The West Australian Airways (WAA) trans-continental airmail
service between Adelaide and Perth started in June 1929.
Mail both from and to the UK was carried on
the first flights.
Mail addressed to New Zealand was flown
on the first flight from Perth, but it was not until
August that mail from GB to New Zealand could use the service and
July 1930 until mail from New Zealand was accepted.
First Flight, June 1929
Adelaide – Perth
The first flight for Perth left Adelaide in a DH 66 Hercules
aircraft on Sunday 2 June 1929, but had to turn back
due to bad weather.
The mail eventually left Adelaide on Tuesday June 4.
The route was via Ceduna to Forrest where there was an overnight stop.
The mail was then flown to Kalgoorlie on June 5
where the mail was transferred to a DH 50 and
flown to Perth, arriving later that day.
The postal rate was 4½d made up of 1½d surface and 3d airmail.
Australia issued its first airmail stamp on May 20 so that it
would be available for this flight.
It is on the example cover and shows a DH 66 Hercules.
Mail from New Zealand was not
accepted on the Adelaide – Perth service until 4 July 1930.
To New Zealand via Perth – Adelaide, June 1929
The DH 66
was due to leave Perth on the return flight on June 4,
but with the delay in leaving Adelaide, that was not
possible.
Instead, the mail from Perth was flown on June 5 in a DH 50
to Kalgoorlie where the mail was exchanged with the
DH 66.
The DH 50 flew
back to Perth while the DH 66 returned to Adelaide arriving
on June 6, only one day late.
This cover is one of the few flown on the first flight
from Perth and addressed to New Zealand.
On the back, it has a label advertising the
advantages of air mail.
After arrival in Adelaide on 6 June, it was sent by rail to Sydney
where it connected with the trans-Tasman steamer.
It was not backstamped on arrival.
Second Flight
This cover was sent from Kalgoorie to New Zealand on the second flight.
It is postmarked in Kalgoorie on 11 June 1929.
The second flight, which was the first through flight from Perth to Adelaide
due to the problems with the first flight, left Perth on 11 June.
It flew from Perth to Kalgoorie and then on to Forrest on 11 June
and then from Forrest to Adelaide via Ceduna on 12 June.
From Adelaide, it was taken by rail to Sydney and then to New Zealand
by sea.
From August 1929, UK mail for New Zealand
could be sent on this service.
Connections with the UK mailboat
The major reason for setting up the Adelaide – Perth airmail service
was to connect with the regular UK mail boat service.
The P & O mail boat route was via the Suez Canal and Colombo
to Australia where it called at Fremantle (Perth)
on a Tuesday and mail was taken by train via Adelaide and Melbourne to Sydney where
it was delivered on the following Monday.
Use of the WAA service enabled mail to be unloaded at Fremantle
and flown from Perth, arriving in Adelaide on the Wednesday.
The mail was then sent by overnight train to Melbourne,
arriving on the Thursday morning and Sydney early on the Friday morning.
It was therefore delivered 3 days before the ordinary mail [2,4].
In the opposite direction, ordinary mail for the UK left Sydney on
the Wednesday overnight train to Melbourne and and from there by the Thursday overnight train to Adelaide.
It was then taken by train to Perth
to connect with the mailboat on the following Monday.
Air mail could be sent from Sydney by the Friday overnight train to
Melbourne and from there by the Saturday overnight train to Adelaide to connect with the
weekly WAA airmail service which left Adelaide on a Sunday,
arriving in Perth the next day to connect with the P & O mail boat [2,4,7].
Hence mail could leave Sydney two days after the ordinary mail and
catch up with it at Perth.
However, the mail boat from New Zealand normally arrived in Sydney on a Tuesday,
making a good connection with the Wednesday departure from Sydney of the
mail for Fremantle, Colombo and the UK.
Use of the Adelaide – Perth airmail service therefore typically did not speed
up mail from New Zealand to Britain.
From 6 September 1930, the air mail left Adelaide on a Saturday rather than
a Sunday [2].
From UK via Perth – Adelaide
UK to Melbourne, May – June 1929
Each week, the latest time of posting of mail for Australia was 6pm on a Thursday
at the GPO in London.
