Robberies, Fires, Shipwrecks and Other Incidents continued...
| LotNo. |
Symbol |
Lot Description |
Estimate in AU$'s |
| 2198 |
 |
 1911 (Oct 30) cover to Blenheim with Universal 1d solo tied by 'CANVASTOWN' cds, slightly doubled strike of 'COACH ACCIDENT/DAMAGED
BY WATER' typeset handstamp in violet alongside, repaired with 'OFFICIALLY SEALED' label at base and officially registered with Blenheim blue/white R label tying the seal, taxed 'TO PAY/4d/DOUBLE DEFICIENT POSTAGE' cachet on the face for the unpaid
registration fee, minor edge faults & light blemishes only. The Marlborough Express newspaper does not mention a coach accident in November 1911, but does report road damage from recent flooding. Brian Peace records only two items from this incident,
both officially registered from Canvastown. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$800
SOLD for AU$850.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2199 |
|
 1913 & 1961 unsealed Printed Matter cover with incomplete machine cancel of '25JL13 1 PAID' in rosine & 'WAIMATE/26JL13/NZ' arrival
backstamp, stained at upper-right & laboriously endorsed on both sides "Found under Floorboards at Post Office Waimate/when new private boxes were/being installed on 21-3-61 [initials, presumably of the postmaster]" and superb 'WAIMATE/21MR61/NZ' cds
on the face. An extraordinary survivor that is the only recorded example. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$400
SOLD for AU$300.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2200 |
|
 1915 (Dec) cover from England badly damaged in transit partly secured with pieces of three Officially Sealed labels & with very
fine double-boxed 'Received at Letter Carriers/Branch Wellington in a/damaged state ("AW 15.2.16")' cachet in violet. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$250
SOLD for AU$190.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2201 |
|
 1915-41 military group comprising 1915 to a soldier with boxed 'Reported Killed/Return To Sender'; 1915 French Military Postal Card
to New Zealand with boxed 'IMPROPERLY/ POSTED/DELAYED' cachet (old at our auction of 6.3.2015 for $351); 1916 to a soldier with 'NOT IN THE UK' cachet; 1917 'TELEGRAM' envelope with light 'ARMY No D 15.XI.17/TELEGRAPHS' cds & endorsed "Received in
Sig office/in this condition"; 1941 two covers to the same soldier with 'REPORTED MISSING' or superb boxed 'DECEASED/RETURN TO SENDER' cachets; and 8.9.1941 airmail at 3/- rate to a New Zealand POW last reported in Greece with superb strike of the
tiny 'Deceased' cachet with unfortunate '.../DEAD LETTER OFFICE/WELLINGTON C1 NZ/...' cachet.
(7 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
(Image5)
(Image6)
|
Estimate AU$500
SOLD for AU$380.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2202 |
|
 1916 (Dec) cover with 1d Dominion tied by poor cds to a soldier c/- GPO Wellington with the stamp cancelled again on arrival with
London machine of '20JAN17' and 'NEW ZEALAND/ 24-MA-17/BASE/ARMY POST OFFICE' backstamp both covered by a German censor label at the top, British 'Part of a Mail captured/by Germans and delayed' cachet in violet, British censor label added tied by
boxed 'NOT AT NO 2/NZ GENL HOSPITAL/WALTON-ON-THAMES' cachet in violet on the face, faults but attractive. More research required to uncover the full story. Sold at our auction of 6.3.2015 for $421. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$500
SOLD for AU$550.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2203 |
/D |
 1919 (Apr 16) letter on RMS 'Niagara' letterhead headed "Auckland/Apl 16th" stating "...we were released from the quarantine island
Motuihi yesterday...5 days living in tents...the few cases are of a mild nature, chiefly among the crew...", with the matching envelope (embossing on the flap) to "Imperial Hotel/Adelaide" ripped open in a frenzy & partly repaired with archival tape.
The illness referred to was influenza, which had been of global pandemic proportions during 1918. (Image1) (Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$250
SOLD for AU$420.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2204 |
|
 1934 (Jan 29) cover to "Rural Delivery/Takapau/HB" (= Hawkes Bay) with 1d Field Marshal tied by Auckland cds, ripped open at left &
secured with two Post Office resealing labels tied by three strikes of the triple-oval 'MAIL DESPATCH GPO/29JAN1934/AUCKLAND' datestamp in rosine, endorsed at top "Stolen from Posting box/and found on One Tree Hill/[initials]". On 19.2.1934, the New
Zealand Herald quoted a local detective: "There has been an epidemic of such breaking into [postal] boxes". (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$400
SOLD for AU$550.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2205 |
PSE |
 1937-90 Fires at Post Offices comprising 1) 1937 OHMS cover to Dunedin with 'Damaged by fire in Chief Post/Office, Timaru' label
lightly affixed to the face; 2) 1963 3d Envelope cancelled on arrival at Auckland & endorsed "Damaged by Fire at Onetangi/Post Office MWK" (on Waiheke Island) with a written advice signed "MW Knowlton/Senior Clerk/Mails/Auckland"; 3) & 4) two items
from fire at Porirua Postal Delivery Branch being a British PPC with 29p Machin to "Tawa/Wellington", and domestic 'junk mail' with the contents & plastic '...DAMAGED IN THE POST' envelope, both with New Zealand Post incident advice letter.
