The Ross Dependency comprises an area of Antarctica between the Ross Sea and the South Pole that the British government took possession of in 1923 and entrusted to the administration of New Zealand. It lies between longitudes 160 degrees east and 150 degrees west and to the south of the Antarctic circle. The Dependency takes its name from Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered the Ross Sea.
The Dependency includes most of the Ross Ice Shelf. The scientific bases of Scott Base (New Zealand) and McMurdo Station (USA) currently form the only permanently occupied human habitations in the area - unless one includes the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The Dependency has an ice runway at Williams Field, normally only suitable for landing ski-equipped aircraft during the summer season.
The Ross Island, Balleny Islands and the small Scott Island also form part of the Dependency.
Postage Stamps
The Dependency originally bore the name King Edward VII Land, and the New Zealand Post Office overprinted some 23,492 postage stamps with that name for use by the 1908 Shackleton expedition. Ernest Shackleton was sworn in as the first postmaster. In later years, the New Zealand Post Office issued stamps under the name "Ross Dependency" for use by expeditions in the Dependency. Stamp issues ceased for a time after the Scott Base Post Office closed as part of the rationalisation of New Zealand Post in 1987. But they were reintroduced again in 1994 due to demand.