The mail would then be carried from London to Paris by the night boat train
and then by train from Paris to Marseilles where it would join the mail boat for Australia.
According to The Times of 2 May, the first acceptance for the Perth – Adelaide service was to leave
London on Thursday 9 May 1929
and connect at Marseilles with the Maloja.
The example cover is to Melbourne and was postmarked in the UK on Wednesday 8 May.
It has the inscription First England – Australia Airmail,
and stamps to the value of 4½d (1½d surface plus 3d air fee).
The mail arrived in Fremantle on the Maloja on Tuesday 4 June (26 days after leaving the UK)
and was flown on the first Perth – Adelaide flight on 5 – 6 June.
(The flight had been delayed by a day for the reasons given above.)
After being flown Perth – Adelaide, it was carried on
the overnight train to Melbourne where it was backstamped on 7 June 1929.
According to the GPO Air Mail Rates Schedule of October 1929 [2], this air mail service gave a
4 day gain to Melbourne, 3 to Adelaide, Sydney and Hobart and 1 to Brisbane.
The Air Route used was allocated No. 4.
For an extra 2d, mail could also be flown London – Paris and Paris – Marseilles.
This can be seen as a late fee as
the latest time of posting was 7am on a Friday rather than 6pm on a Thursday.
UK to New Zealand, August 1929
The first UK acceptance for New Zealand via Perth – Adelaide
was on 8 August 1929 [1].
The report in The Times of 2 August is shown.
The postage was the same as that for Australia (3d airmail plus
1½d surface) although, in the case of the cover below, there is an extra 3d
registration fee.
The saving to Sydney was 3 days, but any time saving to New Zealand would depend
on the connection with the sea service across the Tasman.
From late August 1929, mail was accepted on the London – Karachi service
at a cost of a further 5d giving a combined air fee of 8d.
This registered cover is postmarked in Ibstock on Wednesday 14 August
and there are registration backstamps on 14 and 15 August.
The mail left the UK on Thursday 15 August and was carried by train
via Paris to Marseilles where it joined the mail boat Chitral for Australia.
The Chitral arrived in Fremantle on Tuesday 10 September and
this cover has a Perth backstamp on that date
(26 days after leaving the UK) and so was
flown Perth – Adelaide on 10 – 11 September before being
carried on the overnight train to Melbourne where it was backstamped
on 12 September.
It would then be carried by train to Sydney and by sea to New Zealand,
but there is no backstamp giving the date of arrival in New Zealand.
The Ulimaroa sailed from Sydney to Wellington on 13-17 September.
The amount of mail appears to be very small.
Walker [1] does not show an example, but comments that covers were
available at quite a reasonable price, even as late as 1947!!!
The article by Legg [2] does show a cover, but it is the one above.
(I purchased it in 2007.)
If the first dispatch of mail was on 8 August then this cover was carried on the
second dispatch.
Australia to UK, 1929
to UK via Adelaide – Perth, June – July 1929
Mail for the UK was accepted on the first flight from Adelaide to Perth.
This registered cover from Melbourne is postmarked on 1 June 1929 and would
have been sent to Adelaide on the overnight Saturday train to connect
with the first flight scheduled to leave Adelaide on 2 June.
However, due to the delay described above, the mail did not arrive in
Perth until 5 June and so missed the mailboat at
Fremantle on Monday 3 June.
It was therefore sent on the 10 June mailboat Mooltan.
The mail arrived in London on 8 July, 28 days after leaving Australia.
This cover is franked with 3d airmail, 1½d surface plus 3d registration fee.
and has two Melbourne 1 June backstamps, a red London registered
8 July backstamp
and a Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham backstamp later that day.
Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London, December 1929
Mail from Australia could be flown on both the
Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London air mail services
from December 1929 although mail from New Zealand was not accepted until July 1930.
This cover is postmarked 14 December 1929 in Melbourne and
has the manuscript Australia – Karachi – London.
It was flown Adelaide – Perth and then
from Karachi on the first acceptance from Australia.
It would have been carried by overnight train on Saturday 14 December to Adelaide
and flown from there to Perth on 15 – 16 December where it connected
on Monday 16 December with the mail steamer Oronsay for Colombo.
