AUSTRALIAN DISASTER MAIL continued...
Air Mail Incidents continued...
| LotNo. |
Symbol |
Lot Description |
Estimate in AU$'s |
| 2178 |
 / |
 1953 (Dec) per Indian Airlines DC3 that crashed soon after takeoff from Nagpur, killing all occupants except the pilot, cover from
Brisbane to "Travancore/S India" badly charred with remnants of 2/6d Aborigine, large-part 'SALVAGED MAIL/NAS Air Crash/Nagpur Dated 12-12-53' cachet in violet on the reverse, with the Indian ambulance envelope with boxed 'ALLEPEY' at lower-left &
backstamps of 16DEC53 & 17.12.53. Unlisted in the AAMC. See Volume Five at pages 80-83, illustrated at page 82. Only one other cover from Australia, to the same addressee, recorded.
(2 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
|
Estimate AU$400
SOLD for AU$950.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2179 |
PSE |
 1954 (Mar) Australia-England per BOAC Constellation 'Belfast' that hit the seawall on approach to Kallang Airport (Singapore) and
crashed onto the runway, killing all 31 passengers & two crewmembers, selection on Brian Peace's exhibit pages with six covers, an aerogramme all with the standard cachet in rosine & an ambulance envelope with hastily-assembled 'SALVAGED
MAIL/SINGAPORE CRASH' cachet in violet, all to Great Britain, one sextuple-rate with Royal Visit 2/- + Arms 10/-, two underpaid but only one of them taxed, AAMC 1337, Cat from $100. See Volume Five at pages 83-124, where several of these are
illustrated. One of the most famous post-war air incidents, and still the most deadly at Singapore. See also Lots 2242-3 under New Zealand.
(8 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
(Image5)
(Image6)
|
Estimate AU$500
SOLD for AU$1,350.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2180 |
PSE |
 1954 (Mar) Australia-England per BOAC Constellation 'Belfast' that hit the seawall on approach to Kallang Airport (Singapore) and
crashed onto the runway, killing all 31 passengers & two crewmembers, OHMS formular aerogramme with 'Postage/Paid', to Denmark, very fine boxed 'SALVAGED MAIL/AIRCRAFT CRASH/SINGAPORE 13.3.1954' cachet in rosine, AAMC 1337, Cat from $100. A very
scarce usage. #1 of eight items to Denmark in Brian Peace's census. (Image1) (Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$200
SOLD for AU$1,500.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2181 |
|
 1954 (Mar) Australia-England per BOAC Constellation 'Belfast' that hit the seawall on approach to Kallang Airport (Singapore) and
crashed onto the runway, killing all 31 passengers & two crewmembers, selection of six 2/- rate covers all to the Netherlands on Brian Peace's exhibit pages, all with the standard cachet in rosine, three also with different Dutch cachets & one
repaired with Federation of Malaya resealing labels, AAMC 1337, Cat from $100. See Volume Five at pages 83-124, where several of these are illustrated. One of the most famous post-war air incidents, and still the most deadly at Singapore.
(6) (Image1) (Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
|
Estimate AU$600
SOLD for AU$1,150.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2182 |
PSE |
 1954 (Mar) Australia-England per BOAC Constellation 'Belfast' that hit the seawall on approach to Kallang Airport (Singapore) and
crashed onto the runway, killing all 31 passengers & two crewmembers, aerogrammes to Holland x2 (one a a private formular type, extensively repaired with Federation of Malaya Officially Sealed labels) both with the standard cachet in rosine plus
Dutch cachet or manuscript endorsement, and aerogramme to Germany with the rosine cachet & German cachet on the reverse, AAMC 1337, Cat from $100. A very scarce & desirable trio. See Volume Five at pages 83-124, two of them illustrated at pages
104-5.
(3 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
|
Estimate AU$600
SOLD for AU$1,600.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2183 |
PSE |
 1954 (Mar) Australia-England per BOAC Constellation 'Belfast' that hit the seawall on approach to Kallang Airport (Singapore) and
crashed onto the runway, killing all 31 passengers & two crewmembers, OHMS ambulance envelope to "Karachi/Pakistan" with superb strike of the standard cachet in rosine and 'KARACHI/DELY/21MAR54/ AIR /PAKISTAN' arrival backstamp, repaired tear across
the flap. (Image1)
(Image2)
|
Estimate AU$100
SOLD for AU$160.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2184 |
|
 1954 (Apr) Toronto-Vancouver per Trans-Canada Airlines which collided over Moose Jaw (Sask) with a Canadian Air Force trainer,
causing both to crash, with 37 fatalities including a woman whose home was hit by the TCA wreckage, to Western Australia with fire-damage & the stamps washed-off, part Windsor Ont slogan, 'District Post Office Inspector/DSE/APR 10 1954/Moose Jaw,
Sask' cds in violet, with the roneo'd incident advise from Moose Jaw PO. See Volume Five at pages 125-7, where both are illustrated.
