From the outset I have to admit that I am not an avid collector of Australian Colonial postcards, nor do I have much knowledge of ship routes from Brisbane to what I would call exotic places. The purpose of this paper is to see if readers can add information to the content of this paper. This 1898 postcard is listed as Higgins & Gage #10 and has the printed 1d (2
The O.H.M.S. postcard was sent from C.A. Sussmilch ‘with hearty greetings from Australia’ to Prof. J.B. Woodworth, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. The red 1d ‘Shield’ stamp of New South Wales was postmarked with a SYDNEY roller cancel dated AP 5/ NOON/ 1912. The postcard was taxed with a N.S.W./ T/ 10, as well as a purple handstamp POSTAGE DUE 2 CENTS, and the red 2d U.S. postage due stamp was
This cover is interesting because of the detailed description of Mrs. Tenney’s address and the documentation of the cover’s well documented routing path. It is addressed to Smithville P.O., County Lincoln, near Hamilton, Canada West, North America. It was sent from Portland, Victoria in 1864 and it is franked with a single grey-lilac 2d ‘Emblems’ and a pair of the grey-black 6d ‘Beaded Oval’, all cancelled with the barred numeral
An unusual cover from Melbourne to Adelaide. This cover produced a minor flurry of bidders at Ebay Auctions obviously on account of the multiple postmarks and other markings, which were not philatelically inspired. As interesting as the postmark exuberance is, there are other less obvious points of interest. The front bears a 2d lilac ‘POSTAGE’ Victoria, perf. 12 x 12½ stamp (ASC # 86), a very common stamp that was
Aboriginal place names intrigue me and Cooplacurripa (‘plenty of mosquitoes’) is no exception. But there is more to my interest for why was the post office and town name changed from the original to Number One, and a second post office and town with the original name moved further north-west? A web search not only gave no answer to these questions, but also to-date has been remarkably unhelpful in giving
This postmark was sufficiently short-lived and is relatively uncommon, and this area on the New South Wales and Victoria border is of considerable interest, that I felt it reasonable to research it and to write a short paper. The postmark cancels the red 2½d KGVI definitive which was issued on 7 January 1942 and it reads MULWALA CONSTRUCTION CAMP/ -9 JE 43/ NSW. The postmark is described in N.C. Hopson &
This unclaimed cover was franked with the 6d blue ‘Laureate’ of Victoria and was postmarked by the duplex MELBOURNE/ 3A/ AU 27/ 66. It was finally sent to England after reception at two cities in India, but the addressee’s name and the original address in India is no longer legible, for most of the front is a mass of readdresses which have been hatched out. There are however on the
The purple ‘TWO PENCE’ stamp of Victoria was cancelled with a shield enclosing the details of the postmark which was 1/ MILITARY/ FE 11/ (with no year)/ ENCAMPMENT. Note the ‘scalloped’ out perforation at the right hand side of the stamp. The vendor stated that it was used at Langwarrin Camp, Victoria (Figure 1). Another example of the same postmark was seen on a cover addressed to Messrs. Reuters Telegram
The routing of this Victorian postcard has long given me concerns, and I still am not sure why it went via Uruguay to La Serena, Chile. The postcard is unique, for Victoria was the only Colony to accord postal commemoration of the new Commonwealth when a series of postcards was issued on the ‘eve’ of Federation. The design of the series featured a heading with the letters “AC” (Australian Commonwealth)
This cover has given insights into a remarkable story of intrigue with the key player being King Leopold II of the Belgians. This region in South West Africa has been the playing field of Belgium, England, France and Portugal, with all colonial powers reaping vast riches. In 1908 there were four different Congo States, French, German and Portuguese as well as the Free or Independent Congo, which became the Belgian