Paddleducks
Paddler Information => Research => Topic started by: Roderick Smith on June 06, 2008, 11:02:53 PM
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I am not a philatelist, but the world of thematic stamps overlaps all of my technical hobbies.
In an APAM thread, I listed a set of Australian stamps, depicting five paddlesteamers which have survived into the modern era. Here is the paragraph, repeated:
PS Marion has appeared in a stamp series in recent years: five 50c stamps (the usual regular letter postage within Australia) showed paddlesteamers which have survived. PS Marion, PS Adelaide, PS Ruby (still under restoration), PS Oscar W, and PV Pyap.
The second series of overseas stamps (gst free when Australia went to gst) showed PV Coonawarra in the scenic SA cliffs section.
While researching a different theme, I came across a UK 47p stamp showing PS Great Eastern, part of a 2006 set on the engineering achievements of I K Brunel.
A 2004 68p stamp, one of a series on ocean liners, depicted PS Great Western.
How many Paddleduckers have these, or an extensive collection of this theme?
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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It seems like a very good way of starting a collection of paddler memorabilia Roderick..... A very quick search turned up the following, and I'm certain there are probably hundreds if not thousands more for the avid collector.
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After seeing the stamps on this website I knew that I had one somewhere. Finally found it. One of the Isle of Man paddlers.
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That was a prompt response from others.
In the world of philately, one is warned not to buy stamps from countries which churn out irrelevant themes simply to make money from collectors. They do not hold value.
From Eddy's selection, I loved the older Belgian Congo stamp. Only a few weeks ago, I was working on that thread (and there is a lot more research needed). There is a stamp refelecting national culture/endeavour: river navigation was vital for national development.
Australia Post issued a set of five 50c paddlesteamer stamps in 2003, to mark the 150th anniversary of the commencement of commercial paddlesteamer operation on the Murray-Darling network. 50c is normal letter rate within Australia, so these stamps would have circulated widely. I bought up several sheets. Over the course of three issues, I made sure that every direct subscriber obtained the full five.
Stamp Bulletin 271 published this excellent summary of river history. Succinct, yet accurate, and a good coverage for people who are not river specialists.
(www.post.com.au/philatelic/stamps/index.asp?link_id=2.709)
First, we commemorate the 150th Anniversary of commercial shipping on the Murray River with a special issue of five stamps. The stamps feature nostalgic images of restored ships and commemorate the crucial role vessels such as these played in the development of inland Australia. The stamp images evoke the romance of bygone days.
150th Anniversary Murray River Shipping
The issue
This issue commemorates the 150th anniversary of shipping on the Murray River. The vessels featured on the stamps have all been, or are being, restored and can be visited by members of the public.
The stamps are illustrated by Craig McGill of New South Wales, with typography and product design by Belinda Marshall, of Australia Post’s Design Studio.
The issue includes gummed and self-adhesive stamps, first day covers, stamp and collector packs and a set of five maximum cards. A beautiful prestige booklet completes the issue.
The 16 page prestige booklet (illustrated on page 4) features twenty stamps in five stamp panes. The stamps are in blocks of four of a single design. This single design block configuration is unique to the booklet. The stamp panes are interleaved with panes of text and images. The prestige booklet is a wonderful introduction to the Murray River, the history of steam boats in Australia on the river system and the fun of stamp collecting.
The issue also includes a decorative gutter with a representation of the Murray River marked with the towns where the paddle steamers shown on the stamps are located.
PS Oscar W
The Oscar W was built in 1908 for normal commercial work on the rivers. It changed hands and purpose several times before being sold and taken to Mildura for tourist day excursions. In 1964 the Oscar W was sold again and restored to a wood burner before being bought by Tourism SA and taken to Goolwa for complete restoration. The vessel is now maintained and operated by the Friends of the Oscar W as a working exhibit at Signal Point River Murray Interpretive Centre in Goolwa.
PS Marion
Built in 1897, PS Marion was one of the first paddle steamers to run cruises on the Murray River, and it is now the only original wood-fired paddle steamer with overnight accommodation still operating. Like the Oscar W, Marion has been through changes of ownership and function – including serving as a floating boarding house and a static museum – before returning to its original purpose as a passenger boat. In 1989 the Mannum community and Council decided to restore the boat to its peak condition as a passenger steamer. Today the Marion has cabins, lounges and a dining room, and offers trips under steam throughout the year.