(9 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
(Image5)
(Image6)
(Image7)
|
Estimate AU$600
SOLD for AU$500.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2206 |
|
 1940 (July 4) cover to Napier with fragment of Centennial 2d Tasman tied by 'WAIROA' machine cancel, significant fire-damage &
overall soiling. A fire aboard the local rail motor destroyed virtually all the luggage & mail. Only one other item is recorded. (Image1)
|
Estimate AU$300
SOLD for AU$230.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2207 |
/D |
 1940-2007 Fires in Post Boxes comprising 1940 in Wellington; 1963 at Henderson PO with roneo'd slip (original?) & ambulance
envelope; 1970 at Tauranga with manuscript endorsement ".../firework thrown into box" and 'POSTAL BRANCH/TAURANGA' cds in red; 1974 at West Lynn PO with roneo'd letter & ambulance envelope; 1994 in Rotorua with photocopied letter & ambulance
envelope; 1996 at Naenae PO with duplicated letter; 1997 in Hastings with duplicated letter; and 2007 in Nelson (charred remains only) with duplicated letter; also 1955 with Auckland GPO typed label '.../...interfered with in transit...' An
interesting lot.
(18 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
(Image5)
(Image6)
(Image7)
(Image8)
(Image9)
(Image10)
(Image11)
(Image12)
(Image13)
|
Estimate AU$500
SOLD for AU$550.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2208 |
|
 1946 (Aug 1) large-part social cover to "Harbin/China" with Peace 1½d Cathedral pair tied by 'AUCKLAND NZ/OVERSEAS' slogan cancel,
Chinese cds (Shanghai ?) & large boxed 'Mail route to destination/blockaded, return to sender' cachet in red, 'WELLINGTON C1/5MR47/RETURNED LETTER OFFICE' on flap, opened-out & truncated for display. Immediately after WWII, the situation in northern
China was chaotic: the Russians had invaded; the Japanese occupiers had surrendered; the Americans arrived to repatriate them; then on 26.6.1946, tensions between the Nationalists & Communists boiled over into civil war that lasted for three years.
Only five examples of the cachet recorded, one other from New Zealand. See also Lot 2047 under Australia. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$600
SOLD for AU$460.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2209 |
|
 1946 (Aug) covers from Christchurch x2 (both from a leper charity) or Wellington (ripped-open in the incident & sealed with
stamp-selvedge) to Dannevirke, Hastings or Napier all involved in the 20.8.1946 railway disaster at the Manawatu Gorge where the train was derailed by collision with a landslip, sending the locomotive, the mail van & two other carriages down a 60
foot cliff into the river, all water-damaged & with the stamps lost, fine to very fine strikes of the 'DAMAGED THROUGH IMMERSION/IN MANAWATU RIVER RAILWAY/ACCIDENT' cachet in violet. See Gwynn & Hoggarth 'Railway Disaster Mail' a pages 204-5. Brian
Peace has identified 22 items, all but one with this cachet.
(3) (Image1) (Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
|
Estimate AU$750
SOLD for AU$575.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2210 |
|
 1946 (Aug) piece from a rewrapped parcel to Napier that was involved in the 20.8.1946 railway disaster at the Manawatu Gorge where
the train was derailed by collision with a landslip, sending the locomotive, the mail van & two other carriages down a 60 foot cliff into the river, superb 'DAMAGED THROUGH IMMERSION/IN MANAWATU RIVER RAILWAY/ACCIDENT AND RE-WRAPPED AT/WELLINGTON'
cachet in violet, 'WELLINGTON C1' parcel-roller, rebacked on thin card. The only recorded example of this cachet. See Gwynn & Hoggarth 'Railway Disaster Mail' a pages 204-5. (Image1)
|
Estimate AU$750
SOLD for AU$625.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2211 |
/PSE |
 1947 (March ?) Italian cover with imprint at upper-left of the Italian Naval Shipyards (Monfalcone), to the Union Bank in
Wellington, attractive fire-damage at the edges & the stamps washed-off, with the printed ambulance envelope, the reverse with 'ISPEZIONE PT/30.4.47/ NAPOLI' cds (= inspecion) & largely very fine 'Oggetto recuperato - nelle condi/zioni in cui si
trova - dall'incedio/di Napoli Porto' cachet (= recovered in the condition in which it was found after the fire at the Port of Naples), 'WELLINGTON C1/23AP47/NZ' arrival cds on the face & forwarded to "Petone". Likely the only recorded example to New
Zealand.
