Ross Dependency

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The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica 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 claimed by New Zealand. Since the Antarctic Treaty came into force in 1961, Article IV of which states: "No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica," most countries do not recognise territorial claims in Antarctica.

The Dependency takes its name from Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered the Ross Sea, and 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.

1 History of claim
2 Geography and habitation
3 Other events
4 Postage stamps
5 Notes
6 See also
7 External links

History of claim

Following his discovery of Victoria Land in 1841, James Clark Ross took possession of this territory, along with the surrounding sea, on behalf of Britain. On 30 July 1923, the United Kingdom government passed an Order in Council under the British Settlements Act 1887, which defined the current borders of the Ross Dependency as follows:

"From and after the publication of this Order in the Government Gazette of the Dominion of New Zealand 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."

The Order in Council then went on to appoint the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of New Zealand as the Governor of the territory.^[1] This Order in Council was published in the New Zealand Gazette on 16 August 1923, and on 14 November 1923, the Governor-General issued regulations extending New Zealand law to the Ross Dependency.

After the Order in Council was read in the New Zealand House of Representatives by the Prime Minister of New Zealand William Massey, a clarification was made by the Attorney-General Sir Francis Bell in the legislative council. Sir Francis stated that:

"The boundaries of New Zealand are not extended to include the Ross sea and adjacent lands. His Majesty's delegation to the Governor-General of New Zealand did not confer upon the government or parliament of New Zealand the same powers as were vested by the Constitution Act in respect of the Dominion itself. It might be assumed that in the administration of the Ross Dependency that he would invite advice from his New Zealand ministers and it was certain that details would be entrusted to the New Zealand government. But his excellency was required in all matters of legislation and regulation for the Ross Territory to comply with instructions from the colonial secretary. There was no reason to believe that the Colonial Office would give such instructions without prior consultation with the Government of the Dominion, but the part which the New Zealand Government had agreed to take in enabling His Majesty to exercise jurisdiction in and over the Ross Territory must be taken on behalf of the Empire as a whole and not specially in the interests of New Zealand."

It has been said that the Order in Council contained no suggestion of a transfer to New Zealand of the United Kingdom's claim,^[2] but the fact remains that the territory is administered by the Government of New Zealand.^[3] Technically, the claim is that of the Queen and she can exercise it through any of her Governments.^[3]

At an Imperial conference in 1930,^[4] it was agreed that the Governors-General of the Dominions would be appointed by the King on the advice of the Dominion in question. And following the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 (which was adopted in full by New Zealand in 1947), the government of the United Kingdom relinquished all control over the government of New Zealand. This however had no bearing on the obligations of the Governor-General of New Zealand in his capacity as Governor of the Ross Dependency on the appointment of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. Then in the year 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed by twelve nations which included both the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Geography and habitation

Aerial photo of Mount Erebus on Ross Island

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. 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.

The scientific bases of Scott Base (New Zealand), McMurdo Station (USA) and Mario Zucchelli Station (Italy) are the only permanently occupied human habitations in the area, though Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station (USA) is partially within the territory and dependent on logistics operations based in New Zealand. The Dependency has access to a U.S. Antarctic Program maintained 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.

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.

Other events

Unofficial Flag of the Ross Dependency

In the summer of 1985, 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.^[5]

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.^[6]^[7]

Postage stamps

Notes

^ http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/imperial/1923/0974/latest/DLM1195.html Order in Council Under the British Settlements Act, 1887 (50 & 51 Vict c 54), Providing for the Government of the Ross Dependency.
^ See Richardson, Ivor L. M. (1957). "New Zealand's Claims in the Antarctic". New Zealand Law Journal. 33 (9): 38–42. SSRN 2257655 .
^ ^a ^b Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Sir Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 137 (word for word quote as at 2 May 2015)
^ Extracts from Imperial Conferences
^ "Robert Swan Expedition 1984-85". Glasgow Digital Library. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
^ Hotere, Andrea. "South Pole death file still open". Sunday Star Times, December 17, 2006. Retrieved on December 19, 2006.
^ Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Death of Australian astrophysicist an Antarctic whodunnit". Monstersandcritics.com, December 14, 2006. Retrieved on December 19, 2006.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ross Dependency.

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
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
Antarctica and New Zealand, NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Coordinates: 75°00′S 175°00′W / 75.000°S 175.000°W / -75.000; -175.000

v t e Territories of Antarctica
Territorial claims	Adélie Land (France) Argentine Antarctica Australian Antarctic Territory British Antarctic Territory Chilean Antarctic Territory Peter I Island (Norway) Queen Maud Land (Norway) Ross Dependency (New Zealand)
Other territories	Brazilian Antarctica (zone of Interest) Marie Byrd Land (unclaimed) Uruguayan Antarctica (proposed)
Former territories	New Swabia (Germany) Yamato Yukihara (Japan)

v t e Administrative divisions of the Realm of New Zealand
Sovereign states	New Zealand						Cook Islands	Niue
Regions	11 non-unitary regions	5 unitary regions	Chatham Islands	Outlying islands outside any regional authority (the Kermadec Islands, Three Kings Islands, and Subantarctic Islands)	Ross Dependency	Tokelau	15 islands	14 villages
Territorial authorities	13 cities and 53 districts	5 unitary regions	Chatham Islands		Ross Dependency	Tokelau	15 islands	14 villages
Notes	Some districts lie in more than one region	These combine the regional and the territorial authority levels in one	Special territorial authority	The outlying Solander Islands form part of the Southland Region	New Zealand's Antarctic territory	Non-self-governing territory of New Zealand	States in free association with New Zealand

British Empire

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations; Historical flags of the British Empire

Europe
1542–1800 Ireland (integrated into UK) 1708–1757, 1763–1782 and 1798–1802 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century
1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth 1623–1883 Saint Kitts 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua 1635–1644 Saybrook 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts Bay	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stickeen 1866–1871 British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada² 1871–1964 Honduras 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Newfoundland³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of Canada.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America
1631–1641 Providence Island 1651–1667 Willoughbyland 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1831–1966 Guiana Since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵
4. Now a department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape of Good Hope 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1862–1906 Lagos 1868–1966 Basutoland 1874–1957 Gold Coast 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1900 Niger Coast 1884–1966 Bechuanaland 1884–1960 Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar 1891–1964 Nyasaland 1891–1907 Central Africa 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa 1899–1956 Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River 1900–1910 Transvaal 1903–1976 Seychelles 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1960 Nigeria 1915–1931 South-West Africa 1919–1961 Cameroons⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika⁶ 1923–1965 and 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century
1685–1824 Bencoolen 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757–1947 Bengal 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1781–1784 and 1795–1819 Padang 1786–1946 Penang 1795–1948 Ceylon 1796–1965 Maldives	1811–1816 Java 1812–1824 Banka and Billiton 1819–1826 Malaya 1824–1948 Burma 1826–1946 Straits Settlements 1839–1967 Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Sarawak 1848–1946 Labuan 1858–1947 India 1874–1963 Borneo	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 North Borneo 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai 1878–1960 Cyprus	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait 1920–1932 Mesopotamia⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo 1946–1963 Sarawak 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century
1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Papua 1888–1901 Rarotonga/Cook Islands⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 *Australia 1907–1947 *New Zealand 1919–1942 and 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 New Guinea 1949–1975 Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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