Comments on: The Early Stamp Issues of South Australia (1921) http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/australia-and-dependencies/south-australia/ Philatelic or Stamp Collecting Database for philatelists and stamp collectors, stamp articles, stamp archives, stamp book reviews, a philatelic dictionary and a philatelic directory. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:43:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: C Smyth http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/australia-and-dependencies/south-australia/comment-page-1/#comment-2771 C Smyth Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:59:14 +0000 http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/?p=1352#comment-2771 South Australia was the last of the Australian colonies to officially perforate postage stamps, but was the first of the Australian colonies to have any kind of perforation applied privately. An attempt at perforating stamps was made in 1858 prior to the first rouletted stamps which appeared in December of the same year. It is likely only a small block of stamps were perforated in this way by the Post Office or elsewhere. The only certified genuine copies are a used pair on a cover in my collection. This same cover is also mentioned in the Robson Lowe Encyclopeadia of British Empire Postage Stamps, vol. 41, part1. used from Kapunda, South Australia in September 1858. It was last shown in public at a display given by the Australian States Study Group of the Royal Philatelic Society London at the meeting of March 30, 1972. Two collections were used for this display, the Napier and Agabeg collections. Two other stamps are known perforated, but not being on cover or clearly postmarked they have been treated with suspicion. As Stanley Gibbons catalogues do not list private perforations they are little known by collectors. One question is whether there was a perforating machine in South Australia at the time. The Perkins Bacon perforating machine was not imported until 1867. But given that E. S. Wigg was established as a printer and stationer in the colony as early as 1849, it is very likely that there would have been a perforating machine in the colony that could do this work. South Australia was the last of the Australian colonies to officially perforate postage stamps, but was the first of the Australian colonies to have any kind of perforation applied privately.

An attempt at perforating stamps was made in 1858 prior to the first rouletted stamps which appeared in December of the same year. It is likely only a small block of stamps were perforated in this way by the Post Office or elsewhere. The only certified genuine copies are a used pair on a cover in my collection.

This same cover is also mentioned in the Robson Lowe Encyclopeadia of British Empire Postage Stamps, vol. 41, part1. used from Kapunda, South Australia in September 1858. It was last shown in public at a display given by the Australian States Study Group of the Royal Philatelic Society London at the meeting of March 30, 1972. Two collections were used for this display, the Napier and Agabeg collections.

Two other stamps are known perforated, but not being on cover or clearly postmarked they have been treated with suspicion. As Stanley Gibbons catalogues do not list private perforations they are little known by collectors.

One question is whether there was a perforating machine in South Australia at the time. The Perkins Bacon perforating machine was not imported until 1867. But given that E. S. Wigg was established as a printer and stationer in the colony as early as 1849, it is very likely that there would have been a perforating machine in the colony that could do this work.

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