Missionaries and Religion

KOONIBBA LUTHERAN MISSION STATION, WEST COAST SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The orange Two Pence octagonal KGV head envelope with no ‘Postage’ under the head was introduced in 1920 was postmarked with the squared circle EUNDUNDA/ MY 4/ 21/ S.A (a relatively late use of this type of postmark), and it was addressed to The Superintendent, Koonibba Mission Station, West Coast, S.A.  The reverse was not seen (Figure 1). The Koonibba mission, located in the vicinity of an Aboriginal ceremonial ground

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KIMBERLEY, TASMANIA to ALEX NORTH F.R.V.I.A., ARCHITECT LAUNCESTON

This Tasmania Post Card with the red 1d King Edward VII head was the third Tasmanian type of official postcard issued with this sovereign’s head, the 2-line inscription having been removed from beneath the crest of the previous issue. It was issued on a buff colored card with an early date of 4 September 1906 and reissued on a white card, with an early date of 1 June 1912, the

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JOHN JAMES VIRGO, ADMINISTRATOR & EVANGELIST (1865-1956)

The front of this unpretentious cover has nothing to do with the story that will unfold. It was sent from the G.P.O. Adelaide on November 18, 1896 with two South Australia stamps, the orange 2d and the ½d brown, a Mr. Kenton in Brooklyn New York (Fig 1). It was the flap on the reverse that caught my attention, for it had a printed ‘John James Virgo, Gen. Sec., Young

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JOHN DEWHURST BODGER, PAPUA NEW GUINEA MISSIONARY

My interest in Reverend Bodger was stimulated by acquiring an interesting cover addressed to him. It was addressed in particularly fine manuscript to The Revd Canon Bodger, C/o Australian Board of Mission, 14 Spring Street, Sydney and was sent by airmail, as shown by a boxed purple stamping, and was faintly postmarked LAE/ 25 SE 51/ PAPUA NEW GUINEA on the blue 5½d emu definitive stamp of Australia, issued 12

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JOHN THOMAS, WESLEYAN METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY, TONGA

This entire appeared on eBay auctions, listed by a German vendor. The address side has a manuscript ‘1305′ and is addressed ‘To the Secretaries of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, 77 Halton Garden, London’ and in the lower left hand there is a manuscript ‘/Tonga/’. The large obliquely placed manuscript superimposed on the address is the cost of sending the letter, but it is difficult to be sure of the amount, perhaps

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JAMES JOSEPH CARBERY, CATHOLIC BISHOP of HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA (1823-87)

This 1885 cover was addressed to The Right Rev. Dr. Carbery, O.P., Bishops House, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and has a manuscript ‘Via San Francisco’. The green 6d and blue 2d Queensland stamps have a superb ‘79’Rays (Type 1e; 23 rays, each of 4 segments) as well as the unframed HERBERTON/ MR 20/ 85/ =QUEENSLAND= (Type 3b). The reverse, not seen, has back stamps of Cairns QLD, Sydney NSW and HAMILTON

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HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL SAMUEL STRITCH, HOLY NAME CATHEDRAL

This airmail cover had the full set of the Sesquicentenary of the City of Newcastle, N.S.W. stamps, the red 2½d Lt. John Shortland, the blue 3½d Steel Foundry and the green 5½d Coal Carrier Cranes. Additional postage were the orange ½d Roo and the brown 6d Kookaburra, and all were cancelled ADELAIDE/ 4 NO 47/ STH. AUST. It was addressed to His Eminence, Cardinal Stritch, Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois,

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HADLEY ROWELL, NORTH BONDI to DR & MRS HOMER CURTISS, WASHINGTON D.C.

The cover was sent to Dr & Mrs Homer Curtiss M.D., The Universal Religious Fellowship, 5130 Connecticut Ave., Washington D.C., U.S.A. The blue KGVI 3d stamp was overprinted 3½d and it was postmarked with a roller cancel SYDNEY/ 5- PM/ 9 4 JUN 9/ 1942/ N.S.W AUST. There was a red 2/ OPENED BY CENSOR label as well as a boxed purple handstamp 2/ PASSED/ BY/ CENSOR. The sender was

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GERMAN MISSION at CODACAL, MALABAR, INDIA 1907

This red 1d N.S.W. ‘Shield’ postcard has a green ½d stamp added, and both are postmarked ‘THE ROCK/ 8 JA/ 1907/ N.S.W’ [Type 1D (i), in use 1896-1914)]. It is addressed to Mrs.F. Straub, German Mission, Paraperi – Codacal, Malabar, and a vertically placed ‘East India’ has been added by the sender. There is a third example of ‘The Rock’ postmark as well as a transit mark of ‘TUTICORIN/ 1

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G.W. THATCHER ACADEMIC, SCHOLAR, MINISTER. ORIENTALIST, AUTHOR

The cover was sent to The Revd G.W. Thatcher, Camden College, Hereford St.,Glebe (Sydney) and there was a pencilled manuscript ‘No Postage’. The printed red octagonal ‘ONE PENNY’ KGV Head stamp was cancelled BLACKHEATH/ 30 AU 16/ N.S.W, and the reverse was not seen (Figure 1). Griffithes Wheeler Thatcher was a Congregational minister who was born on 6 August 1863 at Collingwood, Melbourne, eldest child of Richard Henry Thatcher, stationer, and

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