Stamps of the British Empire: A World Tour

The Dutchman Janszoon reached the Australian mainland in 1605. Ten colonial stamps — Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland — served this transitional period. Tasmania issued its own stamps from 1853–1911, shown here in Mount Wellington and portrait pictorials.

Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859. Three classic Queen Victoria definitives are shown. No period stamps survive mounted on this page from Western Australia and South Australia, only the historical notes.

Tasman discovered the twin islands in 1642. Stamps issued since 1855 fill two full pages of the album — Victorian Newspaper Postage issues through to a 1966 Christmas Madonna issue.

Eight stamps here include "Founded 1788" landscape pictorials and a series of colourful Christmas commemoratives from 1962–1969.

Pitcairn's population descends from the mutinous sailors of HMS Bounty. Seven stamps trace George VI oranges-and-portrait pictorials through Discovery-of-Pitcairn commemoratives.

This crown colony became a British protectorate in 1892. Four stamps run from a 1911 protectorate issue through a 1937 Coronation commemorative to a QEII heron pictorial.

Niue became a British protectorate in 1900. The Cook Islands stamps date to 1892, including several island sub-issues shown here with a 1966 South Pacific Games tennis pictorial.

Tonga remained a native kingdom under British protection. Fiji became independent in 1970; six stamps run from an early Edward VII issue through sunbird and orchid pictorials. Samoa split in 1899 into German West Samoa and American East Samoa.

The British Solomon Islands became a protectorate from 1893/99. Nauru belonged to the German Marshall Islands postal territory until 1914. The New Hebrides were held as a rare Anglo-French condominium from 1906.