AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH, AEROPHILATELY

Lot 450		Estimate: $100 1934 Victorian Centenary set on registered cover, an Italy-destined intermediate carried on the First Australia-England flight, Winton blue and black rat's tail registration label, backstampings including Darwin and Italy (two types)
Lot 451		Estimate: $150 1935 (10-15 Jan) covers from Sydney to G.B. and Sydney to Ireland franked 3/- double and 1/6d single airmail rates, carried by Imperial Airways/QANTAS service flights IW306, 'Athena' (later destroyed by fire in India) experiencing delayed take-off from Darwin Jan 17-19 owing to becoming bogged in sodden ground, first with 'received 28 Jan 35' lower right, last roughly opened (2)
Lot 452		Estimate: $150 1935 (17 Jan) cover (opening fault) from Port Douglas to G.B franked 1/6d Hermes for single airmail rate, carried on Imperial Airways/QANTAS service flight IW308, which experienced multiple incidents: (i) 'Astraea' was delayed due to engine trouble at Rangoon Jan 29, (ii) engine trouble again at Cawnpore (India) on Jan 30-31, and (iii) 'Helena' force-landed at Cairo Feb 3 due to weather, transferred to rail to Alexandria. Foster's Export Special Lager etiquette on reverse
Lot 453		Estimate: $75 1935 (22 Apr) cover to passenger aboard R.M.S. 'Chitral' at Aden, endorsed 'Air Mail/Late fee' and franked 1/8d (1/7d per half ounce airmail + 1d late fee), stamps tied by 'LATE FEE/ADELAIDE' cds, 'NOT "CHITRAL"/DATE' handstamp applied and returned, Fremantle transit on front, Aden and Egypt (2) backstampings
Lot 454		Estimate: $1,000 1935 (2 Sep) cover (opening faults) from Darwin to Nailsworth (SA), flown by 'Monospar VH-UTZ', which crashed 6 September at Aileron (138km north of Alice Springs). A relief plane piloted by H. Boston took delivery of the mails at Alice Springs, reaching Adelaide 11 September, signed 'H Boston/VH-U11/DH Moth'. Missing from most Australian aerophilately collections, considerably undervalued at AU$600 as AAMC #525, and an equally important item for The Northern Territory postal historian
Lot 455		Estimate: $150 1935 (20 Dec) use of G.B. registration envelope at Glasgow to Melbourne, carried aboard ill-fated 'City of Khartoum', which crashed at Alexandria 31 December, Post Office explanatory label affixed to front, backstamped Melbourne 17 Jan 1936, AAMC 575
Lot 456		Estimate: $1,500 Realised Price : $1,250 1936 (24 Sep) postcard from G.B. to Sydney carried on ill-fated Imperial Airways 'Boadicea', which departed Croydon around noon on 25 September, and disappeared while crossing the English Channel. Three bags of mail were found at different times, this from the second bag located (10 Nov), confirmed by Northbridge (NSW) backstamp of 27 Nov on 'ambulance' cover which accompanies, together with the Returned Letter Section London explanatory memo (detached - foxed), AAMC 631. This is the only surviving postcard to Australia from this major incident. Ex Perry
Lot 457		Estimate: $800 1937 (17 May) cover from Townsville to Sydney endorsed 'First Flight/Townsville-Sydney/Junkers Diesel VH-UYA/Laurence Hargrave', crashed at Coffs Harbour, backstamped Sydney (18 May), unlisted AAMC, Nierinck #370518, Very rare
Lot 458		Estimate: $100 1937 (8 Dec) Lobascher's Electric Motors advertising cover from Melbourne to U.S.A. bearing KGV 5d and NSW Sesquicentenary 2d and 3d, aggregate 10d representing 3d foreign rate + 7d U.S. internal airmail. Attractive example of a scarce rate
Lot 459		Estimate: $100 1938 (Nov-Dec) inwards covers (2) from Latvia and Lithuania (surface) to Julius P. de Vilnits, world adventurer and journalist, during his Australian tour, airmail Latvia/Australia particularly scarce pre-war
