Zeehan and Strahan postmarks timelines

[Geoff Dane]

As a novice postmark accumulator I was having a little trouble when sorting Zeehan and Strahan postmarks into the various types as listed in the green books (too much information and not much confidence on my part). Eventually I created this timeline summary to help quickly sort postmarks into possible types based on dates. The idea is to see start and finish dates and period of use quickly before referring to the green books for details if needed. The timeline does not replace the green books as the detail is lacking such as the limited period of use for some specific codes, how rare various codes might be etc.

Maybe other novices will find the timeline approach useful. Any errors I am happy to fix. If a nice copy is required please email for the Excel version although this was very easy to create. I should have put the Postmark type number on the Zeehan sheet as I did on the Strahan sheet. Maybe the time and date postmarks for Zeehan could be added.

The colour bar on the Strahan timelines did not scan well but I think enough can be seen to see the period covered between the start and end dates.





Comments queries or corrections welcome.

[Luis M.]

Hello Geoff, I am VERY NEW to Tasmanian pictorial postmarks. I have a lot to learn. Could you or someone else identify this postmark on a Strahan cancel I recently purchased? Thanks, Luis M.

TASMANIA 87 WITH STRAHAN CANCEL.jpg (143.87 KiB) Viewed 3851 times

[John Shepherd]

Strahan Type 1(i)
Type 1 has the date in two lines. Sub-type (i) has hollow circle stops. Used 1900-1906. various Code letters are known.
See Tasmania Vol.1. p.132.

["2" on Geoff's chart above"].

[Luis M.]

OK. I think I get it. So, it's a Type I cancel (not the rare Type II), with hollow circle stops (thus making it a sub. type i). Do you know what the "L" stands for? Thanks for the info John. Luis M.

[Ross Ewington]

To the best of my knowledge, no-one has ever been able to ascertain what the "code letters" (used on some circular datestamps at some major post offices) were really used for in Tasmania. I believe that to this date, no post office records have been found that can shed some light on the subject.

One theory is that the code letters were used to designate counter positions and/or individual postal clerks undertaking specific tasks in the larger post offices such as Hobart and Launceston. For example, letter "Y"** may have been used to process incoming registered mail, letter "K" used for money orders, letter "D" used on the telegraph counter, letter "O" used by "Bill Smith" on counter position 1 (or used by any clerk working at counter position 1) and so on.

[** these particular letters have been selected at random to provide an example of possible usage only]

John Hardinge may be able to add some further information when he reads this post.

[Luis M.]

Another great mystery of philately which makes this hobby so interesting. Luis M.

[John Hardinge]

Have included a list of all Strahan and Zeehan postmarks known from the pre 1913 period with the code letters known. It does not cover the dates of use of various code letters, only the code letters actually known for each CDS. Generally speaking, no code becomes common towards the end of use of the CDS, from about 1907 onwards.

Zeehan, formerly
Mount Zeehan Crown Seal C1889 C1889 RRRRR Opened 1 Aug 1888 as Mount Zeehan(qv). “Mount Zeehan”
1b 23 Sep 1889 31 Aug 1892 RRR “Mount Zeehan”. CDS issued on or soon after opening. Renamed
Zeehan 1 Dec 1890, but old CDS continued in use for a time
Duplex 9 Sep 1891 16 Nov 1896
Codes for Duplex: A, D, H, K, L, O, S, T, V. Several very scarce
1b(x) 30 Nov 1893 30 Jan 1897 “Mount Zeehan”. Asterisk replaced by code letters
Codes for 1b(x): A, L, O and S(RRRR)
1(solid stops)(i) 29 Apr 1896 6 Jul 1937 R(C) Wide letter of “Zeehan”, narrow letters of “Tasmania”
Codes for 1(solid stops): A, D, K, L, O, T, V, no code. A also known inverted. No code after 1911
1(solid stops)(ii)1 Jan 1897 3 Oct 1899 Large “Tasmania”
1(circle stops) 1 Jan 1897 5 Apr 1902 CDS recut Sep 1899. Late date before recut 7 Sep 1899, early date after
8 Sep 1899. No code from 7 Jan 1902 onwards
Codes for 1(circle stops) A, H, K(R), L, S, T, V, no code
1(i) 1 Jun 1900 27 Sep 1929 R(S)RRR(C) Small letters, no stops. Replaced Type 1(solid stops)(ii)
Codes for 1(i): A, H, L, S, no code. No code in post 1913 use. Has not been seen post 10 May 1902
in state period, but pops up again in post 1912 period
1(ii) 7 Nov 1901 4 Jan 1902 R Small “Tasmania” and “Zeehan”. An altered CDS
Codes for 1(ii): A, H, L(RR), S, T(RRRR)
1(iii) 7 Apr 1902 2 3 Dec 1907 Much larger letters than 1(i). Recut of 1(circle stops) with circle stops
removed. Large “Zeehan” in particular. No code from 2 Mar 1905. Replaced
Type 1(circle stops)
Codes for 1(iii): A, H, L, S, T(R), V(RRRR), no code. L found sideways, V inverted
3(i) 25 Jan 1905 14 Oct 1920 Wide “N” of “Zeehan”
3(ii) 4 May 1908 2 Jun 1921 “N” of “Zeehan” narrower and taller. Replaced Type 1(iii)
Paid CDS R1c 25 Jun 1910 11 May 1912 RRRRR “Postage Paid/Zeehan. Tas”. Rates 1d and 2d
Telegraph CDS R2 12 Dec 1896 19 Jan 1900 RRRR “Telegraph Office/Zeehan”. Red/violet ink

