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31st October 1956
The 1956 XVIth Melbourne Olympics.
Staged in Melbourne from November 22nd to 8th December.
This motley set of four has little to recommend it as a series. Each stamp of course is
beautiful, but as a whole, they are unrelated.
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Melbourne Coat of Arms.
Layout: Medium Type A,
Portrait.
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Printings had already been completed for this series when a postal
increase to the basic letter rate was announced. Rather than apply an overprint, the 3½d
was re-engraved and reprinted. A small number of the original printings, perhaps 12
stamps, were released from the Australia post archives in 1988. |
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119,209,880 |
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The Olympic Torch Layout: Long Format Type C, Portrait. |
4,602,000 |
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Collins St, Melbourne Printed by Harrison and Sons, England
by photogravure.
Sheets of 80, 8 x 10.
imprint? |
7,500,000 |
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Yarra River, Melbourne
Printed by Courvoisier, Suisse by helio . This is a superior stamp. Ignorance and
Empire caused the authorities of the time to select the inferior Chambon photogravure
presses,
Sheets of 80, 10 x 8
Imprint strip across middle 6 stamps on top and bottom of sheets. |
7,500,000 |
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Images courtesy of
Geoff Roosen
Multicolours
Appropriately featuring Australia's first use of true multicolour stamps.
Colour was a spectacular introduction to the general post ww2 drabness of daily
life. I can well remember being startled by the colourful Olympic rings adorned
on city buildings.
The 1/- and 2/- values were printed overseas as part of a competitive tender
for new photogravure printing presses. Whoever 'won' would supply photogravure
machinery to replace the Hoe Rotary Recess machines. In fact, Harrison 'won' due
to Xenophobia as the Swiss 2/- is a demonstrably better stamp. Perhaps in
justice, and ironically, the installed presses were subsequently found to be
inadequate to the huge quantities required and were confined to short run
commemorative issues.
It should be noted the unique firsts associated with these issues.
 | This was the first time the Commonwealth had contracted for printing
outside of it's own premises. |
| They show blatant advertising for the two companies on every stamp |
| Unlike any other Australian issues, they
contain the sheet value in the margins of the post office sheets. |
Aside from the Olympic Games, the thematic content
is notable, municipal government and heraldry being the most prominent
subjects, but the design also contains elements relevant to the cattle and
wool industries, whaling, and shipping.
The ACSC states: "All preparatory work for the base-rate value of
the Olympic Games issue was done on the basis of a 3½d value. The increase
of the basic letter rate to 4d on 1st October 1956 was done on short notice,
and necessitated a change of value. By that time, however, the 3½d die had
been engraved, steel master plates and electrotype plates prepared, both
for sheet stamps and a special plate for a 3/6d
booklet. No sheet stamps were printed, but a printing was made from the
432-on booklet stamp plates comprising 27,000,000 stamps. The Post
Office retained some uncut sheets of the 3½d booklet stamps [and destroyed
the balance]...The Archival Sales are the sole source of the 3½d stamps. In total
40 stamps were sold, comprising four singles, four booklet panes of six, and
this Plate Number 2 block of 12."
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Unissued inter-marginal block of 12 (3x4) comprising two complete
booklet panes with a complete Plate Number '2' [BW #332E(1)z].
Ex Australia Post Philatelic Archival Sale and Tim Rybak |
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commemorative booklet covers Unissued |
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