PS Ruby
The PS Ruby, built at Morgan in 1907, was the fourth riverboat of that name on the Murray. This Ruby started carrying passengers in style and comfort and had a second life as a houseboat. By 1968 it had deteriorated substantially. The vessel was purchased by the Wentworth Rotary Club for $1600, towed to Wentworth and placed in a park opposite the wharf. In 1996 Rotary placed the Ruby in the trusteeship of the Wentworth Shire Council. Under the guidance of shipwright Captain Leon Wagner the long work of restoration has begun.
PV Pyap
Built in 1896 at Mannum, the Pyap was a hawking vessel, set up as a shop with a counter, store section and separate drapery at the rear of the lower deck. The Pyap’s shop was on the lower deck. Pots and pans and a wide assortment of domestic and farming gear hung overhead. Further stock was stored on the front deck, protected by canvas.
In the 1930s, when river trading had been rendered obsolete, Pyap was used for more ordinary shipping tasks, towing timber laden barges to pumping stations for irrigationschemes. From at least 1971 however the Pyap has operated as a cruise vessel from the Swan Hill Pioneer Museum.
PS Adelaide
Built at Echuca in 1866 the Adelaide is the oldest wooden hulled paddle steamer still operating in the world. It was launched, and worked, as a logging boat for about 90 years, towing up to three barges at a time carrying red gum logs from nearby forests to a sawmill at Echuca. Its career ended in the mid-1950s when motor transport took over and the Adelaide lay idle, tied up near the mill until 1958 when it was sold to a sawmiller and taken to South Australia.
A community effort brought it back to Echuca in 1960. In 1963 the Adelaide was lifted from the water and placed in Echuca’s Hopwood Gardens, where it stayed for 21 years. In that time the historic port at Echuca had been restored and late in 1980 restoration began on the Adelaide. Today PS Adelaide operates special cruises for enthusiasts from Echuca wharf.
The Murray River
The Murray River forms the border between New South Wales and Victoria and flows for 2530 km from the Australian Alps in eastern Australia to Encounter Bay, South Australia. Its major tributaries are the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan and Darling Rivers.
Early navigation
The first vessel to steam on the waters of the Murray was the Mary Ann. In March 1853 William Randell, keen to find a speedy, economic means of transporting his flour to the expanding markets of the Victorian gold fields, set out from near present-day Mannum for Swan Hill. He was forced to turn back, then set set out again several months later. He encountered Captain Francis Cadell in the Lady Agusta just three days from Swan Hill. Cadel was responding to a South Australian government initiative encouraging exploration of the river.
Both vessels arrived at Swan Hill on 17 September 1853. On their return journeys, they carried wool back to South Australia, and the use of the Murray for commercial shipping had begun.
The river trade
The river system quickly became a highway to the inland. Trade was varied. Steamers carried passengers, mail and supplies to the stations, and returned with station produce for coastal markets. By 1870 the Murray was the main channel bringing inland wealth to the coast.
River trade transformed inland pastoral industries. Station owners began to change from cattle, a good option when the only transport to market was overland, to sheep, because river transport of wool made sheep farming a better option.
Towns in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales became, for a time, bustling inland ports. Eventually Goolwa (SA) and Echuca (VIC) became the key river ports with a strong rivalry growing between the two.
Ship building
With the river trade came a new era in boat building. Most boats were built to a simple utilitarian design with the shorter and more manoeuvrable side-wheelers (a paddle-wheel on each side of the vessel) eventually beating out the longer and more cumbersome stern-wheelers (American style with a paddle-wheel at the rear).
Apart from special passenger vessels, most steamers were simple cargo ships accompanied by one or two barges. Deck passengers travelled cheaply, finding a place among the cargo. Some barges were purpose-built for the wool trade and vessels conveying timber from the Barmah forest to the Echuca/Moama sawmills had special barges with outriggers to handle the logs.
Causes of decline
Despite being a great advance on the bullock team, river transport had its problems. There was no co-ordinated approach to development. Intercolonial customs tariffs meant time consuming and burdensome custom-house requirements. The river itself was unpredictable and conditions were often dangerous.
Rising costs, fierce competition and the expansion of the rail system contributed to the decline in river trade from its peak in the 1880s.
River trade continued at reduced levels until the 1930s. Passenger steamers continued longer. Indeed, steamers can still be seen on the Murray River. Many individuals and organisations have restored vessels or built new paddle steamers to cater to the love of heritage and the resurgent tourist industry.