(2 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$400
SOLD for AU$300.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2185 |
PSE |
 1956 (Nov) Zurich-Prague per Czechoslovak Airlines 'Ilyushin' which nosedived into the ground near Zurich Airport after one of the
engines caught fire, killing the 23 occupants, group on Brian Peace's exhibit pages comprising fragments of cover and Registration Envelope both with 'endommagé - retardé/...' (= damaged - delayed) labels of Zurich (which, ironically, is in the
German-speaking sector), Myer Olympics PPC with 1/- tied by '.../OLYMPIC VILLAGE' cds, and long registered cover from Sydney with Olympics 7½d pair & 1/- block of 4 with plain repair labels on all sides & Czech 'POSTOVNI URAD/[lion]/PRAHA 3'
resealing label on the reverse. Unlisted in the AAMC. Ex Rodney Perry: sold for $1980. See Volume Five at pages 127-133, where two are illustrated, & a census lists only nine items from Australia.
(4 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$1,000
SOLD for AU$1,000.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2186 |
/D |
 1960 (Aug 24) South Africa-Mauritius-Cocos Islands-Perth per Qantas 'Constellation' which was out-of-control during takeoff from
Port Louis & ran off the end of the runway, destroying the plane but with no fatalities, defective cover from South Africa appropriately to Australian Pulp & Paper Industry in Melbourne, with Melbourne incident advice letter & OHMS ambulance
envelope, AAMC 1442, undercatalogued from $400. Rodney Perry had only one item from this incident, also from South Africa, estimate $2000; unsold. See Volume Five at pages 134-147, illustrated at page 142. Only eight items recorded to Australia, five
of them from South Africa.
This was Qantas' first major post-World War II incident involving one of the company's planes. In a case of unfortunate timing, within a couple of hours of the crash, the Qantas Annual Report 1959-60 was released, taking pride in the 148 million
miles flown since 1948 without a single major accident. [Sadly, we don't have a cross-reference for 'hubris']
(2 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$500
SOLD for AU$480.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2187 |
/D |
 1960 (Aug 24) South Africa-Mauritius-Cocos Islands-Perth per Qantas 'Constellation' which was out-of-control during takeoff from
Port Louis & ran off the end of the runway, destroying the plane but with no fatalities, cover to Adelaide with Australian Trade Correspondent imprint at lower-left, Mauritius QEII Pictorials 5c 35c & 1r tied by 'CUREPIPE' cds, attractive
fire-damage, with the defective contents. See Volume Five at pages 134-147. Of the eight items recorded to Australia, only three are from Mauritius.
(2 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$750
SOLD for AU$1,000.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2188 |
/D |
 1960 (Aug 24) South Africa-Mauritius-Cocos Islands-Perth per Qantas 'Constellation' which was out-of-control during takeoff from
Port Louis & ran off the end of the runway, destroying the plane but with no fatalities, cover still with the contents to Sydney with Australian Trade Correspondent imprint at lower-left, Mauritius QEII Pictorials 15c 25c & 1r tied by 'CUREPIPE' cds,
attractive fire-damage, with the roneo'd incident advice letter from Mauritius GPO. See Volume Five at pages 134-147, illustrated at page 140. Of the eight items recorded to Australia, only three are from Mauritius.
(2 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$800
SOLD for AU$950.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2189 |
PSE |
 1960 (Aug 24) South Africa-Mauritius-Cocos Islands-Perth per Qantas 'Constellation' which was out-of-control during takeoff from
Port Louis & ran off the end of the runway, destroying the plane but with no fatalities, Mauritius formular aerogramme to suburban Sydney with QEII Pictorials 35c tied by Port Louis machine, attractive fire-damage & repaired with British 'Found
open...' label. See Volume Five at pages 134-147, illustrated at page 140. Of the eight items recorded to Australia, only three are from Mauritius, all of which are offered here. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$800
SOLD for AU$1,000.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2190 |
|
 1960 (Aug 24) South Africa-Mauritius-Cocos Islands-Perth per Qantas 'Constellation' which was out-of-control during takeoff from
Port Louis & ran off the end of the runway, destroying the plane but with no fatalities, registered cover from South Africa to Adelaide with significant fire-damage & the reverse with superb strike of the impressive 'SALVAGED FROM WRECKS/OF QUANTAS .
PLANE CRASHED/AT PLAISANCE AIRPORT/ON 25,8,60' cachet in violet (the only recorded strike, the errors indicatting it was applied at Port Louis), AAMC 1442, undercatalogued from $400. See Volume Five at pages 134-147, illustrated at page 141. The most
significant item from the first major international incident for Qantas. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$1,000
SOLD for AU$1,200.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2191 |
|
 1961 (Feb-Mar) Australia-England solo record attempt per P51 Mustang which experienced engine problems at Athens, and bureaucratic
delays, which caused the attempt to be abandoned, with cachet in red & signed by the pilot "Ron Flockhart", endorsed on the back "7 only flown", Great Britain QEII 3d Wilding tied by London machine of 8MCH/1961, AAMC 1444, unpriced. Ron Flockhart was
a noted racecar driver, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours Race in 1956 & 1957. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$250
SOLD for AU$190.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2192 |
/D |
 1961 (Nov 9) McMurdo Sound-Wilkes Base, Australian Antarctic Territory-McMurdo Sound per US Navy Antarctic Scientific Flight which
crashed during jet-assisted takeoff from Wilkes, killing five of the nine occupants, stampless social cover with 'WILKES STATION' cachet, late usage of 1959 Opening of the PO 'seal' cachet and on the reverse a huge 'VIRGINIA FISHERIES
LABORATORY/ANTARCTIC DIVISION/WILKES STATION ANTARCTICA' cachet (that we have not previously seen), any stamps lost & oil-stains that are more prominent on the reverse, also the enclosed typed incident advice letter stating "... this is one of the
very few letters reclaimed from that wreckage" & signed "George H Meyer" over 'Station Scientific Leader/NAF McMurdo', and the National Science Foundation ambulance envelope with huge 'US ANTARCTIC RESEARCH PROGRAM/[map]/BI-LAB' cachet posted from
New Zealand & roughly opened. Unlisted in the AAMC. Only four covers recorded, of which this is the only one to Australia (the others all to the USA). See Volume Five at pages 148-154, where all these items are illustrated.
