PHILATELY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19805, 22 May 1934, Page 2

PHILATELY

TIMARU CLUB TALK ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND STAMPS At the monthly meeting of the Timaru Philatelic Club a block of four unused and a fine used copy cf the Christmas Island stamps were shown to the members by Mr A. F. M. Paterson, and made the subject ; f an interesting talk. The Christmis Island stamps are at 5 and 10 cents value, and are termed “official local,” which places them outside the category of a postage stamp. Nevertheless the issue is of great interest to most stamp collectors, and will be found in the albums of many philatelists, especially the zoologically classified collections, as the stamo portrays a frigate bird in spreading flight and is the only stamp picturing this bird. The Island has been leased by the Crown to the Central Pacific Cocoanut Plantations Ltd., for a term of 99 years, and this firm is responsible for the production of the stamp v.hich is affixed to all letters leaving Christmas Island. The captain of the vessel carrying the outgoing mail affixes the stamps of the country at which he arrives to insure the letter being carried to its destination. The stamp was described by Rosaiu Wilson in an article in the “Sydney Morning Herald” as a beautiful little picture in blue, gold, red and green; a deep blue sea bears the Ysabel-lVTay (a former Christmas Island mail boat) in full sail approaching a headland crowned with cocoanut palms. Centrally is a red setting sun while in the right foreground is the before mentioned frigate or ’bosun bird in full spreading flight. Christmas Island itself has an interesting history. It was discovered by Captain Cook who landed there m Christmas Day 1777, and was annexed to the British Empire in 1888, the underlying motive being that it might be used in connection with the section of the all red cable xoute between Canada and New Zealand. In 1908 ,t was the scene of the wreck of the steamer Aeon bound from San Francisco to Australia. This vessel had among her passengers Chaplain Kilpatrick, his wife and a nurse who were bound for Pago Pago the American* naval station. While cast away on the Island Mrs Kilpatrick gave birth to a child which was namid Christmas. The stamps were printed before the Ysabel-May was lost in 1918, and the three inhabitants of Christmas Island were left without provisions for 14 months, when they were rescued by Admiral Jellicoe in H.M.S. New Zealand in October 1919, and taken as guests to Fanning Island. After a few years the sale of the original stamp fell off, so the remainder were surcharged 10 (equalling 10 cents) once more they boomed for a while. Continuing his display, Mr Paterson interested all present wiDh his collection of German stamps from 1914 to 1918. One page of 14 stamps issued in October 1923. showed a pre-war face value of approximately £7,920,000,000, thus giving some idea of how the German mark depreciated in the days following the war. In the discussion following the display it was revealed thao philatelisc.s were again turning their attention to German stamps, which were for so long absent from most collections.