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Built as a polar research-supply and icebreaker under yard No 207 by Carrington Slipways Pty. Ltd, Tornago, Newcastle, Australia for Antarctic Shipping Pty., Australia.
23 December 1987 ordered.
28 October 1988 laid down.
10 September 1989 launched as the AURORA AUSTRALIS, named after Aurora Australis (southern light). The launching ceremony was performed by Hazel Hawke, wife of the Prime Minister of Australia.
The name was chosen after a country wide contest under young people in Australia, in which you were allowed to give a name to the ship.
Tonnage; 6.547 grt, 3.911dwt. tons, dim. 94.91 x 20.3 x 10.43m., draught 7.85m.
Powered by two medium speed Wärtsila oil engines, one with 6.000hp. (4.500 kW.), while the other has 7.400 hp. (5.500 kW.) connected to one shaft, with a variable pitch propeller, speed cruise 13 knots, maximum 16.8 knots.
Daily consumption full speed 37 ton fuel.
Range 25.000 miles.
One transverse bow-thrusther, and two retractable azimuth stern thrusters, with these thrusters you can keep the ship in position when needed.
The two stern props can also been used for slow speed, without noises or vibrations when some accurate tests have to be made.
She is double hulled and ice strengthened.
Fitted out with 8 laboratories, dark room, meteorological room, conference room, scientific freezer -21 degree.
Can carry container laboratories when needed.
Cargo capacity 1.790 cubic meters.
Can carry on deck 18 TEU’s
Has a hangar for two helicopters and a helideck on the after deck.
Accommodation for 24 crew and 116 passengers.
She can break ice of 1.23m. of first year ice.
30 March 1990 completed. Homeport Hobart, Tasmania.

The ship was designed by Wärtsila Marine Industries and she is the first ship of this type built in Australia, can be used in Arctic or tropic conditions.
Managed by P&O Polar Australia Pty. Ltd., Hobart, Tasmania.
After delivery for 10 year chartered by the Australian Federal Government.

Her first voyage was from May till June 1990 when she made a research voyage to Heard Island, during the trip she carried out oceanographic and biological fish sampling.
2009 Still used by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), and over the Antarctic summer months she is used there, while during the winter mostly laid up at Hobart, with occasional chartered out during the winter for other work.

21 July 1998 she got on fire in her engine room when in a position 65 29S 144 28E. The fire was extinguished by the crew, but considerable damage was caused.
One engine was restarted 24 July 1998 and she proceeded to Hobart at 6/7 knots.

IMO No. 8717283.

Australian Antarctic Territory 1991$1.20 sg89, scottL82, the stamp shows her off Heard Island with in the background the Big Ben mountain. The other stamp shows the Southern Light after she was named.
AAT 1998 45c sg122, scottL108.

Source: Marine News, Internet.

I believe that the stamps issued on 16 September 2008 by Australian Antarctic Territory, “International Polar Year 2007-08”, depict the research vessel AURORA AUSTRALIA.
The 55c stamp has the right hull colour, and the two row portholes match with photo’s of the ship.
Both $1.10 stamps depict the vessel but the colour of the hull is wrong, ships used in the Antarctic waters mostly carry a red hull coating to be better visible in the ice.

By the 55c is given: GLACIOLOGY

The Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem Experiment aims to increase understanding of the relationship between the physical sea-ice environment and the structure of the Southern Ocean ecosystem.
Observations of sea-ice thickness, snow cover and environmental properties are made by scientists working on ice floes accessed through an ice-breaking ship-for example by drilling through the ice, as shown in the stamp design. This IPY project also investigates the impact of ocean currents and wind on the sea-ice environment, the distribution of algae and krill population under the ice, and habitat transformation through climate change.

$1.10 OCEANOGRAPHY.

The Climate of Antarctic and the Southern Ocean project aims to extend existing knowledge of the Southern Ocean and the geophysical environment to learn how Antarctica drives and responds to climate variation and change Ocean circulation and water-mass formation in the Southern Ocean regulate the storage and transportation of heat, fresh water and carbon dioxide throughout the world’s oceans, so changes to the polar currents and sea-ice environment can affect global climate. Observations undertaken during this project will allow scientist to model the date to understand future climates. Among the technologies for observing ocean phenomena is the CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) probe shown in the stamp design. This is the workhorse of oceanographers studying the physical characteristics of the ocean. Lowered over a ship’s side to the sea floor, it measures temperature salinity and oxygen concentrations. Other instruments also measures ocean currents, carbon dioxide concentrations, nutrients and phytoplankton abundance.

$1.10 MARINE BIOLOGY.

The Census of Antarctic Marine Life project forms part of a broader, ongoing study of marine life, known as COML. This major IPY project looks at the evolution of marine life in Antarctic waters – mapping biodiversity, abundance and distribution at various ocean depths and environments. The project will establish a baseline against which the impact of climate change on marine species can be measured. The stamp design shows a pteropod, a pelagic snail (Limacina helicina), and an Emperor Penguin diving beneath the icesheet, just two species that will be mapped during the life of the project. The pteropod has been photographed through a light microscope.

Stamp Bulletin Australia No 294 September-October 2008.

This year marks the 30th year of service of Australia’s icebreaker RSV AURORA AUSTRALIS. Launched in 1989, the distinctive bright orange vessel was built by P&O Polar, in Newcastle, New South Wales, specifically for the Australian Antarctic program. The 94.9-metre-long, 3,911-tonne ship provides the principal link between Australia and its one sub-Antarctic and three Antarctic research stations.
The AURORA AUSTRALIS has berths for 116 passengers and is well equipped for marine science research, with a commercial-sized trawl deck and a hydro-acoustic system to help researchers study Southern Ocean organisms such as krill. Science conducted in on-board laboratories includes biological, oceanographic and meteorological experiments and observations. The ship is fitted with a helipad and hangar facilities for three helicopters. After 30 years of regular service in the harsh environment of the icy Southern Ocean, the AURORA AUSTRALIS will shortly be replaced by a new custom-built icebreaker with state-of-the-art facilities.
The stamps
The stamps, designed by Stacey Zass of Page12 Design, highlight various aspects of the ship and her surrounds.
The stamp and minisheet photographs are by Doug Thost, save for the $2 aerial view, which is by Sandra Zicus of the Australian Antarctic Division.

$1 RSV AURORA AUSTRALIS

$1 RSV AURORA AUSTRALIS and Adélie Penguins
Current AAT research is examining the feeding and breeding patterns of Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae). Discovered in 1840, these medium-sized penguins are very adept at swimming. This penguin species is one of the five that live on the Antarctic continent.

$2 RSV AURORA AUSTRALIS in high seas
Here, we see the incredibly rough conditions faced by AURORA AUSTRALIS, as enormous waves crash onto the ship. While designed to cross thousands of kilometres of the world’s stormiest seas, AURORA AUSTRALIS has been known to roll up to 45 degrees in huge ocean swells.

$2 RSV AURORA AUSTRALIS, aerial view
In the aerial view, we see the ship make her way through the ice-filled Southern Ocean. She has been especially designed to break through the thick ice. In fact, AURORA AUSTRALIS can break through 1.2-metre-thick ice at a speed of 13 knots.

https://australiapostcollectables.com.a ... s-30-years
Australian Antarctic Territory 2018 $1/$2 and MS sg ?, scott?