(3 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
|
Estimate AU$1,500
SOLD for AU$1,150.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2193 |
/D |
 1966 (Sep 22) Mount Isa-Longreach in Outback Queensland per Ansett-ANA 'Viscount' that disintegrated in flight, the crash at Winton
killing all 24 occupants, distressed cover Townsville-Mount Isa where unclaimed & returned with 'MOUNT ISA/22SE66/QLD-AUST' cds on the face, with Brisbane GPO typed incident advice letter dated 30.9.1966, AAMC 1588, grossly undercatalogued at $200:
acquired at a Sydney auction in 2022 for $2800. See Volume Five at pages 17-20, where both items are illustrated. Brian Peace has recorded only one other item from this crash, noted by Tom Frommer but not actually sighted by either of them.
This was a major event in Australian aviation, being the first crash investigation in Australia for which a flight data recorder, or black box, was fitted to the plane involved in the accident. See Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansett-ANA_Flight_149 for a graphic description of the disintegration of the plane, including of passengers being ejected in their seats through the resultant fire-ball. It remains the fifth most-deadly aircrash incident
in Australia.
(2 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$2,000
SOLD for AU$1,500.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2194 |
|
 1968 (Apr 8) England-Australia per BOAC Boing 707 which suffered a catastrophic malfunction after departing Heathrow Airport but
returned & made a successful crash-landing, despite which explosions and fire caused the deaths of five occupants, Australian OHMS cover with Commonwealth Crown Solicitor (Canberra) imprint at lower-left & Canberra machine of 5APR/1968 to New Zealand
but missent to Great Britain with 'LONDON FS/8AP68/ 38 ' arrival backstamp & immediately returned to the correct mail-stream, the stamp lost & minor damage, superb 'SALVAGED FROM AIRCRAFT/ACCIDENT LONDON 8-4-68' cachet in green. A remarkable cover.
See Volume Five at pages 161-187, illustrated at page 175. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$250
SOLD for AU$190.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
NEW ZEALAND DISASTER MAIL
Robberies, Fires, Shipwrecks and Other Incidents
| LotNo. |
Symbol |
Lot Description |
Estimate in AU$'s |
| 2195 |
|
 1851 outer to Nelson with New Plymouth postmaster's manuscript "PONP/25-7-51" at upper-left, rated "2",
'WELLINGTON/AU4/1851/=NEW-ZEALAND' transit & similar 'NELSON/ AU12/1851/...' arrival cds both on the face, minor blemishes & small central spike-hole. Ex 'Kiwi' (1990) and John Woolfe: sold in 2006 for £2300. The New Plymouth post office was
destroyed by fire on 28.6.1851 & new 'furniture' was yet to be supplied. Only one other similar item recorded, which is in an official archive..
(Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$4,000
SOLD for AU$3,000.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2196 |
|
 1875 (Mar 14) cover to London "Via San Francisco" with stamps washed-off but with very fine part-strike of ' A
/NZ/CHRISTCHURCH/MR14/75' duplex, very fine 'LONDON/PAID/17MY75' arrival cds in red, significant water-damage so rebacked for stability. Carried per 'Mikado' ex Sydney 13.3.1875 & Auckland 19.3.1875; trans-continental rail; then German steamer
'Schiller' ex New York, which smashed into Retarrier Ledges off the Isles of Scilly at night on 7.5.1875. More than 300 of the 350 people on board died. See 'Australasian Wreck Mail' by Brian Peace (2nd Edn, 2013) at pages 144-7, where only five
items from New Zealand are recorded, and none from Australia. One of the listed items was 'lost in the mail' in 1996. This cover is a recent discovery. (Image1)
|
Estimate AU$1,000
SOLD for AU$750.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2197 |
|
 1897 cover to Wellington with ½d black pair & 1d tied by light 'STRATHMORE' cds & 'STRATFORD' squared-circle transit backstamp,
superb strike of the double-boxed 'One of 600 Letters stolen/from Stratford Post Office by burglar and subsequently re-/covered ("contents missing")' cachet in blue-green, light central diagonal fold barely evident from the face. Stunning. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$1,000
SOLD for AU$1,250.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
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