Royal Reels: Gambling

Political

FRIEDRICH KRICHAUFF, 1ST S. A. PARLIAMENTARIAN of GERMAN ORIGIN

The front of the South Australian one penny purple postcard is postmarked with a duplex cancel of G.P.O. ADELAIDE/ MY 14 / 91/ S.A, and is addressed to the Hon F.E.H.W. Krichauff M.L.C., Flinders Street (Adelaide) (Figure 1). The reverse is printed for the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch with a printed and manuscript message:An Ordinary Meeting of the Council will be held in the Room, Broken

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FRANK JOSEPH SCOTT WISE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA’s LABOUR PREMIER

The first cover has the careful placement of the three war tax surcharge overprint stamps, the red 2½d on 2d, the blue 3½d on 3d KGVI and the purple 5½d on 5d merino sheep, all issued on 10 December 1941, but this is not a first day cover. The three stamps are ‘socked on the nose’ WYNDHAM/ -4 MAY 42/ WEST AUSTRALIA. The 2½d stamp is a perfin, probably W.A.

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EDWIN CRADOCK NOWELL: AN EXTRAORDINARY TASMANIAN CLERK

A series of 7 covers addressed to Edwin Nowell in Hobart from January 1850 to February 1860, from South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania appeared in a Tasmanian stamp auction in April 2005. The covers were well described and many were of more than passing notice, but no details were given concerning the addressee, who was an early Tasmanian of considerable importance. The covers are presented here in chronological

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JOHN LEAKE, SOLDIER, PASTORALIST, BANKER, POLITICIAN (1780-1865)

Four stampless entires recently appeared at a single Australian auction site, all of postal history significance, but the first seen was of the greatest interest as it linked this early immigrant, John Leake to the Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, William Denison. It is addressed to John Leake Esq, Rosedale, Perth, the latter being crossed out and Campbell Town substituted. In the top left hand corner there is a Postmaster’s

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JOHN GEORGE SAUERBREY (1830-1919)

This 1886 1d Victoria “Astley” stamp design was issued as a postcard on 1 June 1886, eight weeks prior to the design’s issue as a stamp. The initial card was for use in Victoria only at the one penny rate, and use to other intercolonial destinations required a further 1d stamp. The 3-line instruction to this effect was altered on a reissue on 4 July 1887 following an agreement between

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JAMES THOMAS WALKER, MEMBER of FIRST AUSTRALIAN SENATE 1901

The cover was addressed to James T. Walker, care of Bank of New South Wales, Toowoomba and the blue TWO PENCE stamp of Queensland was postmarked BRISBANE/ 2/ JU 7/ 73 QUEENSLAND.  The reverse was backstamped TOOWOOMBA/ A/ JU 7/ 1873/ QUEENSLAND (Figure 1). The pink 1d Victoria stamp was postmarked with MELBOURNE/ PM/ 6 45/ 27 5 01/ 6, and the cover had a large T 2D in an oval tax

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JAMES SERVICE (1823-1899): ONE of the FATHERS of AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION

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

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JAMES HENRY SCULLIN, AUSTRALIA’S 9TH PRIME MINISTER (1876-1953)

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

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J.A. KENNETH MACKAY, SOLDIER, AUTHOR, POLITICIAN, AMATEUR JOCKEY

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).

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J. P. JONES M.L.C., SPEAKER at the VICTORIAN INSTITUTE of ADVERTISER MEN

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

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