The full issue is downloadable as a 4 MB pdf, at
www.post.com.au/philatelic/stamps/index.asp?link_id=2.66
It has illustrations of all of the stamps and related products for this issue.
The enclosed view has been cropped from the full pdf, and is a very poor rendition. However, I can't make fresh scans quickly: my original of Bulletin 271 isn't with the rest of the set, and I would have to search to find my collection of the stamps themselves.
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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Here is the information on the PS Coonawarra stamp, on the international range (stamps exempt from gst).
This information, plus an image, is at www.post.com.au/philatelic/stamps/index.asp?link_id=2.540
From Stamp Bulletin 264
1 May 2002
The definitive range of International stamps was introduced in 2000. The stamps in the range are a distinctive shape and carry International Post branding.
The new designs replace existing stamps of the same denomination:
Walker Flat SA replaces Blue Mountains, NSW
The new stamps continue the original theme with images that emphasise Australia’s panoramic landscapes and promote Australia’s natural beauty.
As well as the stamps, first day cover and stamp pack the issue also includes a set of three maximum cards and a self-adhesive booklet of ten stamps, six x 50c, four x $1.00.
The booklet will be the second booklet of self-adhesive stamps in the definitive range of International stamps, and the first self-adhesive stamp booklet with mixed denominations.
50c - Walker Flat, Murray River, South Australia
Walker Flat is situated on Murray River approximately midway between Mannum and Swan Reach. Murray River flows 650 km through South Australia and provides domestic water to Adelaide and many country towns. The photograph features the paddleboat Coonawarra which took part in the first official paddle steamer race held in South Australia in the 20th century. Paddlesteamers have plied the full length of the Murray for over 100 years, carrying a range of goods including wool and wheat. It was at the Noa-No landing, only minutes from Mannum, that William Randell launched his paddle steamer Mary Ann in 1853, the first paddlesteamer on the Murray in SA. Increasingly the river is a tourist attraction and is home to abundant wildlife, historic towns, rich vineyards and orchards.
Once again, my copy if issue 264 is not with the main set. The enclosed gif will be lacking in quality.
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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Hi folks, I thought no one would ever mention it!. Stamps I meen. I have in front of me a framed set of Isle Of Man stamps showing famous Manx ships, two of which are paddlers. They are PS MONAS ISLE 1, and PS DOUGLAS 1., painted by J H Nicholson RI. Isle of man, Jersey and Guernsey have all published numerous sets of ship stamps featuring quite a lot of paddlers. I mount particularly good sets in wooden picture frames mounting the stamps directly onto contrasting colour
regards, walter.ed mounting board. As these frames are small you can get quite a number on a small wall space and they look very attractive.
Also, what about cigarrete cards with paddlers on?
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I spent some time googling on IoM stamps. It seems to be right up with Caribbean and British Channel islands for overprolific production of irrelevant stamps just to milk money. However, in 30 references, there were lots of lists and no images.
There must be lots more stamps worldwide (Eddy suggested that his sample was just the tip of the iceberg). There must also be Paddleduckers who are more involved in the philatelic hobby than I am.
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria
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Paddle steamer stamp for sale on ebay
AUSTRALIA 1972 SG529 80c "GEM" PADDLE STEAMER V.F.USED Item number: 180215939807
Regards
Robert
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Thanks for the alert.
It is a bit awkward for me, and I can probably get one in Australia.
In 1972, 80c was a high-value stamp (parcels).
I deduce that a standard letter in that era was 7c.
I can't find a description of the designs.
From www.stamparena.com/catalogue/austdecimal/1972.php
Australian Pioneer Life - Definitives
Issued: 15 November 1972
Designer: Robert Ingpen
Printer: Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne.
Printing method: Five-colour Photogravure on Chambon machines.
Sheet layout: sheets of 100
Paper: Wiggins Teape coated paper incorporating helecon
Perf. 5c ,10c and 60c 13½ x 13¾; 15c,40c, 50c and 80c 13¾ x 13½
Quantity:
5c: Pioneer society (a typical family group portrait)
10c: Pioneer water (a pump)
15c: Pioneer food (a portable threshing machine in a wheatfield)
50c: Pioneer transport (a horse-drawn coach, possibly Cobb & Co)
60c: Pioneer communications (seems to be a morse instrument)
80c: Pioneer commerce (this paddlesteamer: it seems to be generic of the larger ones, and is no specific boat).
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor