Victoria Parade, Thursday Island, Torres Straits: 1935 (Oct. 12) to Washington, A new earliest known cover, pre-dating that mentioned in JP 68:5, p. 260 (as Jan. 15, 1936) by three months. The cachet is the sole design known for Thursday Island, a beachside view with a pier jutting into the water. A single Australian 3d King George V pays the international postage, and is tied by one of two solid strikes of the "Thursday Island/1/9-A12OC35/Queensland" c.d.s. The reverse has a typed ") N (" remarque at top center, and a near-circular blue kan handstamp across the flap. Neatly opened (and ever so slightly reduced) at right; reverse shows where hinges once mounted the cover. A great early cover from the northern coast of Australia., Very Fine.
Estimate HK$ 2,400 - 2,800. Est. HK$2,400-2,800 (Image1)

Est. HK$2,400-2,800

Victoria Parade, Thursday Island, Torres Straits: 1936 (Nov. 9) to Oklahoma, Cachet as above, with slight variance in Lewis' three-line inscription at upper left. The three colorful King George V definitives total 3d, each tied by "Thursday Island/1/9-A-9NO36/Queensland" c.d.s. Reverse with only blue vertical oval kan handstamp. Slight discoloration from corner mounts, but still a difficult location., Nearly Very Fine.
Estimate HK$ 2,200 - 2,600. Est. HK$2,200-2,600 (Image1)

Est. HK$2,200-2,600

Cape York, Australia: 1938 (Apr. 4) to Pennsylvania, The only known cover (according to JP 70:2, pp. 110-111) from, as Lewis described it, "The most Northerly Cape of AUSTRALIA." The cachet depicts an aboriginal man and a cockatoo, neither drawn particularly accurately. Three King George V definitives pay the 3d foreign mail postage, tied by two solidly struck "Cape York/-4AP38/QLD." daters. Reverse without opening remarque at top, bearing only an inverted vertical oval kan handstamp. Opened cleanly at right, with reverse showing mounting residue at the corners (front unaffected). A remarkable recent find, and a one-of-a-kind., Very Fine.
Estimate HK$ 4,000 - 5,000. Est. HK$4,000-5,000 (Image1)

Est. HK$4,000-5,000

Victoria Parade, Thursday Island, Torres Straits, Australia: 1940 (Dec. 6) to Michigan, Offering a new latest-known usage date, plus a previously unrecorded agent. Postmarked nearly a year and a half after JP's last-known cover (July 7, 1939), the same cachet is still in use, franked by three King George VI definitives totaling 3½d, tied by two "Mil.P.O.Bathurst/-6DE40/N.S.W.-Aust" c.d.s.'s. Small tear at bottom center is hardly worth mentioning, as it is just barely visible. The front with a penciled address correction, the back with a two-line inked "Posted by W.F. Cullen/Thursday Island. Qld." inscription. William Francis Cullen (Oct. 13, 1908-Dec. 26, 1954) was appointed Postmaster at Thursday Island on Apr. 5, 1939. He enlisted in the AIF July 18, 1940—five months before he posted this letter at the Military Post Office where he was presumably stationed with the Corps of Signals. He was taken prisoner in Malaya in July 1942 and held in Singapore until released Sept. 12, 1945. An important item for the Lewis postal historian!, Very Fine.
Estimate HK$ 2,600 - 3,000. Est. HK$2,600-3,000 (Image1)

Est. HK$2,600-3,000