It was then taken by surface to Karachi
from where it was flown on 30 December arriving
in London 1 day late on 9 January [3], 24 days after leaving Australia.
It is franked with 1/3 in stamps made up of
4d Adelaide – Perth airmail, 6d Karachi – London
airmail, 1½d surface postage plus a registration fee.
First Acceptance from New Zealand, 4 July 1930
To Perth
From 1 July 1930, New Zealand stamps were accepted to pre-pay
airmail postage on overseas routes and so letters from
New Zealand could be sent on the Adelaide – Perth service.
The cost was 3d per ½oz airmail plus the normal surface
postage rate of 1d.
This cover is postmarked on 30 June in Christchurch and went by ferry
to Wellington from where it was sent to Sydney on 4 – 8 July by the SS Maunganui.
It was then sent by rail from Sydney to Adelaide
before being flown Adelaide – Perth on
13 – 14 July.
Walker [1] estimates that only 5 covers addressed to Perth were sent on this flight.
Mail flown by the Adelaide – Perth service and adressed to
countries beyond Australia cost an extra 1d giving a total of 5d.
Also flown Karachi – London
In addition, mail for the UK could be flown
via the Imperial Airways
Karachi – UK airmail route at
a further cost of 7d per ½oz.
giving a combined postage rate of 1s 0d.
This is one of 10 letters from the first acceptance of air mail
from New Zealand that was flown on both the Adelaide –
Perth and the Karachi – London service.
It has the correct franking of 1s 0d.
The postmark is 1 July 1930 in Wellington and was sent on the same service
as the first cover.
On arrival in Perth on Monday 14 July it connected with the Fremantle –
UK mail boat [2].
The mail boat Barrabool sailed to Colombo on 14-23 July where this cover was off-loaded
and taken to Karachi by surface.
It was flown from Karachi by Imperial Airways on 29 July
and arrived in the UK on Monday 4 August [3], 21 days after leaving Australia.
It is also franked with a ½d British stamp in order to get
a Sutton Coldfield arrival mark, but that was not until 7 August.
Later Flights
Australia – New Zealand, September 1929
This cover is postmarked in Perth on 28 September 1929
and is addressed to Wellington.
It would be flown from Perth on Tuesday 1 October arriving in Adelaide on
the following day.
It would then be sent to Sydney by train, arriving early in the morning of Friday 4 October.
The Maheno left Sydney on 4 October and arrived in Wellington on 8 October.
The cover appears to be a genuine commercial use of the air mail service.
Flight from UK July 1930
This cover is postmarked on 30 July 1930 in Battersea, London and is addressed to Christchurch.
It has mixed franking of 4½d in British stamps together with a 1½d Australian stamp.
All three stamps were postmarked in the UK.
It would have been sent by sea to Fremantle and then flown Perth – Adelaide.
The surface rate was 1½d and the airmail surcharge was 3d and so the franking
in British stamps is sufficient.
It may have been that the sender believed that 1½d in Australian stamps was required for
the Australia – New Zealand leg, but that is incorrect.
There was therefore no need for the Australian stamp, but it makes for an interesting
and unusual cover.
At this time, the Perth – Adelaide service was the only partial air mail service
between the UK and New Zealand as the London – Karachi service was not
used for mail to Australia / New Zealand between May 1930 and May 1932
and does not appear in the Spring 1930 GPO Air Mail Rate Schedule [8].
The service continued to be used in the opposite direction.
Flight August 1930 via Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London
According to Walker [1], only 152 items were sent from New Zealand via the
combined Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London services in the first year which
averages at only about three on each flight.
Examples like this one are therefore uncommon.
It is always interesting to have proof that a service was actually used
by the public and that covers exist other than those flown on the first flight.
This cover is postmarked on 6 August, 1930 and and was sent on the Ulimoroa from
Wellington to Sydney on Friday 8 – Tuesday 12 August.
It was flown
Adelaide – Perth on 17-18 August and Karachi – London on 2 – 8 September.
There is a manuscript on the back stating that it was received on 9 September,
22 days after leaving Australia.
It is only franked by 11d in stamps instead of the required 1s 0d.
It is not surprising that there was confusion regarding the postage
which was 7d Karachi – London.
