Type 1b Circular Datestamps

[John Hardinge]

The Type 1b CDS, as with the Type 1a’s and previous types were all made in one batch, almost certainly without the office name, but with “Tasmania”, removable type for month and date and with an asterisk. They were then forwarded to Tasmania and were engraved locally as P.O’s opened and they were then required. The first used was at Beulah on 1.11.1887, incidentally with the last numeral reallocated in the second reallocation period. A list of CDS is attached with in order of allocation up until the last(Leith 1.9.1890). It includes two CDS not seen so far but likely to exist. The only other possibility in this batch is Chitty’s Road/South Franklin, which should have been in this batch but for reasons unknown(although see previous para), does not appear to be so. It may have been remade in a hurry out of a returned CDS(possibly South Sunnyside) with Chitty’s Road being renamed rapidly after reopening. Yet again it is a batch of 40, a significant number with the Type 1a batch being 80 and other batches being mostly 10,20,40 etc. Some of these CDS were later altered to have the asterisk removed and at least two were remade without removing the asterisk(Glaziers Bay and Wyena in 1899). We have no idea of the manufacturer. If anyone has any idea as to who that may be or if they have either a copy of either of the unseen CDS or (more likely) traces of a CDS behind numerals 304(almost certainly Vinegrove) or 217(almost certainly St Aubuy's) please let me know.

1) Beulah 1/11/1887
2) Millbrook
3) Rosevears
4) Whitefoord
5) Shipwright’s Point
6) Sandfly
7) Leprena
8) Hamilton Road
9) Eastern Marshes Siding
10) Interlaken
11) Raminea
12) Dromedary
13) Mount Zeehan
14) Mountain River
15) Heazlewood
16) Ridgeway
17) Lachlan
18) Lower Longley
19) Remine
20) Rumney Huts
21) Abbotsham
22) (St Aubyn’s)* not seen but must exist
23) Dulverton
24) Wattle Grove
25) Cradoc
26) Upper Tea Tree
27) Snake Plains
28) Glenlusk
29) (Vinegrove)*not seen but must exist
30) Waterloo
31) Blessington
32) Sulphur Creek
33) East Devonport
34) West Devonport
35) Henty
36) Cornwall
37) Comstock
38) Gardners Bay
39) Leith 1.9.1890
40) Pearson’s Point(allocation point unknown but before Henty)