Royal Reels: Gambling

Islands

McCARRON, STEWART & Co., PRINTERS & STATIONERS, LETTER to GOVERNOR of SAMOA

This advertising cover of McCarron, Stewart & Co., Printers & Stationers, 44 Pitt St, Sydney had a blue 2½d New South Wales stamp canceled with a SYDNEY/ 9 JA 07 11–AM/ 20 postmark. The addressee was very faint but it was confirmed that it was sent to His Excellency, Dr. Solf, Samoa (Figure 1). The addressee’s name and address is shown more clearly in Figure 2. The reverse shows McCarron,

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POSTCARD: V-PACIFIC DAY ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC

The postcard has a manuscript ‘V-Pacific Day Souvenir Air Mail Card – Mailed Admiralty Islands South-West Pacific’. It has a red 6 cents USA air mail stamp, postmarked with a fine A.F.P.O./ 15 AU 45/ 203 and it was addressed to E.D. Cash, 21 Victoria Square, Perth, West Australia (Figure 1). The reverse was a stark black & white depiction of the American flag and an eagle with outstretched wings,

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LETTERS from WIFE in AUSTRALIA to H.W. ROGER, CIVILIAN INTERNEE, H.K.

Six covers with letters were addressed to Hugh (Hugo) Wood Roger in Hong Kong dated from December 1941 until October 1943, but only five of them were from his wife Claudia and their 2 sons, Ned and Robin. The first cover is an introduction to the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, and it was sent just prior to his wife had any information about this terrible event in the life

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RUPERT FORBES-BENTLEY, DECORATED WWI ENGLISH AIRMAN, in MALTA

Covers addressed to Forbes-Bentley have been seen on several websites and he was found to be an early English flier, a decorated airman in World War I, as well as a stamp collector, who made a new life in Malta. The first seen was a 1930 airmail cover from Victoria with the green 3d airmail stamp and the red 1½d Centenary of Western Australia swan stamp. It was addressed to

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POSTCARD to WILLIAM A. TOPLIS, SARK, CHANNEL ISLANDS, ENGLAND

There are four main islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark) in the English Channel that are called the ‘Channel Islands’. These islands are dependencies of the British crown (although strictly not part of the United Kingdom), having been so attached since the Conquest of 1066 when they formed part of the Duchy of Normandy. The smallest of the four is Sark. The islands were occupied by the Germans in WW

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A. de SPEVILLE, BANQUE COMMERCIALE, PORT LOUIS, ILE MAURICE

This République Française Carte Postale has two red Western Australia 1d ‘Swan’stamps cancelled with two duplex FREMANTLE / 4/ SP 15/ 02/ W.A postmarks with the P.O obliterator, and it is addressed to Monsieur A. de Speville, Banque Commerciale, Port Louis, Ile Maurice. It has a manuscript ‘Par Paquetbot Post “Ville de la (Ciotat”, obscured), via Colombo, as well as an arrival postmark of MAURITIUS/ 2/ OC 29/ 06( Figure

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BASHI A. HAWMID, C.A.S.O.C., BAHRAIN

Several covers all to the same person and address recently came available at a website and the 2 examples are representative of them. The first is on a printed addressed envelope to Mr. B.A. Hawmid, C.A.S.O.C., Bahrain, (Iranian Gulf) and it is stamped with 2d KGVI definitive, postmarked PERTH/ 2.30 P 3 AU 38/ WESTERN AUSTRALIA (Figure 1). The second cover is hand written to Mr. Bashi A. Hawmid, Casoc,

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JOHN HIGGINSON, NEW CALEDONIA & NEW HEBRIDES: THREAT to THE COLONIES

The so-called ‘Ligne T’ of La Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes operated from Marseilles to Sydney from 1883 until 1903 and in the period of 1895-1903 it operated four weekly on the route of Marseilles-Port Said-Aden-Colombo-Fremantle-Adelaide-Melbourne-Sydney-Noumea, New Caledonia and return. The M.M. Australien was added to this service on 4 June 1890 and it did not sail in March of 1891 from Sydney to Adelaide, so the letter was carried by another ship.

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SAMARAI, B.N.G. to P. E. SEAGREN, BUSINESS MAN & POLITICIAN, COOKTOWN

The cover had a single blue ‘Four Corners’ TWO PENCE Queensland stamp postmarked with the 9 bar ‘B.N.G.’ (British New Guinea) as well as the unframed SAMARAI/ 16 JUL 00/ B.N.G. and the reverse, not seen, had an arrival c.d.s. of 20.7.00 (Figure 1). Phers Erick Seagren (Sjorgren) was born in Sweden in 1845. Following an apprenticeship in cabinetmaking, he worked in his trade in Copenhagen before emigrating to the

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SYDNEY to COLONIAL SUGAR COMPANY, REWA RIVER, SUVA FIJI

Two covers with the blue TWO PENCE stamp of New South Wales were sent from Sydney to the same person in Fiji and they almost certainly were from the same sender in spite of the differences in spelling of the addressee’s name. The first cover had a SYDNEY/ A/ JU 4/ 83/ 1 postmark in the top right corner and it was addressed to Mr Robert Leonard, c/o Colonial Sugar

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