FIFTY YEARS AGO

Grey River Argus, 13 December 1938, Page 12

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Parcel Post to England It is just fifty years ago this Christmas since New Zealanders first enjoyed the delight of being able to receive a parcel through the post from the Homeland. Most, people have on occasions witnessed bags of parcels, as part of His Majesty’s Mail, being loaded aboard steamers for overseas destinations, but 1 probably very few have any idea how bld is the Dominion’s overseas parcel-post system. , A ’special Act of Parliament load to be passed to authorise this welcome postal innovation. The exchange of parcel mails between this country and overseas began under the authority of The Post Office (Foreign Parcels) Act, 1888, which gave the PostmasterGeneral power to enter into agreements with other postal authorities for the conveyance of foreign parcels under and subject to the term? of the Act. A number of regulations were made prescribing-- the rates of postage, the dimensions of parcels and the mode of packing, and making provision for other miscellaneous matters. Some of that legislation is in force to-day. Before the Act was actually passed, negotiations were put in train for an early exchange of parcels, the desire being to afford residents of the United Kingdom the opportunity of forwarding parcels in time to reach the colony by Christmas of 1888. The first parcel mail was despatched from London on November 16, 1888, and delivered in the colony on December 30. “One thousand parcels were received by this mail,” states th? departmental report of 1889, “a number far in excess of the most sanguine estimate. It had originally been' determined that only one parcel mail by each steamer should be despatched by the London Post Office, but as the number of parcels was far larger.than contemplated, it was decided that separate mails should be. made up, for each of the four main centres.”

The first parcel mail from the colony for London was despatched on December 27, 1888, the rate of postage being Is 6d for a parcel not. exceeding 21b. and 9d for each additional lb or fraction up to a maximum of 111 b. Within two years the parcel-post system was extended via London to many other countries.

Any doubts as to the value of this facility were soon dispelled by the increasing volume of -the traffic hand-, led. In 1889, 2,'452 parcels were forwarded from New Zealand to overseas countries, and 13,335 were -received. In 1900, 10,916 parcels were despatched overseas, and 34,236 were received. To-day the parcels post is used for the importation of a large variety ofgoods, while a system of insurance facilitates the safe transport of valuable products. The overseas parcels post business has always shown a large balance of imports .Over exports, last year’s despatches /totalling 45,600, while the parcels received were 197,136.