Explorers

THOMAS MITCHELL REGISTERED LETTER, BLACKALL QLD to STETTLER AB, CANADA

This is one of the many Royal Geographical Society of Australasia covers but there is added interest in that it was sent Air Mail and Registered to Canada as a First Day cover, and the reverse backstamping was quite a surprise. The postage adds up to 2 shillings and 9 pence, made up of the complete Thomas Mitchell set (plus and additional 1 shilling copy) and a single of the

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RICHARD HELMS, ZOOLOGIST & BOTANIST, DEPT. of AGRICULTURE, SYDNEY

The postcard was sent from the Linnean Society of New South Wales, Elizabeth Bay, Sydney as Printed Matter Only, to Richard Helms Esqr., Department of Agriculture, 140 Lower George Street, Sydney. The green ½ penny N.S.W. stamp was canceled WILLIAM STREET/ MY 2 ( )/ 3-5-P.M./03/ N.S.W (Figure 1). Richard Helms, zoologist and botanist, was born on 12 December 1842 at Altona, Hanover, Germany, son of Frederick Helms, Lutheran minister,

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LETTER to HAMILTON HUME J.P. about WILLIAM HILTON HOVELL

This fine cover has a vertical pair of the 1850 vermilion One Penny ‘Sydney Views’ (S.G. 7) tied by an indistinct cancel, addressed to Hamilton Hume at Yass (New South Wales). Not only is the pair of imperforate stamps superb, but the letter brings together four men important in early N.S.W. history. The vendor gives information about the contents of the letter, as follows: “refers to (William Hilton) Hovell (explorer)

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JOHN STUART HEPBURN, SEA-FARER, PASTORALIST/LANDHOLDER, VICTORIA

The entire is addressed Captain Hepburn of the Loddon, 17th Feby. 1850. It is stampless and has an oval framed postmark of MOUNT MACEDON/ [CROWN]/ FE 20/ 1848/ PORT PHILLIP. The entire is headed ‘Smeaton Hill’ and is signed ‘John Hepburn’ and it was sent to the Supreme Court, and was rated ‘4′ (Figure 1). John Stuart Hepburn was born in Scotland in 1800. And initially became a sea-faring man from

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JOHN SEPTIMUS ROE (1797-1878), W.A. SURVEYOR GENERAL & EXPLORER

This 5 Oct 1850 stampless entire inwards letter from India, has a framed Calcutta datestamp on the reverse and is addressed to J.S. Roe Esqre R.N., Surveyor General, Swan River Settlement. It has a manuscript per Lady Margaret -via Adelaide plus a mss. ‘8’. On the right, there is a vertically written ‘Calcutta. 5 October 1850. W. Bubly/Recd. 25 Oct 1851 p. “Unknown” via S Australia. The provenance of the

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HUGO ZOLLER, GERMAN JOURNALIST, AUTHOR & WORLD TRAVELER

The South Australian postcard had a purple ‘ONE PENNY’ stamp postmarked by SHIP MAIL ROOM/ S2/ AU 2/ 88/S. A and it was addressed to Hugo Zöller Esq, Poste Restante, Melbourne. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). Hugo Zöller was born on 12 January 1852 near Schleiden to a Rhenish family in Germany of foundry owners and died in 1933 in München, and he became an explorer and journalist.

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GREGORY BROTHERS, EXPLORERS & FRANK PEDLEY, CANADIAN POLITICO

The Aristophot Co., London postcard was sent by a person, not researched, by name N. Stoneham to Mrs Frank Pedley, 283 McLaren St, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and the rosine 1d South Australian stamp was canceled by a EUDUNDA/1/ AP 28/ 08/S.A ‘squared circle’ postmark. There was a routing VANCOUVER, B.C./ JUN 4/ 7.30 AM/ 1908 postmark as well as a reception OTTAWA -ONT/ JUN 9/ 08/ CANADA postmark (Figure 1).

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CAPTAIN CHARLES STURT, EXPLORER, SURVEYOR, 1795-1869

This cover is a commemoration of one of Australia’s greatest explorers and it celebrates the centenary of Sturt’s third expedition in 1844 when he left Adelaide for the centre of Australia, to find the Inland Sea, hence the dates 1844-1944. It is not a first day cover for the stamps were issued 2 June1930 and were a commemoration of the centenary of Sturt’s exploration along the course of the Murray

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BENJAMIN LEIGH SMITH, ENGLISH YACHTSMAN & ARCTIC EXPLORER

The cover has four ‘Laureate’ stamps of Victoria, a single and a pair of the green ‘ONE PENNY’ and a single blue ‘SIX PENCE’ which are canceled with a duplex MELBOURNE/ 3H/ NO 7/ 71 VICTORIA.   It is addressed to Benjn Leigh Smith Esq, Oxford & Cambridge Club, Pall Mall, London (Figure 1). The reverse has a reception postmark of LONDON/-SW/ H ( )/ DE 20/ 71 (Figure 2) Benjamin

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A.A.A.C. PRESIDENT GREGORY’s LETTER to PROFESSOR WILLIAM HARKNESS

It is not frequent to find on the front of a cover, the proof of documentation of two men, one from Australia and the other from the USA, both of whom made highly significant contributions to their own country, in so many ways. This cover was sent from the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science (A.A.A.C.) by its President, A.C. Gregory to Professor Harkness, The Observatory, Washington D.C., U.S.

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