Royal Reels: Gambling

Mining

KING SOLOMON MINE, COOLGARDIE, W.A. & THE CLARKE BROTHERS

This Western Australian Post Card is ‘nothing to write home about’ but it serves to introduce the King Solomon Gold Mine, Coolgardie as well as the Clarke brothers. The postcard is poorly addressed to – De Stonly (?) Esq, King Solomon G. M., Coolgardie and the printed brown ‘Postage One Half Penny’ stamp of Western Australia is cancelled with a fine unframed duplex COOLGARDIE/ 2/ AU 18/ 1899/ WESTERN AUSTRALIA,

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BRAIDSWOOD N.S.W. to F. W. H. AARON, YOUBA & TOULUMNE COUNTIES, CALIFORNIA

A series of 22 covers were sent to Francis William Howard Aaron at several addresses in California dated from 1852 to 1877, and the first I consider to be a local Californian cover. This opinion is at variance with that of the vendor who states that the first cover “almost certainly originated in New South Wales.” Most of the other covers were posted by members of his Braidwood N.S.W. family,

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MOUNT COOLON GOLD MINES N.L. & WILLIAM MATHESON MORGAN, QLD

This commemorative registered opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge cover has a blue regitration R. 6 label of Sydney Harbour Bridge/ N.E. PYLON (North East Pylon) and a single red 2d and 3d Harbour Bridge stamps, postmarked SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE N.E. PYLON/ 23 MR 32.  The cover was addressed to W.M. Morgan Esq, c/o Mt. Coolon Gold Mines N.L., Private Mail Bag, Collinsville, Queensland.  The reverse was not seen (Figure

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ISAAC DYASON, GOLD MINER, ACCOUNTANT, MINING COMPANY DIRECTOR

Over the past 5 years I have seen many covers addressed to the above and still I have not been able to access a coherent account of this man. Several dealers dismissed these covers as “part of the Dyason correspondence” without any attempt at elaboration. To make matters worse there is an abundance of information on him at the State Library of Victoria (SLV), but they were not forthcoming even

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JOHN EDWARD NEWELL BULL, MILITARY OFFICER & PUBLIC SERVANT

This O.H.M.S. cover is addressed to J.E.N. Bull Esqre JP, Res. Warden’s Office, Castlemaine and has a dull rose ‘Emblems’ 4d stamp (SG 68). It was sent in June 1858 from Maldon Victoria. The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). He was born in Athlone, Ireland on 11 October 1806, the second son of Lt.-Colonel Robert Bull and his wife Harriet. He was educated in England and entered the Military

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