Ross Dependency

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Ross Dependency
Flag
Motto: none
Anthem: none
Major bases		Scott Base (NZ) McMurdo Station (USA)
Government		None
New Zealand dependency
-	British claim transferred to New Zealand	1923
-	Sector span	160°E - 150° W
Area
-	Total	450,000 km2  174,000 sq mi
Population
-	Seasonal estimate	10 to 801 200 to 1,0002 85 to 2003 0 to 904
Currency		New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Time zone		NZST (UTC+12)
-	Summer (DST)	NZDT (UTC+13)
		(Sep to Apr)
Internet TLD		.nz, .aq
Calling code		64 2409
1 Scott Base 2 McMurdo Station 3 Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station 4 Zucchelli Station

The Ross Dependency comprises an area of Antarctica (and other land masses in the Southern Ocean) claimed by New Zealand. It is defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It is nearly identical in size to Sweden and constitutes the bulk of the Realm of New Zealand. The Dependency takes its name from Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered the Ross Sea.

The Dependency includes part of Victoria Land, and most of the Ross Ice Shelf. Ross Island, Balleny Islands and the small Scott Island also form part of the Dependency, as does the ice-covered Roosevelt Island.

Contents 1 Habitation 2 Jurisdiction 3 Postage stamps 4 Flag 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Habitation

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 at the very edge of the territory. The Dependency has a snow runway at Williams Field, and depending on conditions and time of year, two Ice Runways. This guarantees accessibility by wheeled and ski equipped aircraft year round.

Italy conducts scientific research each summer at their Zucchelli Station in Terra Nova Bay, and from 1969 to 1995 New Zealand operated a summer-only base called Vanda Station in the Dry Valley area of the dependency.

Greenpeace maintained its own Antarctic station in the Ross Dependency called World Park Base from 1987 to 1992, which was on Ross Island. As this base was a non-governmental entity, the official policy of the signatory nations of the Antarctic Treaty was not to give any support or assistance to it.

[edit] Jurisdiction

James Ross claimed Victoria Land and the Ross Sea for Britain when he discovered them in 1841. The British government defined its current borders in 1923 and entrusted it to the administration of New Zealand:

From and after the publication of this Order in the Government Gazette of the Dominion of New Zealand^[1] that part of His Majesty's Dominions in the Antarctic Seas, which comprises all the islands and territories between the 160th degree of East Longitude and the 150th degree of West Longitude which are situated south of the 60th degree of South Latitude shall be named the Ross Dependency.
From and after such publication as aforesaid the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Dominion of New Zealand for the time being (hereinafter called the Governor) shall be the Governor of the Ross Dependency; and all the powers and authorities which by this Order are given and granted to the Governor for the time being of the Ross Dependency are hereby vested in him.^[2]

Under the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty System, to which New Zealand has been a signatory since its inception in 1960, no nation may make efforts to enforce sovereignty or territorial claims over the Antarctic continent proper. The actual amount of land mass claimed is not large; most of the area defined as being in the Ross Dependency is either in the Ross Sea or the Antarctic Ocean. It is the second-smallest of the claims which were made prior to the implementation of the Antarctic Treaty System and the suspension of all territorial claims to Antarctica proper.

The Governor-General of New Zealand is also the Governor of Ross Dependency^[3]. Officers of the Government of the Ross Dependency are annually appointed to run the Dependency. The New Zealand Geographic Board has named many features within the Dependency.

In the late 1980s, when the British non-governmental exploratory vessel Southern Quest sank in the Ross Sea, United States Coast Guard helicopters rescued the crew, who were taken to McMurdo Station. The expedition was criticised by scientists in the Antarctic because the rescue and return of the crew disrupted their work.^[4]

In 2006, the New Zealand police reported that jurisdictional issues prevented them issuing warrants for potential American witnesses who were reluctant to testify during the Christchurch Coroner's investigation into the poisoning death of Rodney Marks at the South Pole base.^[5][6]

[edit] Postage stamps

[edit] Flag

Currently, only the New Zealand national flag serves in an official capacity in the Ross Dependency. The only other 'official' flag seen in photographs was the New Zealand Post flag to denote Scott Base's post office.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• New Zealand, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Outline of NZ involvement
• Antarctica New Zealand — Crown entity charged with administering, developing and managing Ross Dependency
• 50 years of Scott Base
• History - From University of Canterbury
• http://www.south-pole.com/homepage.html
• Stamps of Ross Dependency
• map of Ross Dependency (central part)
• Scientific Research by NIWA in Antarctica
• Dominion Post Photos of Antarctica: enter, go to Categories:Places;Antarctica

v • d • e Antarctic territorial claims Current Adélie Land · Argentine Antarctica · Australian Antarctic Territory · British Antarctic Territory · Chilean Antarctica · Ross Dependency · Queen Maud Land · Peter I Island Potential Brazilian Antarctica · Russian rights to Antarctic claims  · United States' rights to Antarctic claims Former New Swabia · South African territorial claims to Antarctica · Swedish territorial claims to Antarctica

v • d • e Administrative divisions of New Zealand
Supranational level	Realm of New Zealand
National level	New Zealand						Tokelau	Cook Islands	Niue		Ross Dependency
Regions	12 non-unitary regions	4 unitary regions	Chatham Islands		Kermadec Islands	sub-Antarctic islands
Territorial authorities	16 cities and 57 districts
Notes	Some districts lie in more than one region	These combine the regional and the territorial authority levels in one	Special territorial authority		Areas outside regional authority; these, plus the Chatham Islands and the Solander Islands, form the New Zealand outlying islands		State administered by New Zealand	States in free association with New Zealand			Claimed by New Zealand

v • d • e Realm of New Zealand Cook Islands · New Zealand · Niue · Ross Dependency · Tokelau

v • d • e The Continent of Antarctica Main articles Antarctic · History · Climate · Expeditions · Research stations · Territorial claims · Antarctic Treaty System · Communications · Demographics · Economy · Tourism · Transport · Military activity in the Antarctic Antarctica portal Geographic regions Antarctic Peninsula · East Antarctica · West Antarctica · Extreme points of the Antarctic · List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands · Antarctica ecozone Waterways: McMurdo Sound · Ross Sea · Weddell Sea Notable stations Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station (US) · Scott Base (NZ) · McMurdo Station (US) · Palmer Station (US) · Frei Montalva (CL) · Vostok Station (RU) · Halley Station (UK) · more... Famous explorers Ernest Shackleton · James Clark Ross · Richard Evelyn Byrd · Roald Amundsen · Douglas Mawson · Robert Falcon Scott · more...