ANGOLA: 1909 (Apr 8) PPC with South Australia 1d tied by Adelaide machine cancel, to "Landana-Chilaongo/ Angola Congo" with 'FUNCHAL/25MAI09/MADEIRA' transit from where trans-shipped to a south-bound service with octagonal d/s of 'PROVINCIA D'ANGOLA/17JUN1909/LUANDA' apparently where endorsed "Cabinda" instead of being sent to Chilaongo in the Angolan interior, indistinct transit & very fine 'CONGO PORTUGUEZ/3JUL1909/CABINDA' arrival d/s, minor creasing & a couple of small closed tears at the top. The only postal item we have seen to this destination. Cabinda, formerly known as Portuguese Congo, is an ocean-side 'exclave' of Angola, bound by (French) Congo to the north & Belgian Congo/Zaire to the south & east. Local separatist movements have functioned at least since the 1960s.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$500

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: 1903 (Sep 15) PPC registered to "Foca" with NSW 3d & 10d tied by 'ALBURY/NSW - 50' duplex, part arrival-cds at the base, forwarded to "Kljuc" with Austr-Hungarian 'K und K...XXVII/23/10/03/KLJUC' military cds at upper-left. The card has a non-philatelic message including "...The American Fleet has left our shores..." & affords no explanation for the apparent overpayment. Our best guess is foreign letter rate 2½d x2 (why?) + 5d late fee (see 'Australian Philatelist' Winter 1989 at page 38) + 3d registration?? [Foca is in the SE of Bosnia & Kljuc is 250 km NW via Sarajevo]

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

BRITISH EAST AFRICA: 1903 (Dec 2) PPC without message so with Tasmania 1d only for the printed matter rate tied by Hobart cds, 'ADEN' transit & 'MOMBASA/13JA/1904' arrival cds, mistakenly taxed but with "T 5c" crossed-out & inappropriate mss "Free" added. [BEA was renamed Kenya in 1920]

Grade A (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

CHRISTMAS ISLAND (INDIAN OCEAN): 1907 (Nov 29) tinselled PPC with South Australian 1d tied by Adelaide cds, to a child on "Christmas Island/Via Singapore" with Singapore transit cds of DE16/1907, minor blemishes. [PPCs from Britain are common but only two or three from Australia have been recorded. Europeans on the island would have been involved in phosphate mining, which began in 1899]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$750

COOK ISLANDS: 1904 (Feb 25) cover with NSW 2d (corner fault) tied by Sydney duplex, to "Manuae Plantations/.../via Aitutaki" with faint Rarotonga transit b/s, part of the flap missing. An excellent destination: most covers to Cook Islands & Niue are to the Post Offices. Manuae is in the southern Cook Islands, 100km SE of Aitutaki from which it was administered. In 1898, Aitutaki leased Manuae for a copra plantation. It has been virtually uninhabited since the 1930s. [The foreign letter rate was 2½d, except to BNG, Fiji & New Zealand, of which the Cook Islands were a dependency]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$250

CUBA: 1908 (Jan 27) goldmining PPC with no message & endorsed "Printed Matter" with South Australia 1d tied by poor Adelaide cds, to "Vedado/Havana/Cuba" with superb American-pattern 'HABANA,CUBA.DIV.DE CARTEROS/MAR16/1908/RECDO' ("carteros" = postmen), minor blemishes.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

CURACAO: 1901 (August 29) cover with Western Australia 2½d blue tied by the scarce 'SHIP MAIL ROOM - WA' framed duplex (LRD: PMI recorded 3½ months only), to "British Vice-Consul/Curacoa" [sic] with poor 'CURACAO' aquared-circle arrival b/s.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

DANISH WEST INDIES: 1902 (Oct 22) beautiful PPC of 'TOWN HALL, ADELAIDE' with South Australia ½d & 1d tied by superb Adelaide cds, to "West End/St Croix/DW Indies" remarkably with cds of 'ST THOMAS', 'CHRISTIANSTED' & 'FREDERIKSTED' all on the face. Superb!

Grade A+ (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

GERMAN EAST AFRICA: 1904 usage of Queensland 1½d Postal Card ('Sheep under a Bottle-tree...'; message in German with address "Mapoon/Thursday Isl/North Queensland"), to "German Central East Africa...via Bombay-Zanzibar" with BN '336' cancel & very fine 'THURSDAY ISLAND' cds alongside, very fine 'ADEN' & superb 'DAR-ES-SALAAM' transits & light but obvious 'LANGENBURG/DEUTSCH/OSTAFRIKA' arrival cds all on the face, minor toning. [Langenburg was at the northern end of Lake Nyassa. The PO opened 5.6.1895 & was relocated to Neu Langenburg 2.7.1908] Mapoon is an Aboriginal settlement on the west coast of Cape York where a German Moravian Mission was established for the Presbyterian Church in 1891. The sender, Arthur Richter, and Nikolaus Hey were the first missionaries. Many aboriginal children were forcibly removed there from all over Cape York. Conditions were poor &, in a 1950s official report, were described as "nauseating". Both the Queensland Government & the Presbyterian Church underfunded the mission. The Government appropriated the land for commercial bauxite mining & further reduced services to encourage the residents to move to New Mapoon, 100km SSW near the town of Weipa. On 15.11.1963, police forcibly removed the remaining residents, many at gun-point. Homes were burned-down to prevent the people returning. Despite this, over time, many did make the journey back & the government eventually provided new housing & some infrastructure. NB: these notes are condensed from the Queensland Government's own website.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$750

