Vic TOs Donald line

Victoria - Colonial period: 1854-1900.
Telegraph Offices on the Donald line.

The Post & Telegraph Offices on the Donald line are listed in the table below together with those Offices on the associated branch lines.

Amherst	Avoca	Bealiba	Bet Bet	Bowenvale	Clunes
Cope Cope	Creswick	Daylesford	Donald	Elaine	Homebush
Homebush Lower	Leonard's Hill	Majorca	Maryborough	Meredith
Porpucine Ridge.	Redbank	St. Arnaud	Talbot

Amherst.

The Telegraph Office opened on 22 October 1881.

In 1855, the name of the mining settlement changed to Amherst from Daisy Hill. It was the main town of the Municipality from 1858 until replaced by Talbot.

On 6 September 1881, the Avoca Mail contained the following snippet: "The Amherst people are agitating for telegraph extension".

No special date stamps were issued for telegraph use.

Bealiba.

The Telegraph opened at the Railway Station in September 1878.

Bet Bet.

The Telegraph Office is south of Dunolly on the line to Maryborough.

The place was in the area of some very significant gold finds - the rush here being comparable to those at, for example, Wahgunyah, Dunolly, Lamlough and at Linger and Die. At all these rushes, the large numbers of miners were doing remarkably well in the second half of 1860.

The Telegraph Office was issued with two formats of a T.O. Bet Bet date stamp:

complete with T.O.

Used: 8 February 1912 and 21 June 1935.

Diameter: 27 mm.

Rated S.

12 April 1927.

5 September 1933.

T.O. removed.

Used: 7 August 1935 to 15 May 1971.

Rated S.

11 December 1958.

15 May 1971.

Bowenvale.

The Telegraph Office opened in January 1884.

Located just north of Maryborough.

Cope Cope.

Located about half-way between Donald and St. Arnaud. The Post Office opened on 15 September 1873 and closed on 31 October 1975.

Telegraph facilities were made available to the public at the Railway Station from 14 February 1882. The Telegraph Office opened at the Railway Station was reclassified as a Post Office in 1916 and closed in 1916.

Delegations had been meeting the Minister as early as 1879 to extend the railway line by 38 miles from Lubeck via Cope Cope to East Charlton. On 26 January 1882, a railway line for grain traffic was opened from St Arnaud to Cope Cope.

The Office was issued with a T. O. date stamp.

Used: February 1914 to 2 October 1916.

Diameter: 30 mm. 3 mm side arcs.

Rated: RRR.

Number in the Census: 4.

19 February 1915.

2 October 1916.
Latest recorded date.

Donald.

The first name for Donald was Richardson Bridge but that was changed when surveyed in 1866.

The Telegraph Office was opened in 1 July 1879 - after the Post Office had been opened in 1 January 1870 replacing that at Mount Jeffcoat. "The wooden building previously used at Stuartmill has been removed to and re-erected at Donald and a battery and store room added". (1879 Report).

A Telegraph Office was also opened at the Railway station on 4 June 1882 when the railway line had reached Donald.

Donald Post & Telegraph Office about 1905.
Scanned from a postcard.

The Age of 25 July 1878 reported on "A deputation from Donald introduced by Mr, MacBain, M.L.A., to the Postmaster-General on Tuesday, to ask for the erection of a telegraph line to Donald, and the erection of a Post and Telegraph Office at Donald. Mr. MacBain said that a great injustice had been done to the inhabitants of the district in delaying the execution of the work so long. Mr. Cuthbert had already agreed to supply the wants of the district and a bond had been sent in eighteen mouths ago by residents of Donald who thus made themselves responsible that the telegraph office should pay. After hearing all the arguments, Mr. Cuthbert promised to have the work asked for proceeded with at once".

The earliest indication of the operation of the Telegraph Office is the Belt & Buckle date stamp of 1889.
No telegram form is recorded with a early Donald date stamp.

The Office was issued with a 1 hole Belt & Buckle date stamp. Used in black: 13 February 1888 to 27 September 1892. Size: 27 × 38 mm (e = 0.70). Rated: RRR. Number in the Census: 4.	1889. Provenance: Hugh Freeman, Johnstone.
	26 February 1890.	9 April 1890.

The usual postal date stamps were also used on telegrams.

25 May 1905.
Donald unframed postal date stamp
used on a telegram.

Elaine.

The Telegraph Office opened in April 1875.

In 1877, the name of the office was changed to Mount Doran while the name of the Elaine Railway Station was changed to Elaine. At the same time, the Post Office at the Railway Station was transferred to the State school.

No special date stamps were used for telegrams.

Emu.

Located about half-way between St Arnaud and Bealiba.

Homebush.

Homebush is about 6 km ENE of Avoca. It had good gold deposits and a race course.

