All cover illustrations are thumbnails

1980

The 79/80 season was a tragic one for the base as on November 28th 1979 an Air New Zealand DC10 on a sight-seeing flight flew into Mt Erebus in white-out conditions killing all 257 on board. Air accident investigation and body recovery took priority over other work. NZ Police site. The controversial air accident report. Flight 901. There is a memorial cross at Scott Base for the victims.

In 2009 on the 30th anniversary of the crash Air New Zealand apologised to the victims of the crash. See. Well it might - its early behaviour in seeking to shift blame to the flight crew and deprecate a judicial enquiry which shifted blame to the airline's flight briefing systems was not a pretty sight.

All cover illustrations are thumbnails

1981

The state of sea ice has long been a determinant of sea access to Antarctica.

Now it is known from satellites. 

Sea Ice - today's satellite derived view. Ross Sea at 6 O'clock. Source

The ice shelves show as land on this view.

Mid-winter flight cover, 1981. 

Waikato University cachet

All cover illustrations are thumbnails

1982

The 1982 25th Anniversary pictorial set. The titles are: Adelie penguins, Tracked vehicles, Scott Base, Field party, Vanda Station and Scott's hut, Cape Evans. The designer Maurice Conly had visited Antarctica as a visiting artist for the RNZAF in 1972 and again in 1974.

Vanda Station was an NZ sub-base in the Dry Valleys west of McMurdo Sound which operated from 1969 to 1995, when it was decommissioned and the accumulated waste removed. It lives on in records as having the warmest air temperature ever recorded in Antarctica.

More on the Dry Valleys, and more. Vanda Station was by Lake Vanda.

The collection of names beginning with "V" in the dry valleys came from naming lakes after dogs in famous exploring teams.

In 1982 the Scott Base meter was set to commemorate the 25th anniversary:

25th anniversary of Scott Base cover

All cover illustrations are thumbnails

1983

As a place of extreme climate, Antarctic weather research has always been prominent. Composite daily weather satellite photos are available for the whole continent.

Today's weather photo, Ross Sea at 10 O'clock.

Any black areas are parts missed on the latest satellite pass.

Its an infra-red picture so the winter long polar night does not affect the view.

NZ Antarctic Society 50th anniversary

All cover illustrations are thumbnails

1984

In 1984 New Zealand produced an Antarctic research set, including a miniature sheet, which is rather more attractive than the individual stamps with their strange sky colours.

The stamps depict research in geology, biology, glaciology and meteorology. The surround shows a dog team and RNZAF C130 and a tracked snow vehicle. These stamps were used at Scott Base. Maurice Conly was the designer, as with the 1982 stamps.

Hello possums!

FDC from Scott Base

Scott Memorials

New Zealand has remembered Scott with a number of memorials:

• Port Chalmers where he left from for Antarctica on the last expedition has one
• Christchurch has a memorial statue, carved from marble by his widow. It was broken across the legs in the recent earthquakes and is currently removed undergoing restoration.
• Queenstown has another
• There is a memorial cross to him and those who died on his expedition on Observation Hill on Ross Island.

New Zealand was the first to hear of the Scott party's deaths in 1912. It was relayed to the world from the first port of call of the relief expedition, Oamaru. There is a memorial tree to Scott planted there.

Vanda Station cachet

All cover illustrations are thumbnails

1986

Ice research has long had an interest in the largest ice shelf - the Ross Ice shelf. Large bergs detaching from the shelf affect the local wildlife, as it did in 2002. 

Ross Ice Shelf Edge

Ross Ice Shelf Photos

Ross Ice seasonal melt (September to April)

Last 30 days Antarctic ice animation

Winter Over cachet, using NZ stamps. Midwinter cancellation.

All cover illustrations are thumbnails

1987 and later

The Scott Base post office closed on 1 October 1987. The Scott Base mail and the covers produced after 1987 are cancelled in Christchurch at the NZ Antarctic support centre rather than at Scott Base.

A  letter marking meter labeled Scott Base was used at the base for a period after the PO closure. 

There were no Ross Dependency stamps available from 1987 until the new Ross Dependency issues in 1994.

In the interim in 1988 New Zealand issued a Whales set, in 1990 an Antarctic birds set and in 1992 an Antarctic seals set. All these sets had a Ross Dependency  sub-title.

The 1994 set is unusual in having a 40c value (emperor penguin) and the same stamp design in 45c value. The 45c came first and the 40c later, after NZ Post reduced its standard letter rate in 1995.

Ross Dependency stamps are valid for postage in New Zealand.

 (Thumbnails)

New Zealand with Ross Dependency sub-title
1988 Whales FDC	1990 Birds FDC	1992 Seals FDC
Ross Dependency Again
Definitives
1994 Wildlife FDC	1995 Explorers FDC	1996 Landscapes FDC	1997 Birds FDCs
1998 Ice FDC	1999  Night Skies FDC	2000  Transport FDC	2001 Penguins
2002 Discovery Expedition Centennial FDC	2003 Marine Life FDC	2004 Emperor Penguin FDC	2005 Photographers FDC
2006 50th anniversary of Scott Base	2007	2008	2009
2010	2011

RIP - the Scott Base PO.

New Zealand 2007 - 50th anniversary of Scott Base

Commemorative stamps and cover

The RNZAF has recently taken some other of its aircraft to the Ice

Orion January 2006 - this was  a test flight to see if maritime surveillance could be enhanced and extended by using Antarctica.  More

Boeing 757 at Pegasus Field December 2009 - a prelude to more regular flights. More

1987 winter over cachet.

1988 meter labelled Scott Base but cancelled in Christchurch. Meteorological Service Butter Point cover. (Butter Point is on the west side of McMurdo Sound).

1990, meter set to zero and used as a cancel, but then cancelled officially as well. 

The upper 50c stamp shows Marco Taviani & the ANDRILL logo. The second 50c shows Tony Kingan, a drill engineer, & participating countries' flags. The $1 stamp also shows the flags plus one of the drilling sites. The $1 stamp was actually designed on the ice at McMurdo by scientists involved in the project & the image electronically transferred from there to the NZ Post printers, probably the first stamp so designed in the whole Antarctic continent.