The Adelaide – Perth rate was 4d if addressed to the UK, but
3d for letters addressed to Perth.
That extra 1d might reasonably be assumed to cover the surface rate
while in fact a further 1d was required.
Between May 1930 and May 1932, the British Post Office did not accept
mail for Australia or New Zealand on the London – Karachi route [2]
although, as can be seen from the examples on this page,
mail was accepted from Australia and New Zealand.
From UK, November 1930
This cover is postmarked in Reading on 19 November 1930 and is addressed to
New Zealand.
The airmail rate for the Perth – Adelaide service was 3d per ½oz plus 1½d surface rate for the first 2oz.
As the cover is franked with 7½d, it is correctly franked for a cover weighing between ½ and 1 oz.
The Baradine left London on 22 November and arrived in Fremantle on Tuesday 23 December.
The mail would have been flown Perth – Adelaide on 23 -24 December and arrive in Sydney by train on 26 December.
Finally, the Marama carried the mail from Sydney to Auckland on 27 – 31 December 1930.
New Zealand to Colombo via Adelaide – Perth, January 1931
This cover is postmarked in Wellington on 30 January 1931 and was sent to
Archdeacon Russell of Oamaru New Zealand, a passenger arriving on the SS Balranald in Colombo, Ceylon.
It has routing instructions via Australia Adelaide Air Mail.
It would be sent on the Marama which left Wellington on 30 January and arrived in Sydney on Tuesday 3 February
and then to Adelaide by rail and flown Adelaide – Perth on Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 February.
That connected with the Ormonde which left Fremantle on Monday 9 February and was in Colombo on 18 February
which fits with the Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. company datestamp on the reverse in Colombo on 18 February.
The surface mail from Sydney to connect with the P & O mail steamer at Fremantle
left on a Wednesday evening and so the Adelaide – Perth airmail service was not necessary.
The Balranald left Colombo on 20 February and so this letter made the connection.
Archdeacon Russell was reported as arriving in Sydney on the Balranald on 11th March
and in Wellington on the Ulimaroa on 17th March.
The cover is franked with 7d while the rate from New Zealand to the UK using the Adelaide – Perth air mail was only 5d.
Inclusive rate: UK – New Zealand via Adelaide – Perth, March 1931
Early airmail rates were calculated as an airmail surcharge on top
of the ordinary surface rate.
In February 1931, the British Post Office announced inclusive rates
with the rate for GB to New Zealand via Perth – Adelaide
being 4½d for the first ½ ounce and 3½d for each additional ½ ounce.
The previous rate was 3d per ½ ounce airmail plus 1½d surface
rate for the first 2 ounces.
Hence, the new rate was unchanged for a letter under ½ ounce and an increase
of ½d for letters weighing one ounce.
Mail from New Zealand continued to have an airmail surcharge
in addition to the surface rate.
This cover to Timaru was sent on the first acceptance for
the service on Thursday 12 March 1931.
The mail boat from the UK was due in Fremantle 26 days later on Tuesday 7 April
and so the cover would be flown
Perth – Adelaide on 7 – 8 April, arrive via the night train
in Melbourne on the morning of 9 April and Sydney
on the morning of 10 April.
The address is in the same handwriting as the cover
shown by Walker [1].
This next cover is postmarked in Sheffield on 9 March and is addressed to
Palmerston North.
It was redirected to Fairlie and has a Palmerston North postmark of 15 April together
with a Fairlie postmark of 16 April.
That suggests that the mail arrived in New Zealand on 14 April.
Walker [1] reports that the Post Office notice announcing the service stated
that it gave one week’s gain in time compared with surface mail.
As use of the Perth – Adelaide airmail only gave a 3 day improvement,
he believes that the notice was in error and that the first service was
also flown London – Karachi.
Not convinced by this.
The British Post Office allocated numbers to air routes and Perth – Adelaide is shown as
Air route No. 15 in the Spring 1931 Air Mail Rate Schedule while previously
it had been No. 4.
Flight August 1931
This attractive cover appears philatelic in origin and
is postmarked in Perth of 18 August.
As it is franked with a complete set of the Kingsford Smith
commemoratives plus the 3d airmail, it is grossly overfranked.
