Queensland - Colonial: 1861 - 1900.
Letter sent to William Cracknell - the Superintendent of Telegraphs.

An amazing cover sent in 1866 to W. J. Cracknell, Superintendent of Telegraphs, Queensland.

Cracknell

Recovered from Robbed Mail (From Taroom).

Magenta manuscript notation on reverse of legal size O.H.M.S. cover to the Superintendent of Telegraphs in Brisbane, with "Electric Telegraph Station, Taroom 11th Jany 1866" at the lower left and "Vouchers" notation above, franked with 1865 2d blue strip of four tied by "152" barred oval handstamps, reverse with "Taroom, Ja 11, 1866" origin cds, additional pencil "Recovered from robbed mail. Taroom. 1866. R. Hwatt" docketing on front.

Cover roughly torn open - almost certainly executed by the robbers.

A fine and rare robbed mail cover likely perpetrated by a bushranger.

There where several bushrangers operating during this time period in Queensland. One of the closest to Taroom (and likely the perpetrator of the robbery) was James Alpin McPherson, known as the Wild Scotchman and infamous for mail robbery. In early 1866, McPherson twice held up the mail delivery between Ipswich and Nanango.

On March 30, 1866, McPherson was captured at Monduran Station, 13 km north of Gin Gin.

Schuyler Rumsey, sale 56 (April 2014) Lot 23.