FIFTY YEARS AGO

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 9 December 1938, Page 8

FIFTY YEARS AGO

PARCEL POST TO ENGLAND THE FIRST DESPA T( I lES ' It is just fifty years ago tins < lirist i mas sime Now Zealanders first enjoyed j the delight of being able to receive a par | if! through the post from the Homeland Most people ha\o on occasions witnessed bags of parcels, as part of His Majesty's Mail, being loaded aboard steamers for overseas destinations, but probably vny few have any idea how old is the Do minion's overseas parcel post system. A special Art of Parliament had to be passed to authorise this welcome postal innovation. The exchange of panel mails between tins country and overseas began under the authority of the I’ost Office (Foreign I’a reels) Ad, 1888. which gave tin I’ostmaster General power to enter ; into agreements with other Postal Authorities for the conveyance of foreign parcels under and subject to the terms of I th* Act. A ii umber of regulations were i made prescribing the rates of postage, the dimensions of parcels and the mode of ! packing, and making provision for other: n isi ellaneous matters. Some of that leg- , islatiou is in force to-day. Before the A-1 was actually passed, : negotiations were put in train for an : early exchange of parcels, the desire be- 1 ing to afford residents of the United I Kingdom the opportunity of forwarding parcels in time to reach the Colony by Christmas of lbbd. The first parcel mail was despatched from London on 16th November, 1888, and delivered in the l olony on the 50th December. “One thousand parcels were received by this mail,” states the 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 he made up for each of the four main centres.” The first parcel mail from the Colony for London was despatched on 27th December, 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 llib. Within two years the parcel-post system was extended v ia Loudon to many other countries. Any doubts as to the \alue of this facility were soon dispelled by the increasing volume of the traffic handled. In 1889, 2,452 parcels were forwarded from New Zealand to overseas countries, and 15.555 were received. In 1900, 10,916 parcel.- were despatched overseas, and 34.230 were received. I To-day the parcels post is used for the I importation of a laige variety of goods, ' w hile a system of insurance facilitates the ; safe transport of valuable products. 'The overseas parcels post business lias always shown a large balance of imports over j export, last year's despatches totalling ! 45.605. while tie* parcels received were : 197,136.