However, there does not seem to be anything special about the date of this flight
which would have taken place on 18-19 August, 1931.
The 3d airmail has a green dot in the middle of the bottom
margin which shows that it is from a booklet.
First New Zealand airmail stamps, November 1931
a) Flown Adelaide – Perth
This cover is postmarked on 11 November 1931.
It was carried on the overnight ferry on 12/13 November
from Christchurch to Wellington and then to Sydney on the SS Marama
which left Wellington on Friday November 13 [1].
From 6 September 1930, the Adelaide – Perth service left on a Saturday
rather than Sunday as before [2].
Hence the cover would be taken by rail from Sydney on the night of 19 November
to Melbourne and on the following night to Adelaide
arriving on Saturday 21 November.
It was then flown from
Adelaide to Perth on 21-22 November as part of its route to the UK.
This was the first time that covers carrying special
New Zealand airmail stamps
had been flown on this service.
The cover is correctly rated at 6d made up of 2d ordinary postage
(the surface rate had been increased to 2d
on 25 February 1931 [6]) while the airmail rate via
Adelaide – Perth to England was 4d per ½ oz.
Covers addressed to Western Australia cost only an extra 3d per ½ oz.
airmail.
b) Flown Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London
The next cover was also sent from Christchurch, but
is routed Karachi-London in addition to Adelaide – Perth.
It is an example of the special Christmas Greetings envelope
produced by the
Air Mail Society of New Zealand.
It was flown Adelaide to Perth on 21-22 November and then went
by mailboat on 23 November to Karachi from where it was flown to London on
10 – 17 December [5], arriving 24 days after leaving Australia.
In addition to the 6d postage on the first cover, it contains the 7d airmail stamp
to cover the Karachi – London postage.
c) Flown Christchurch – Auckland, Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London
This cover has routing instructions for it to be flown on three different flights:
Christchurch – Auckland on the special
New Zealand internal Christmas flight of 12 November;
Adelaide – Perth on 21-22 November
and Karachi – London on 10 -17 December 1931.
It is correctly franked with the complete set of airmail stamps:
the 3d pays for the internal New Zealand flight, the 4d for Adelaide – Perth and the 7d
for Karachi – London.
In addition, the 2d GV covers the surface rate.
d) Flown on internal December 1931 Christmas flight, Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London
To publicise the advantages of air mail, the New Zealand Air League
organised a network of airmail services on Christmas Eve 1931.
This cover is postmarked in Christchurch on 23 December and is addressed
to the UK.
It was sent by the regular steamer from Lyttelton to Wellington on the night
of December 23
and then flown from Wellington to Auckland on December 24.
It is franked with 5d to cover the Christmas airmail service, 4d for Adeliade – Perth and 7d for Karachi – London.
The mail left Auckland for Sydney on the Aorangi on 28 December,
arriving on 31 December.
The mail was flown from Adelaide to Perth on 2-3 January 1932 and then went by sea from Fremantle to Colombo
on the Cathay on 4 – 14 January.
Colombo to Karachi was by ferry and rail.
The mail was then carried on service IW 146 from Karachi to London on 20-26 Jan [6].
Commercial use December 1931-1934
Perth – Adelaide, December 1931
The next cover was is postmarked in the UK on 9 December 1931 and was flown Perth – Adelaide.
It is correctly franked with 8d made up of 4½d for the first ½oz and 3½d for the second ½oz.
That was the new inclusive air mail rate introduced in March 1931.
The Narkunda left London on 11 December and arrived in Fremantle on Tuesday, 12 January 1932.
The mail would have been flown Perth – Adelaide on 12 – 13 January and arrive in Sydney by train on 15 January.
The Marama left Sydney later that day and arrived in Auckland on 19 January.
Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London, January 1932
The next cover was flown Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London.
It is postmarked Wellington on 5 January 1932.
It is likely to have been flown Adelaide – Perth on 16-17
January and Karachi – London on 3 -11 February, arriving 2 days late [3]
and 24 days after leaving Australia.
Although the cover is philatelic to the extent that it is franked
with the complete 1931 airmail set (and so is overfranked by 1d),
it is commercial as this was an ordinary flight.
