Overseas Territories

This Macaroni Penguin stamp issue is the second in a series of five issues based entirely on fantastic photographs submitted by members of the public. Five penguin species make the Falkland Islands their home, including the King, Macaroni, Gentoo, Southern Rockhopper and Magellanic.

This special stamp issue marks the 35th Anniversary of the tragic deaths of two local firefighters, Gerard Johnson and Robert Finlayson, the only two Firemen in the Falkland Islands who have lost their lives while on active duty.

Ascension is a speck on the world map. Seemingly lost in the Atlantic Ocean, the island is tiny and unique. Much of Ascension’s biodiversity fits the same description. Some of the smallest animal forms, found nowhere else on the planet, rule this isolated island.

The origins of St Mary’s go back to 1764, when a French Benedictine monk and botanist named Dom Antoine Pernetty came with the earliest settlers at Port Louis. Dom Antoine screened off part of the dining room in the main building at Port Louis and used it as a chapel. Later, under the Spanish administration that began in 1767, a temporary chapel dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude) was built. This was replaced with a more permanent stone-and-brick building that was consecrated in 1801.

In 1844 the settlers moved from Port Louis to Stanley, which on Friday, 18th July 1845, became the capital.

Ascension's Marine Protected Area (MPA) is one of the largest in the world, protecting 445 000 km2 of ocean. The waters around Ascension are near pristine, supporting healthy populations of seabirds, tuna, marlin, and sharks as well as thirteen species of fish found nowhere else in the world. It is a thriving oceanic community in the heart of the Atlantic.

In the Falkland Islands, working dogs are used for a variety of roles. For local farmers, dogs are of valuable assistance in managing large numbers of sheep over vast areas of land. Other working dogs are used to protect the local wildlife - particularly ground nesting birds - from invasive species. Dogs are also a crucial part of military and police operations within the Islands, such as patrols, tracking and drug detection.

The Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS) was established in November 1948 with the arrival of two Auster aircraft to provide the community with an air ambulance service.