GERMAN NEW GUINEA: c.1910 NSW 1d Wrapper with 'NSW'-in-bars cancel, to "Herbertshohe/ Neu-Pommern/(New Britain)" endorsed "Pr RMS Stettin", opened-out for display, small repaired tear at the lower fold. ['Stettin' was a German naval cruiser, launched in 1907]

Grade (A) (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

GERMAN POST OFFICES IN CHINA: 1907 (Jan 10) double-rate cover with NSW 2½d indigo pair tied by 'SYDNEY/ 17 ' cds, to "Tsingtau/China" endorsed "Per SS Eastern" with British Hong Kong & Chinese Shanghai transit b/s plus German-pattern 'TSINGTAU/11.2.07/KIAUTSCHOU c' arrival b/s, minor blemishes & part of the flap missing. The only cover we have seen to Kiautschou.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$400

GERMANY: 1912 (Dec 11) PPC ('Port [sic] Charles Light House/Port Darwin NT') with South Australia ½d & 1d tied by superb 'DARWIN NT/AUSTRALIA' cds, to Germany with Singapore transit cds, long German instructional h/s in violet & German/French Insufficient Address label, returned with 'DEAD LETTER OFFICE/FE24/13/ADELAIDE' cds in rosine, bumped corners & small edge-tear. Very colourful. The Point Charles Lighthouse was a prefabricated structure, shipped from England, & erected in 1892. It was already rusty when it arrived! It was automated in 1933, and survived Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve 1974. The letter, in German, is headed "Terminus Hotel". The 'Terminus' was Darwin's first hotel, having been erected in 1885. It was demolished in 1931.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

HELIGOLAND: 1907 (Sep 30) PPC with NSW ½d & 1d tied by superb 'SINGLETON' cds, to the sender's mother on "Helgoland/Germany" with Sydney machine transit, creases. The only post-1900 item we have seen to this destination. [From 1814, Heligoland was a British possession. In 1890, Britain exchanged Heligoland for Zanzibar - the arrogance of the imperial powers - & it became part of Schleswig-Holstein]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

HONG KONG: 1910 (May 19) usage of NSW long 3d Registration Envelope to "Hongkong/China" with scarce franking of 6d orange pair + ½d blue-green & 2½d indigo x2, Hong Kong arrival b/s of 6JU/10, slightly shortened at the ends. From 4.7.1905, the letter rate to Hong Kong was reduced from 2½d to 2d. However, the foreign rate to China was paid at 2½d x7 + 3d registration, an unnecessary overpayment of 3½d.

Grade B

Estimate AU$150

INDIA - FEUDATORY STATES: 1906 (Apr) PPC with Tasmanian '1½d' on 5d tied by superb Launceston cds, to "Ajmer/Rajputana" with Tuticorin cds & boxed 'FOREIGN POSTAGE DUE/("ONE") ANNA' h/s, two different 'AJMER' cds of 3MY/06 & small oval 'AJMER/UNPAID' h/s of the same date in green, twice endorsed "Refused" & again on the viewside, superb boxed 'REFUSE/REFUSED' h/s probably applied at 'DLO/AJMER' (d/s of 5MY06), two different 'DLO/BOMBAY' d/s of 7MY06 & 1JL06, corner crease & minor blemishes. [The card was fully paid but the 1a tax suggests that the letter rate of 2½d should have been paid. Why?]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

INDIA: 1900 (Jan 30) underpaid double-rate cover addressed in English & Gurmukhi (?) with Queensland ½d x2 & 2d tied by BN '519' of 'ALOOMBA' cds at L/R, to "Burrapen/Punjaub/India", Cairns & Brisbane transit b/s & part-'20/CTS' tax marking at the base, Indian b/s of 'TUTICORIN' (27JL) & 'PHILLOUR' (1AU00) plus 'BARAPIND/ B.O. /2AU/00/JULLUNDUR' arrival, mss "0.4.0" = 4as & boxed 'FOREIGN POSTAGE DUE/("four") ANNAS __ PIS' h/s, slightly truncated at the base. [Given the tropical climate, the sender is unlikely to have been a cameleer. However, there was a population of itinerant Sikhs on the eastern seabord]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