Adelaide – Perth, April 1932
This is a registered cover that appears to be genuine
commercial use rather than being sent for philatelic purposes.
It is postmarked on 6 April 1932 and addressed to the UK.
It was backstamped in Sydney on Tuesday 12 April and in Perth on Monday 18 April.
It would therefore be flown Adelaide – Perth on 16 – 17 April.
As the mail boat left Sydney on a Wednesday, the day after
the Sydney backstamp, use of the Adelaide – Perth airmal service
would not have saved any time.
The cover is correctly franked with 10d as
the postage rate was 2d surface, 4d airmail surcharge and
the registration fee was 4d as it had been increased from 3d on 1 March 1931.
Adelaide – Perth, January 1933
The next registered cover is postmarked in Wellington on
11 January 1933.
It is backstamped in Sydney on 16 January
and in Perth on Monday 23 January and so would
have been flown Adelaide – Perth on 21 – 22 January.
It is correctly franked with 7d, consisting of 3d airmail surcharge
(as it is addressed to Perth),
3d registration and 1d surface postage.
(The surface rate and the registration fee had been reduced to 1d and 3d
respectively on 1 June, 1932. [6])
This registered cover was posted on the same day and to the same address as the previous one.
The backstamps are identical and so it would have been sent on the same service.
(It was bought by me more than 10 years after the previous one.
The difference is that it is franked with 10d.
It could be because it was heavier and so required 2 x 3d airmail postage as well as the
3d registration and 1d surface fee.
the stamps are an attractive bottom corner block of the 5d airmail stamp showing buffer bars.
Perth – Adelaide, February 1933
The next cover is a commercial use of the Adelaide – Perth airmail
at the inclusive rate of 4½d.
Postmarked in London on Thursday 12 January 1933 and redirected
in New Zealand which resulted in a 16 February postmark
being applied.
These dates fit in with it leaving London on Thursday 12 January
and arriving in Fremantle 26 days later on Tuesday 7 February
before being flown Perth – Adelaide on 7 – 8 February.
It is always good to see a commercial use of a cover as
that shows that this service was actually used by the public.
The GPO Air Mail leaflet of May 1933 has the following comment
against this service:
5 days’ gain over mails via Suez. (No gain over mails via N. America).
This is hardly an endorsement.
Adelaide – Perth, Karachi – Italy, addressed to Denmark, January – March 1934
This registered cover is postmarked in Auckland on 19 January 1934
and is addressed to Denmark.
It has routing instructions Adelaide – Perth
and Karachi – London.
The franking is 1s 6½d.
Costs would include 4d Adelaide – Perth, 7d Karachi – London,
2½d surface rate to a foreign country, 3d registration fee.
It is backstamped in Sydney on Saturday 27 January.
It was not flown from Adelaide to Perth until the following week on 3-4 February
and is backstamped in Perth on Monday 5 February when it connected with the P & O
steamer.
One again, flying Adelaide – Perth did not speed up the service.
It was then flown from Karachi on 22 February.
That flight arrived in Brindisi on 26 February and the cover
has two indistinct backstamps on 26 February.
One appears to be Brindisi and the other Milano.
The IA Karachi service arrived in London on 28 February, but it appears that
this cover did not follow the routing instructions, but went directly from Italy to
Copenhagen.
The dates on the Danish backstamps are not clear, but appear to be 28.2.34
in Kopenhavn and 1.3.34 in Hellerup.
Also flown Trans – Tasman
a) Trans – Tasman, February 1934
The first official trans-Tasman airmail
from New Zealand to Australia was on 17 February 1934.
This cover was flown Adelaide – Perth
after being flown trans-Tasman.
The trans-Tasman rate of 7d included onward surface delivery.
Although the extra rate for the Perth-Adelaide airmail when addressed to the UK
was 4d, the rate when addressed to Perth was 3d and so this cover would seem to be
overfranked by 1d.
The cover was backstamped on arrival at Sydney on Saturday 17 February.
It was not flown from Adelaide until
the following Saturday (24 February) arriving in Perth
on 25 February when it was backstamped.
That was the problem with air mail, if you missed the flight
connection then it was some time before the next one.
a) Trans – Tasman plus Adelaide – Perth and Karachi – London
The next 1934 cover was flown on both the Adelaide – Perth and
Karachi – London routes
as well as being flown on the
first trans-Tasman flight.
