Australia & Dependencies
Background: Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequest droughts, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.
Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.
Sunday, October 12th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Post Offices, Post-a-Post Office
William Cochrane
This is the undeniably Australian, Kangaroo Flats post office.
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Surcharges
Richard Breckon
Published by kind permission of the author.
It is 25 years since the last Australian surcharged stamp was issued and it is unlikely that collectors will see another issued in future by Australia Post.
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008:
Articles, Australia & Dependencies, Errors, Rarities
Dr Geoff Kellow
The 13c Avocet became the first decimal stamp to be reported with a missing colour when two sheets, each showing one row with the grey colour largely omitted, were reported in the Australian Stamp Monthly, May 1966, page ...
Friday, September 19th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Post Offices, Post-a-Post Office
Andrew Hamilton.
This is the first of our new category, Post-a-Post Office, the objective of which is to develop an image database of Post Offices. These institutions are becoming increasingly rare around the world as record numbers are being closed due ...
Monday, September 15th, 2008:
Australian States, Classic Stamps, First Issues, Printers, South Australia
Richard Breckon
Published by kind permission of the author.
South Australia was effectively the last of the Australian colonies to introduce stamps for the prepayment of postage. This happened at the beginning of 1855, five months after Western Australia, 14 months after ...
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Australian States, Ceylon, Indian Ocean, Mauritius, Paquebots, Postcards, Western Australia
Maurice Mishkel
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 ...
Monday, September 8th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Australian States, Exhibitions, Trade Fairs
John Lancaster
Of all the means used to convince people that they should have one product or another, exhibiting is the most powerful and persuasive method, because it combines all the marketing functions and appeals to all human senses.
Saturday, August 30th, 2008:
Articles, Australia & Dependencies, Philatelic Biographies
Richard Breckon
Published by kind permission of the author.
Dawson Vindin is notable for being Australia's first successful philatelic publisher and Sydney's leading stamp dealer during the 1880s and early 1890s.
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008:
Articles, Australia & Dependencies, Australian States, Postage Dues, Rarities
Dr Geoff Kellow
This month's subject whose rarity was created through a combination of timing, availability and the general unpopularity of postage due stamps, is generally reckoned as the Commonwealth's rarest basic (i.e. face-different) stamp.
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008:
Articles, Australia & Dependencies, Classic Stamps
Richard Breckon
Published by kind permission of the author.
The first uniform Australian Commonwealth stamp issue made its appearance amid controversy. Probably no other Australian stamp design created more discussion and debate in the community and in political circles as the Kangaroo ...
Thursday, August 21st, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Australian States, Postcards, United States
Richard Breckon
Published by kind permission of the author.
The American fleet arrives at the head of Port Phillip Bay on its Melbourne leg in 1908.
The eight postcards issued in 1908 to commemorate the visit of America's "Great White Fleet" have a ...
Friday, August 15th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Cartoons, Falkland Islands, Monty Wedd, Norway, Ships, United States
Monty Wedd
Published by kind permission of the artist.
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Thursday, August 7th, 2008:
"Australian Stamp Monthly", Australia & Dependencies, Philatelic Publications
The following article was first published in Australian Stamp Monthly (August, 1952). It was Illustrated by J. Biffs.
The Illustrations this month deal with flaws in the lettering of the stamp and, when applicable, the surrounding area. No fewer than six ...
Sunday, July 20th, 2008:
"Australian Stamp Monthly", Australia & Dependencies, Philatelic Publications
First published in Australian Stamp Monthly (August, 1963) and written by L. J. Tyler.
Late Fee cancellations of Australia were were the subject of a article by Mr. Fred Wilde, which was published in the "A.S.M." of April, 1961 - ...
Saturday, July 19th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Printers, Printing Processes
Richard Breckon
One of the confusing aspects of modern Australian stamps is the large number of printing firms that have been involved in stamp production.
Friday, July 11th, 2008:
Australasian New Hebrides Company, Australia & Dependencies, Oceania, Pacific Islands, Vanuatu
Maurice Mishkel.
The establishment of the Compagnie Caledonniene des Nouvelles-Hebrides in 1892 was with the explicit aim of establishing French control in the New Hebrides. In 1887, alarmed missionaries persuaded the Victorian and N.S.W. governments to subsidize shipping services to and ...
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008:
Australia & Dependencies, Clubs & Societies, Links, Postcards, Western Australia
The West Australian Postcard Club interests cover "most paper ephemera including cigarette, playing and Trade cards, menus, sheet music, coasters, calenders, etc., but postcards are the primary interest. We have a magazine called Topics which ...
