Australian Colonies- Colonial: 1854-1900.
Delivery to ships.


The following images are of telegrams to be delivered to ships in the respective harbours:

New South Wales.

Tasmania

Victoria.

 

New South Wales.

NC-DO-10B.

Melbourne to Sydney.
To be delivered to the Ship Macquarie in the accompanying delivery enveloow (NC-EO-5D).

30 December 1898.

Has a scarce Postal & Tel. Dep. cds.

The Sydney Morning Herald of 22 December 1898 reported that:

"The Macquarie, one of the best-known sailing ships in the Devitt and Moore's line, is to clear on the 28th instant for London. The ship looks every whit as well as she did in the old days, and will take a good many passengers besides a well-filled hold".

If the Macquarie left on schedule, the telegram would not have been delivered. There may however been a slight delay because on 2 December 1898, the Maitland Mercury reported:

"Captain Wm. Goddard, late of the ship Macqaarie, for many years one of the best known shipmasters trading between England and Australia, died yesterday at Ashfield aged 63".

The telegram might however been sent after the Macquarie had sailed because the Daily Commercial News and Shipping List of 30 December 1898 advised that the ship's Accounts had to be submitted in triplicate on THIS DAY 30 December by 10:00 am.

Other references to the ship Macquarie include:

  • the Evening News on 30 December 1896;
  • the Daily Telegraph of 4 January 1898 in which the Surgeon to Ship Macquarie argues the case for the success of female doctors.

 

Tasmania.

TC-TO-2: Green Ponds to the Schooner Annie,
22 December 1871.

The Annie sailed between various ports including between Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide during the 1860s and the early 1870s.Certainly she is recorded as leaving Melbourne for Apollo Bay on 21 February 1860. There was also a Schooner Annie which sailed from Hobart to Mauritius with sundres on 24 April 1852.

There was also a Barge Annie and a Brig Annie working in and around Tasmania.

It is presumed that the Annie was the forerunner of the Schooner Annie Hill" built in 1876 at Kermandie on the Huon River in Tasmania.

 

Victoria.

VC-DO-1: Delivery form to the Master (Wilkinson - see "Inform W") of the Rosetta that a Lighter would be alongside later that morning.
She appears to have arrived from Constantinople and discharged cargo at Consignee's risk by lighter on 23 January 1856.
On 30 January, she was "cleared out" with 33 tons with sundries and ready to sail from Geelong to Melbourne.
She did sail on 31 January.

Sent from Geelong on 31 December 1956 - The earliest recorded delivery form and accompanying delivery envelope in Australia’s telegraphic history.


Small embossed seal on flap - diameter 16 mm.

IVC-EO-1: Delivery to Captain Jewett if the Bark (sic) McGilvery in Melbourne Harbour.
9 March 1875.

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft (Wikipedia). No definite information can be located about the McGilvery. Certainly a ship with that name called at Melbourne a few times about 1875 (and in September 1875). A William MacGilvery ran agound at Liverpool on 1 October 1878 but was refloated by two tugs.