It was backstamped at Sydney, but at neither Adelaide
nor Perth although from the backstamp on the previous cover
shows that it had arrived in Perth by 25 February.
It has a manuscript on the back stating that it
was received in Glasgow on 23 March and so
it was flown on the IA flight that left Karachi on 15 March
and arrived in London on 22 March [3].
It is correctly franked with 1s 6d.
The trans-Tasman rate of 7d included onward surface delivery
to the UK. The extra rate for the Perth-Adelaide airmail and on to UK
was 4d while the Karachi-London airmail was 7d.
Unsubsidised service from April 1934
Also flown to New Zealand
West Australian Airways’ contract
for a subsidised Perth – Adelaide airmail service
was for five years and ended in April 1934
although an unsubsidised service continued after that date.
This cover is postmarked 2 April 1934 in Perth and the manuscript
on the front states that it was flown on the first flight
of the new unsubsidised service.
It is addressed to Auckland and was also flown on Ulm’s first
official airmail from
Australia to New Zealand
on 11 -12 April.
There is an Auckland backstamp of 12 April and a faint official
cachet on the back.
The franking in Australian stamps is 1s 1d which covers:
3d Perth-Adelaide,
7d trans Tasman and 3d registration fee.
After delivery in Auckland, the cover was re-addressed back to Perth
and a typescript added stating: Per
Return flight NZ – Aust
& Adelaide – Perth Air Service.
The back of the cover has the set of three New Zealand airmail
stamps postmarked 13 April, a Kaitaia postmark of 14 April,
a Sydney backstamp of 14 April and a Perth
backstamp of 20 April.
The official trans – Tasman cachet is on the front.
However, although it was flown back from New Zealand to Australia,
the arrival date in Perth is a Friday suggesting that the routing
instructions were not followed and it was sent to Perth by rail.
The cover had not finished its travels.
It was re-addressed once again, this time to Camberwell
in Victoria and there are further backstamps of 24 April in Perth,
28 April in Melbourne and 30 April in Camberwell.
One of the last acceptances, October 1934
This cover from the UK is postmarked on Wednesday 31 October 1934 and has a Melbourne
transit mark on Thursday 29 November.
That fits in with it leaving London on Thursday 1 November and
arriving in Fremantle 26 days later on
Tuesday 27 November and being flown Perth – Adelaide on 27 – 28 November.
There is no New Zealand backstamp, but it would arrive there in early December
by which time the first New Zealand mail acceptance for the regular
Qantas / Imperial Airways service had already left.
With the availability of the regular London – Australia airmail service,
the Adelaide – Perth service was no longer
used for UK air mails to or from New Zealand.
An article in The Kiwi describes some of the above material on
this webpage [4].
Later mails
In June 1936, West Australian Airways were taken over
by Adelaide Airways.
Although the Perth – Adelaide service was no longer used for air mail from the UK,
it was still used to speed up connections with surface mail at Fremantle.
In particular, it was part of the route for air mail to and from Ceylon.
This cover to New Zealand is postmarked in Colombo on 10 January 1937 and has a Melbourne transit on 4 February.
It is franked with 31 cents.
It just missed the Oronsay which left Colombo for Fremantle on 9 January and the next mail
steamer (the Moldavia) had propellor trouble and so was delayed.
This cover did not therefore leave Colombo until 23 January on the Orion arriving
in Fremantle on 2 February.
It would then be flown Perth – Adelaide on 2 – 3 February and then to Melbourne by Adelaide Airways
early in the morning of 4 February where it was backstamped at 10am.
It would then be flown Melbourne – Sydney by Australian National Airways
before being sent trans Tasman to Wellington on the Awatea on 5-8 February.
back next
All scans were made by the author.
Information on this page is taken from:
[1] Airmails of New Zealand, volume 2 (1986) compiled by
Douglas A Walker published by the
Air Mail Society of New Zealand
[2] W.H. Legg, Aspects of the London-Karachi and the Perth-Adelaide
Routes, Air Mail News, vol 44, pp 106-116, August 2001 and pp 178-183,
November 2001.
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