following a design competition.

1215 Sydney Opera House (2)

Lack of vision of the construction firms, politicians obtuseness, politically lowballed construction budget (final costs amounted to 102 million AUD, while the initial budget was 7 million) and poor communication between the involved parties were just as many reasons for Utzon to resign in 1966, seven years after the construction begining and exactly seven before it ends.For various reasons, the costs being the main, Danish's plans weren't respected to the interiors achievement, which later turned out to be a mistake. As a supreme disregard, Utzon not only wasn't invited to the inauguration, but nor was his name mentioned.

1202 AUSTRALIA (Christmas Island) - Flying Fish Cove

Christmas Island is a territory of Australia (since 1957) in the Indian Ocean, which has an area of 135 square kilometres, and a population of 2,072 (70% Australian Chinese, 20% European, and 10% Malay), who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island. The main settlement is Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), the first British settlement on the island, established in 1888. About a third of the territory's total population lives in Flying Fish Cove. There is a small harbour which serves tourists with yachts.

0958 AUSTRALIA (Western Australia) - Drosera lowriei

As is well known, Australia is full of endemic species of plants and animals, because of the continent's long geographic isolation, tectonic stability, and the effects of an unusual pattern of climate change. One of these species of plants is Drosera lowriei (in the maxicard), formally described for the first time by N. G. Marchant in 1992, and named in honour of Allen Lowrie. Is a perennial tuberous species, endemic to Western Australia, and grows in a rosette about 3-4 cm in diameter (typical form) or 5-7 cm (giant form), in loam soils in wet zones near granite outcrops.

0945 AUSTRALIA (Victoria) - Puffing Billy Railway

The Puffing Billy Railway is a narrow gauge railway (762 mm) located near Melbourne,  which runs through the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges to Gembrook. It was originally one of five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways opened in 1900, closed in 1954, reopened in 1955, closed again in 1958, and reopened from 1962, in stages, now being kept in operation through the efforts of volunteers. Being close to Melbourne, the line is one of the most popular steam heritage railways in the world. Operations are centred on Belgrave, which houses the main offices of the railway.

0875 AUSTRALIA - The map and the flag of the country

Considered a continent because sit on its own tectonic plate, but also an island, because is separated from all other continents by water, Australia is ocupied of a single country, officially named the Commonwealth of Australia, which comprise also the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's 6th largest country, but only 52nd in terms of population, because the largest portion of land is occupied by desert or semi-arid land, although not lacking subtropical rainforests and mountain ranges.

0381, 0825 AUSTRALIA (Queensland) - Great Barrier Reef (UNESCO WHS)

0381  Great Barrier Reef  Australia (1)

Located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, stretching for over 2,600 km and over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres, and can be seen from outer space. Therefore it is not only the largest coral reef ecosystem on earth, but also the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. The first recorded discovery of the reef by europeans occurred when James Cook crashed into it in 1770.

0825  Great Barrier Reef  Australia (2)

Cook's quick-thinking crew was able to repair the ship and sail on, but in the coming decades the reef has caused many shipwrecks, until it was mapped in th­e 1800s. Now, a large part of The Great Barrier Reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (the largest marine protected area in the world), and since 1981 was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Great Barrier Reef supports a diversity of life, including many vulnerable or endangered species, some of which may be endemic to the reef system.

0709 AUSTRALIA (Victoria) - Grampians National Park (Gariwerd)

0709 Grampians National Park (Gariwerd)

Placed at 235km west of Melbourne, Grampians National Park is a distinct section of the Western Victorian Highlands province, which in turn is part of the larger East Australian Cordillera. This sandstone mountain ranges were named Grampians after the Grampian Mountains from Scotland, but are also known by the name Gariwerd, from the local Australian Aboriginal language. They are famous for beautiful landscapes - high rocky plateaus and sheltered gullies contrast with the surrounding flat and open farmland adjoining the park.

0705 AUSTRALIA (Northern Territory) - Kakadu National Park (UNESCO WHS)

This archaeological and ethnological reserve of the size of Slovenia, located 171 km southeast of Darwin,  within the Alligator Rivers Region, has been inhabited continuously for more than 40,000 years. The cave paintings, rock carvings and archaeological sites record the skills and way of life of the region’s inhabitants, from the hunter-gatherers of prehistoric times to the Aboriginal people still living there, even if their lifestyle has changed in recent years.

0664 AUSTRALIA (Australian Antarctic Territory) - David Range from Framnes Mountains

In 1933 United Kingdom placed the Antarctic territory situated from 60°S latitude to the South Pole and between longitudes 160°E and 45°E under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia. It became the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT), which is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation. Australia has a long historic connection with Antarctica dating back to the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (about which I wrote here) led by geologist Sir Douglas Mawson. Now, the territory is inhabited by the staff of research stations.

0648 AUSTRALIA (Western Australia) - Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral

0648 Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral

St Francis Xavier Cathedral is the first Catholic Church in Geraldton, a port in the Mid West region of Western Australia, and is considered by many to be the greatest work of John Hawes, architect and priest. He designed the building intending to "avoid any slavish imitation of past styles (and) to give character and expression to the building by austere simplicity of design and by harmonious proportions of the several parts… Solidity and massiveness have been chosen rather than prettiness and elegance".

0366 & 0501 AUSTRALIA - Australasian Antarctic Expedition

The summer of 1911-1912 was certainly the most dramatic and perhaps the most tragic of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, due to the race between Amundsen and Scott, concluded in favor of the Norwegian, who reached the South Pole on 14 December 1911. The British reached also to the pole, but after more than a month, on 17 January 1912, and he died on the way back. During the same period were conducted another two expeditions to the continent, Second German Antarctic Expedition, led by Wilhelm Filchner, and Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE), led by Douglas Mawson.

The only one of them with a substantial scientific program was that of Mawson, even if neither he wasn't lacked of national pride, as he will recognize in The Home of the Blizzard, book published in 1915: "For many reasons, besides the fact that it was the country of my home and Alma Mater, I was desirous that the Expedition should be maintained by Australia. It seemed to me that here was an opportunity to prove that the young men of a young country could rise to those traditions which have made the history of British Polar exploration one of triumphant endeavour as well as of tragic sacrifice. And so I was privileged to rally the sons of the younger son."