JAMAICA: 1901 (Mar 8) cover with NSW 2½d indigo tied by Sydney duplex, to "Inspector of police/Black River/Jamaca" [sic] with 'KINGSTON transit of AP23/01 & largely superb 'BLACK-RIVER' arrival of the next day, light central vertical fold. [By the early 1900s, Black River, at the mouth of Jamaica's longest waterway, was the island's most economically important town after Kingston. Today, it is a major eco-tourism town]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

JAPAN: 1902 (Apr 13) underpaid cover with Queensland 2d only & poor BN cancel of 'CLERMONT', mss "T" in magenta, to a ship's passenger at Yokohama with Rockhampton & Townsville transit and American-pattern 'YOKOHAMA/24/MAY/02/JAPAN' arrival b/s, four ricepaper attachments with printed x2, handstamped or manuscript internal redirections, three other Japanese datestamps including rubber 'NAGASAKI/JAPAN' & various 'chops', minor blemishes.

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

MACAU: 1906 (Oct 31) PPC with NSW ½d & 1d tied by Sydney duplex, to "IM Customs/Lappa/Macao/China" endorsed "Per Kumano Maru", Hong Kong transit & large-part '.../CORREOS/19NOV06/DE/MACAU' arrival cds, faint spotting & light bend. Entirely social message states "...Typhoon must have been terrible...Thanks for the PCs...have the craze as badly as ever..." [A major typhoon had struck Hong Kong on 18.9.1906 causing major destruction on land & sea, and up to 15,000 deaths. Modern reports say little about Macau being impacted but the message suggests that there was some damage there]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

MAURITIUS: 1902 (Sep 1) usage of beautiful Messageries Maritimes PPC ('Ville-de-la-Ciotat') with light but clear 'AGENCE CONSULAIRE DE FRANCE/[Marianne]/PERTH (AUSTRALIE)' cachet in blue, endorsed "Per P&O/RMS Britannia/Via Colombo", Western Australia 2d tied by very fine Fremantle duplex, fair Colombo & 'MAURITIUS' transits & large-part 'FORESTSIDE/1OC/1902' arrival cds, the message in French. [Forest Side is 18km S of Port Louis. The central stain apears to be associated with two faint diagonal cuts that have not penetrated the card but which suggest the card was disinfected??]

Grade B (Image1)

Estimate AU$150

MOZAMBIQUE: 1910 (Jan 10) PPC ('Hobart from Glebe') with no message & endorsed "Printed Matter" with Tasmania ½d pair tied by Hobart machine to the viewside, to "Portuguese East Africa...via Durban" with 'CORREIO AMBULANTA/9FEV10/LOURENCO-MARQUES' arrival cds on the face, minor blemishes.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$100

NETHERLANDS INDIES: 1904 (Mar 16) use of Queensland 1d Postal Card ('Brisbane River...') from Townsville to "The Borneo Co Ltd/Samarang/Java" underpaid with 'T' h/s but curiously crossed-through, a bevy of Dutch-pattern squared-circles of 'BATAVIA' & 'SEMARANG' arrival, forwarded simply to "Borneo" with 'SOERABAJA' & 'WELTEVREDEN' transits & 'BANDJERMASIN' arrival. The Dutch had abolished the Bandar Sultanate on Borneo in 1863 but it was only in 1906 - two years after this card was sent - that the Dutch finally suppressed opposition from the local people. Today, Banjarmasin is the capital of South Kalimantan.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$250

NORWAY: 1910 (June 4) cover with NSW ½d green, 8d Lyrebird & 1/- Kangaroo tied by superb 'NEWCASTLE' cds, scarce provisional pink & black R label with small 'Newcastle' h/s in violet, poor Sydney transit & 'BUREAU REEXP/10VII10/DE CHRISTIANIA' arrival, minor soiling. The rate was 2½d x7 (17½d) + 3d registration = 1/8½d. Norway is the scarcest destination of all the Scandinavian countries. The capital Christiania or Kristiania was renamed Oslo in 1925. (Image1)

Estimate AU$300

NORWAY: 1911 (Dec 14) cover with Victoria ½d & 2d tied by Melbourne machine cancel, to "Christiana' with 'KRISTIANIA/TUR/ 1 ' machine arrival b/s, forwarded to "Monaco" with 'MONTE CARLO/PRINCIPALITE DE MONACO' arrival b/s, minor blemishes.

Grade A- (Image1)

Estimate AU$200

PAPUA: 1910 Union Bank cover with Victoria 3d & dumb bars obliterator, superb Sydney transit b/s of 13OC10 & very fine 'PORT MORESBY/28OCT10/PAPUA' arrival b/s. [We have seen other covers from this correspondence, with adhesives to 6d. The letter rate was 2d per ½oz, so the rate here is problematic. At the time, the late fee was also 2d]

Grade A (Image1)

Estimate AU$200