(2 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
|
Estimate AU$400
SOLD for AU$300.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2212 |
|
 1948 (Apr 16) cover with 2d meter & part 'HAMILTON' cds and 'WHAKATANE/19AP48/NZ' arrival cds, water-damage at left and endorsed
"damaged Flood/Waters whk/19.4.48/[initials]". Only five items recorded from this incident. According to 'The Gisborne Herald', the floods were the worst in the district since 1916. (Image1) (Image2)
|
Estimate AU$200
SOLD for AU$230.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2213 |
/D |
 1950-2014 Fires in Post Office vehicles with 1950 railway van at Masterton (badly charred; only one other recorded); 1965 at
Amberley with contents & advice slip; then all with post office incident advice letters comprising 1969 railway van near Christchurch x2; 1988 mail van at Geraldine x4 (three with 'DAMAGED BY FIRE IN MAIL CONTRACTORS/VAN WHEN NEAR GERALDINE
25-10-88'); 1989 mail van near Sheffield; and 2014 mail van near Silverdale; several also with their plastic ambulance envelopes.
** See also Lot 2286, which was inadvertently omitted from this section, and is NOT IN THE PRINTED CATALOGUE **
(21 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
(Image5)
(Image6)
(Image7)
(Image8)
(Image9)
(Image10)
(Image11)
(Image12)
(Image13)
(Image14)
(Image15)
(Image16)
(Image17)
(Image18)
|
Estimate AU$500
SOLD for AU$550.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2214 |
|
 1966 (Jan 14) airmail cover to "The Chief Postmaser/Salisbury/Rhodesia" with 2/- Rock Drawing tied by Whangarei slogan, 'NO
SERVICE' cachet and manuscript "RLO" applied in Kenya with 'NAIROBI RLO/19JA/66/KENYA' backstamp & superb boxed 'RETURNED TO NEW ZEALAND BY SURFACE/MAIL FROM KENYA, REFORWARDED BY AIR/2ND APRIL 1966' cachet in blue. Ex Robert Johnson RDP.
Post-Unilateral Declaration of Independence mail between Great Britain & Rhodesia is common. This is the first example we have seen from New Zealand, and is a remarkable example of them ignoring the British-imposed sanctions. (Image1) (Image2)
(Image3)
|
Estimate AU$300
SOLD for AU$230.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2215 |
/ |
 Mostly post-World War II incidents on Brian Peace's exhibit pages including 1945 registered to 'ISLAND BAY' (arrival cds) with
repair labels & 'RECEIVED AT WELLINGTON/IN DAMAGED CONDITION' cachet; 1951 registered from Canada & ink-stained with unframed 'RECEIVED AT AUCKLAND IN/DAMAGED CONDITION'; 1970 from Holland with boxed 'RECEIVED IN/DAMAGED CONDITION/AT AUCKLAND'; 1967
dye-stained with advice slip; 1969 endorsed on reverse "Found in Street/by member of Public [initials]'; 1973 from France with Boycott by New Zealand label in French; 1984 bus collision with a cow x2; 1997 overall soiling with enormous 'MANAGER NZ
POST LIMITED/ INTERNAL RESEARCH' cancel; 2011 Christchurch Earthquake cover & ambulance envelope both with '...retrieved from Armagh St Box Lobby/...' labels; and some others loose including 1907 PPC with 'GONE NO ADDRESS', 1912 PPC with 'DECEASED'
cachet and 1943 'DELAYED/POSTED IN WRONG BOX', etc, plus a few incident advice letters & ambulance envelopes. See also Lots 2248 and 2286.
(42 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
(Image5)
(Image6)
(Image7)
(Image8)
(Image9)
(Image10)
(Image11)
(Image12)
(Image13)
(Image14)
(Image15)
(Image16)
(Image17)
(Image18)
(Image19)
(Image20)
(Image21)
|
Estimate AU$400
SOLD for AU$420.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
| 2216 |
/O |
 Post-WWII damaged mail including 1946 superb 'DAMAGED THROUGH IMMERSION/IN MANAWATU RIVER RAILWAY/ACCIDENT' cachet, various
'RECEIVED IN DAMAGED CONDITION' types from Wellington, Auckland, New Plymouth & Christchurch, noted a large cover from Australia with numerous 'OFFICIALLY SEALED' labels, 1956 superb 'DAMAGED BY POSTMARKING/ MACHINE AT DUNEDIN', 1961 from British
Guiana received in pieces, etc.
(33 items) (Image1)
(Image2)
(Image3)
(Image4)
(Image5)
(Image6)
(Image7)
(Image8)
(Image9)
(Image10)
|
Estimate AU$500
SOLD for AU$380.00
Closing..Jun-24, 07:30 PM |
