This site is dedicated entirely to the philatelic interests
of the colony of Victoria, Australia, and is provided,
free of charge, to assist collectors who specialize
in this area.
The stamp issues of Victoria are numerous and complex.
Victoria rejected the conventional wisdom accepted in
most of the colonies of the British Empire to have postage
stamps printed in England and shipped ready to use to
the colony – instead, the colonialists in Victoria
decided to print their own stamps, using the manufacturing
capabilities available to them at the time. This independence
led to many variations in quality, plate production
techniques, printing methods, paper supplies and other
parameters that all contributed to the rich philatelic
smorgasbord found in the stamps that emanated from the
colony.
This range of variety and consequent complexity drives
many collectors away to easier collection subjects –
but, for many, like myself, it is a magnet that draws
them to a lifelong quest to understand these stamps,
and the history they reveal.
The full scope of the philatelic interests represented
within Victoria is too great to accommodate within this
site, so specific goals have been adopted which reflect
the presumed interests of most collectors and the specific
interests which are of particular appeal to me. These
include the Travelling Post Offices of Victoria, and
other areas of research and observation, many of which
are noted in the menu options and various philatelic
articles that are offered herein.
More than anything else, the goal here is to generate
interest and debate on the issues involved. Despite
best efforts and the comparison of thousands of copies
of stamps, there is still uncertainty in the cataloguing
of certain stamps shown within the scans. I’m
hopeful that others can cast some additional light on
these and challenge the status quo, in the interests
of creating a reliable reference guide for collectors
in this field.
In some areas, such as the TPO’s I am involved
in active research to establish the best known early
and late dates for the various postmarks found, and
am hopeful that the information found here will stimulate
others to examine their holdings, who may not realize
they are holding a record date, or an undocumented usage.
If you can provide scans for items that are missing,
or where you can improve on the image shown, I’d
be delighted to hear from you.
happy collecting, Les Molnar
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