The Post Office opened on 1 October 1863 and closed on 5 April 1944.

Telegraph Offices also operated between 1914 and 1919 both at Williams (still known as Homebush) and at the Railway Station.

The Office was issued with a T.O. date stamp:
Decade wheel inverted - Year wheel blank.

Used: 2 January 1921.

Diameter: 27 mm.

Rated: RRRR.

Number in the Census: 1.

Gary Watson believes "this cds was originally issued to Homebush (Williams) where the Telegraph Office opened in 1914 and closed on 5 April 1944. At that time, the cds was transferred to Homebush".

2 January 21.

Homebush Lower. A Post Office opened in 1 February 1880 but was downgraded to a Receiving Office on 21 January 1919. On 1 July 1927, its status as a Post Office was restored until the Office closed on 14 October 1960.
A T.O. date stamp was issued to the Office: Used: 10 February 1922. Size: 28 mm. Rated: RRRR. Number in the Census: 1.	10 February 1922.
The T.O. was later removed from the date stamp. Used: 3 June 1957 to 25 September 1957. Size: 28 mm. Rated: RRRR. Number in the Census: 2.	3 June 1957.	25 September 1957.
25 September 1957. TO Removed. Only known cover with this date stamp.

Leonard's Hill.

A Post Office was opened at Leonard's Hill on 1 November 1868. It closed on 30 October 1871.

There is no record of a Telegraph Office being opened.

It is highly probable that telegraph facilities were provided at some time at Leonard's Hill. If so, a T.O. Leonards Hill date stamp could have been provided.

The image shown has a gap in the markings where T.O. could have been before removing it as was the case with many date stamps.

Used in black: 15 December 1956 to 11 February 1958.

Diameter: 29 mm.

Rated: RRR.

Number in the Census: 3.

15 December 1956.
Phoenix Auctions Feb 2022.

6 February 1957.

11 February 1958.
Phoenix Auctions Feb 2022.

Majorca

Located between Talbot and Maryborough and east of the direct line.

On 12 April 1870, Mr. James, the Inspector of Post and Telegraph offices, installed Miss Gearing into her new office as Post and Telegraph Mistress. The occasion was afterwards celebrated by a luncheon provided by the Borough council.

Majorca Post & Telegraph Office about 1930.

Meredith.

The Telegraph Office opened in April 1875.

No special date stamps were used for telegrams.

Porcupine Ridge.
(8 km NNE of Daylesford).

The Office was only ever classified as a Telegraph Office.

Opened: 15 October 1929.

Closed: 30 September 1963.

Used: 17 June 1938 and 25 May 1958.

Diameter: 29 mm.

Rated: RRRR.

Number in the Census: 2 (only two strikes are known).

Porcupine
17 June 1938 (earliest recorded date).

Provenance: Gary Watson, Johnstone.

17 June 1938.

The second of the two strikes recorded for Porcupine Ridge.

25 May 1958.

Redbank.

During a meeting of the Redbank Shire Council on 4 March 1880, a discussion focused on the premises recently rented by a Mr. Gibson but now required by the Department of Public Works for the Police Department. Two of the Councillors argued for the reversal of the PWD decision. "Both gentlemen urged that the money being expended would build separate quarters for the police and the cost of building a teachers' house would be saved. It was also argued that the telegraph office (the building in question) might be required for telegraph purposes in future (Ed: an amazing idea)".

St. Arnaud. The Telegraph Office was opened in January 1865. In early 1878, tenders were called for the construction of a Railway Line and Telegraph Line from Dunnolly to St Arnaud. The telegraph office at the station opened on 1 January 1879. The town was named after a French Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the East in the Crimean War.		St Arnaud Post and Telegraph Office - maybe in the 1920s.
St. Arnaud Post and Telegraph Office in the 1870s.
The Office was issued with a 1 hole Belt & Buckle date stamp. The only recorded example is for 7 August 1888 on a 1d Astley green in use in 1888 only but a complete strike has not yet been seen.		7 August 1888. Prestige Philately 24 October 2009 Lot 424.
St Arnaud unframed postal date stamp but also used on telegrams. 27 March 1893.		Framed St Arnaud postal date stamp plus straight line Office name. 1 April 1909. Used on VI-DO-2B.
Framed straight line St. Arnaud hand-stamp for use on telegrams. Size: 7 × 35 mm. Used on VI-DO-2B.		Unframed straight line St. Arnaud hand-stamp for use on telegrams. Size: 6 × 52 mm. Used on VI-DO-3E.
	St Arnaud framed postal date stamp but also used on telegrams. 8 February 1917. Diameter: 29 mm. Used on AE-DO-2C.		St Arnaud framed postal date stamp but also used on telegrams. 26 September 1950. Diameter: 31 cm. Used on AW-DO-10 (48).