This On Her Majesty’s Service stampless cover has 2 markings, one being a Victorian Frank for the Minister of Railways and the other a postmark for MELBOURNE/ 17 S/ JE 22/ 96. The cover is addressed to Messrs Jas Service & Co, Collins St, Melbourne, and it bears a ‘generic’ printed VICTORIAN RAILWAYS/________Station, without the Station filled in (Figure 1). James Service was born in Ayreshire Scotland on 27 November
Australian prime ministers were not taught when I was a school boy in Sydney, and because he succeeded Stanley Melbourne Bruce on 22 October 1929, two months before my birth, I had no knowledge of his 2 years 2 months 16 days tenure until I researched this cover. He was unlucky in his timing for the ‘Wall Street Crash’ and the ensuing ‘Great Depression’ took place in the first week
This cover has a single blue-grey ‘HALF PENNY’ QV and two red ‘Shield’ stamps of New South Wales cancelled with a duplex NORTH SYDNEY/ MR 11/ 12.15 AM / 10/ N.S.W with the barred numeral ‘186′, and it is addressed to Mrs Kenneth Mackay, CO the Hon Kenneth Mackay, The Castle, Cape Town, South Africa. As seen on the reverse the year date of 1910 is definitely incorrect (Figure 1).
The Commonwealth of Australia postcard with the printed purple 1d KGV Head stamp was cancelled by a roller cancel of MELBOURNE/ 14 OC- 11PM/ 1923 as well as a slogan advertising the BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION. It was addressed to Mr. G.J. Manton, 430 Lit(tle) Collins St., Melbourne (Figure 1). The typewritten reverse had the underlined heading: VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF ADVERTISING MEN which was followed by the message: Our guest of
This long blue cover was a part of 43 postal history covers of Victoria sent in the 1860s to the 1880s, all with various Laureate stamps, but only the front was shown, yet not described by the auction house. It chose it mainly because of the addressee, its registration with multiple oval ‘REGISTERED’ postmarks, a manuscript ‘2089′ registration number, and the use of a pair of 2d lilac and a
This fine postcard represents a local man’s goal to win a municipal election in Perth. One has to be impressed by the sincerity of his quest, which was far superior to other Australian colonial election postcards I have seen in the past 7 years. John Charles Chipper was surprisingly difficult to research partly due the fact that Chipper is not an uncommon surname in Western Australia. The West Australian postcard
This unremarkable cover was a surprise to me, in that the prefix ‘Hon.’ before Shiels’ name suggested that he may have been a member of the South Australian Parliament, in view of the postmark, Naracoorte and the address of Struan House, in South Australia.. Attempts to confirm his membership of the S.A. Parliament were unrewarding, but I found that he had been a significant member of the Victorian Parliament, for
This 1852 cover was franked with the 1d imperforate N.S.W. ‘Laureate” (S.G. 46) and postmarked with the Sydney barred cancel, was addressed to Henry Dangar Esq, Cumberland Place (Sydney). It shows the boxed 2 OCLOCK time stamp which replaced the 1 OCLOCK time stamp in April 1850 and was in use until April 1855. The reverse, not shown had the Sydney obliterator postmark (Figure 1). Cumberland Place is in ‘The
The cover has a red 2d KGV head OS perfin stamp with a roller cancel Sydney 1931 and is posted to J. Parkinson, Esquire, Crystal Fountain Aerated Water Works, Kenny Street, Wollongong. The reverse has the black crest of the Attorney General, N.S.W. (Figure 1). The enclosed letter has the same Attorney General, N.S.W. crest, now in blue. The letter reads: SYDNEY. 31st March, 1931. Dear Mr. Parkinson, I am in
A brown paper sack envelope with a label which had the crest of the Province of Ontario and the address of the Office of the Prime Minister, Parliament Buildings, Toronto Ontario, was sent to Honourable Mitchell F. Hepburn, c/o Right Honourable J.A. Lyons, Prime Minister of Australia, Canberra, Australia. There was a blue Air Mail sticker and a manuscript ‘VIA CHINA CLIPPER’. The total postage was $2.70, made up of