Lot 460		Estimate: $100 1938 (25 Mar) airmail cover from the Danish Consulate in Sydney to Denmark franked at elusive 2/2d rate via Greece (transit lower right and backstamped)
Lot 461		Estimate: $200 1938 (Apr-Jun) pair of covers from Victoria to Germany at 1/9d airmail rate, carried by separate Imperial Airways/QANTAS service flights, which experienced interruptions, comprising (i) (8 Jan) IW643 service where 'Caledonia' force-landed at Raj Samand (India) 15 April, and (ii) (16 Jun) IW664 service during which 'Canopus' developed mechanical problems at Dubai 28 June, necessitating transfer of mail load to 'Camilla' (2 covers)
Lot 462		Estimate: $100 1939 (27 Apr) and (22 Jun) covers from Charing Cross (NSW) to Minneapolis, Minnesota franked 3d blue KGVI for surface rate, with pair of U.S. 3c commemoratives added for internal U.S. air mail, cancelled at San Pedro (Calif). Plus 1939 (30 Mar) cover from the same correspondence with 3d Blue and U.S. 3c definitive pair and 10c special delivery all cancelled at Charing Cross, with 'Special Delivery - Air Mail' handstamp and boxed 'NOT ELIGIBLE FOR.AERIAL MAIL FEE/DEFICIENT./SYDNEY NO. 2' both in violet. Few cover creases but an interesting trio (3 covers)
Lot 463		Estimate: $250 1939 (20 Dec) cover from Perth (Santa Claus slogan) to G.B. at 1/6d airmail rate, carried on Imperial Airways/QANTAS service flight SW200, where 'Corio' was involved in dual incidents in Netherland East Indies, involving forced landings near Batavia 26-27 December, and Tjitaroom River at Klabat Bay 27-28 December
Lot 464		Estimate: $140 1940 A.I.F. 6d and 1/- Lyrebird Perf 13½ x 14 on airmail cover from Perth to London, scarce Perth censor tape tied by the handstamp, an attractive example of usage of this elusive on cover stamp
Lot 465		Estimate: $80 1941 use of 1½d KGVI postal card (dated '26th Mar') from Sydney (where censored), uprated for elusive 9d airmail postcard rate to Palestine
Lot 466		Estimate: $80 1941 (9 Apr) registered airmail cover from Parramatta to China at scarce 1/- full airmail service rate to destination (plus 3d registration), censored at Sydney, with backstampings including Singapore and Shanghai
Lot 467		Estimate: $2,500 1942 (Dec) airmail cover recovered from RAAF Beaufort A-119 (7 Squadron), which ditched in the sea on 9 December, near Wednesday Island (off Thursday Island). 'DAMAGED MAIL/SALVAGED FROM SEA' label affixed, signed and tied by 'FIELD P.O./0101' cds of Thursday Island. One of the rarer crash covers of Australia, missing from Perry and most other major aerophilately collections. Unlisted by AAMC and Nierinck
Lot 468		Estimate: $100 1946 (21 Oct) cover from Hobart to the extraordinary destination of French India, for which the 1/6d per half ounce rate applied, rather than 1/- for British India, Pondicherry arrival backstamp
Lot 469		Estimate: $100 1947 (17 Nov) Victorian Government Tourist Bureau cover (creased clear of stamps) sent from Melbourne to unusual destination of British North Borneo, bearing 'VG' puncture range totalling 3/0½d, representing the quadruple 9d per half ounce rate (overpaid ½d), Jesselton arrival backstamp
Lot 470		Estimate: $100 1951 (25 May) airmail cover from Glen Innes to the unusual destination of Venezuela, where backstamped, attractive composition for scarce 2/3d ½ ounce rate to South America includes Federation 5½d and 1/6d
Lot 471		Estimate: $100 1968 (6 Apr) use of G.B. 9d air letter to South Australia, carried on BOAC Boeing which crashed two days later at Heathrow, AAMC 1622a