Zeehan East 1 18 Nov 1899 22 Dec 1920 RRRRR(C) Opened 1 Nov 1899. Very scarce in post 1912 period as transacted very
little business by that time. Possibly an altered CDS. Closed 30 Sep 1921

Zeehan Railway R1 C1940 C1944 RRRRR Opened 4 Feb 1892. Under TGR control until moved into the PMG system on
1 Mar 1915. CDS would have been ordered 3 Mar 1915 or thereabouts. “Zeehan
Rly”. Violet and blue inks. RTO only, but was an attended station and received a
stamp advance. Dates approximate based on stamps cancelled as CDS has
no dateline by 1940’s. Closed 30 Sep 1958

Strahan, formerly
East Strahan, formerly
Strahan, formerly
Macquarie Harbour 1(solid stops) 28 Jun 1889 7 Jul 1909 > Opened 16 May 1878 as Macquarie Harbour(qv). Renamed Strahan 1 Oct 1881.
No CDS has been seen with Macquarie Harbour name, although may exist.
Likewise, no East Strahan CDS known and is unlikely to exist, as Strahan CDS
seen through East Strahan period. CDS recut 1909
Codes for 1(solid stops): No code, D, H(RR) and L First period to 1900 is with no code
1(cross stops) 19 Jul 1909 29 Jul 1938 R(S) Type 1(solid stops) recut with cross stops added after recut. No Code letter
known
1(no stops) 2 Jul 1899 1 Jun 1923 Recut with narrower first “a” of “Strahan” in 1909. Late date original
7 Jul 1909. Early date recut 16 Aug 1909. No code letters recorded. An
altered CDS
1(circle stops) 15 Oct 1900 30 May 1906
Codes for 1(circle stops)_ A, D, H(R), L, O, S, T(RRRR), V. Codes are found both inverted and
sideways in many cases
1(stop after “Tasmania”) 5 Nov 1905 2 Oct 1914 RRRR(C) Scarce after 1913 and used only on official mail. No code in this period.
An altered CDS
Codes for 1(single stop): D, H, L(R), O, S(R), V(RR), no code. Codes are often found inverted

Strahan West 1(circle stops) 16 Nov 1893 3 Jun 1901 R Opened 1 Jan 1892. “Strahan No 2”. P.O to 31 Oct 1901 only, then RTO. Was
an attended station but not issued a stamp advance as an RTO. Under TGR
administration as an RTO, then under direct PMG control from 1 Mar 1915.
Closed 2 Feb 1924

Sorry if the formatting is not the best but does not cut and paste well from a table in Word. As can be seen, for Zeehan there are two cancels that pre date the pictoruial period(one reading "Mount Zeehan") and five varieties of four CDS inside the pictorial period(one CDS being recut and the circle stops removed), as well as two "Commonwealth" period CDS as well as a Telegraph CDS and a Postage paid CDS. Zeehan East was also open with a CDS as was Zeehan Railway(although this did not have a CDS in the period). For Strahan there are four varieties of 3 CDS, with the first CDS being recut in 1909 and the stops changed. One CDS had only a limited life 1901-2 and is scarce. Strahan West was also open in the period and used the "Strahan No 2" CDS.

In regards to the code letters used at the major offices, they represent time for the CDS thet were used in the mail room. It is important to note that some CDS were not used in the mail room, particularly after the type 1c CDS were replaced in Launceston and Hobart by the Commonwealth period CDS partly in 1903 and completely in 1907-08. This explains why some some letters are much scarcer than others. Some code letetrs are of course mistakes, with 8 and 5 placed instead of S and zero instead of O etc.


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ADDED BY MODERATOR:

Here is a link to a .pdf (with correct formatting) of John's data on Strahan and Zeehan cds postmarks

http://tsauctions.com/bb/strahan%20zeehan%20cds.pdf

[Ross Ewington]

Many thanks John. I forgot about the code letters being used to indicate mail times (my memory is now a little poor now that I have been a "lapsed collector" of Tasmanian postmarks for about fifteen years).

Do you think though that there may have been some usage of code letters to indicate purpose? I recall that telegrams are often seen with the same Hobart code letter as are numerous examples of the same coded backstamp (code "Y"?? I think) on inwards registered covers (on Tattersall's mail particularly).

[John Hardinge]

Many thanks John. I forgot about the code letters being used to indicate mail times (my memory is now a little poor now that I have been a "lapsed collector" of Tasmanian postmarks for about fifteen years).

Do you think though that there may have been some usage of code letters to indicate purpose? I recall that telegrams are often seen with the same Hobart code letter as are numerous examples of the same coded backstamp (code "Y"?? I think) on inwards registered covers (on Tattersall's mail particularly).

Yes, for sure. Once the CDS had been retired from the mail room or if used elsewhere the letters indicated a purpose(in particular code Y which was attached to use in the registration room for inward mail. Early use of no code prior to use of the codes being discontinued may well mean use aoutside the mail room. After 1903 and until approx 1912 these CDS also show usage on telegrams.

[Luis M.]

Great information John. Thanks. Luis M.

[Luis M.]

Since I'm new to Tasmanian pictorial cds...could you tell me more about the stamp I posted. Does a "L" code have a 4R rating or am I reading the chart wrong? Thanks, Luis M.

[Ross Ewington]

Here is a link to a .pdf (with formatting) of John's data on Strahan and Zeehan cds postmarks

http://tsauctions.com/bb/strahan%20zeehan%20cds.pdf

[Luis M.]

Perfect! Thanks Ross. Luis M.

[Ross Ewington]

Since I'm new to Tasmanian pictorial cds...could you tell me more about the stamp I posted. Does a "L" code have a 4R rating or am I reading the chart wrong? Thanks, Luis M.

Alas, Type 1 (circle stops) with code "L" is unrated.