The Tasmanian - Victoria telegraph cables.
Delivery of messages when the cable was broken.

Problems with the Victoria-Tasmania cable.

Before 1861, when the telegraphic cable across Bass Stait was inoperative and while it was being replaced between 1861 and 1869, messages had to be transcribed onto a standard delivery form and posted from Melbourne to Tasmania. For these telegrams, postage had to be pre-paid by the sender and this payment was annotated on the delivery form.

Very few of these forms are now known (three have been recorded). Examples are:

VC-DO-2.

Sydney via Melbourne and then posted to Hobart because the cable would have been inoperative at that time - 31 July 1860.

Note the annotation to the left of the crest summarises the charges as follows:

  • 14 words costing 7/4 (6/- for 10 words and 4d for each of the additional four words);
  • 6d prepaid for the cost of postage from Victoria to Tasmania.
CV_DO_4 VC-DO-4.

Sydney via Melbourne and then posted to Hobart because the cable was being replaced at that time
- 25 June 1867.

The annotation to the left of the heading summarises the charges as follows:

  • 18 words costing 8/8 (6/- for 10 words and 4d for each of the additional eight words);
  • 6d prepaid for the cost of postage from Victoria to Tasmania.

These forms were placed inside an appropriate envelope and sent to Tasmania by mail.

An example of the use of such an envelope follows:

Prestige March 2006 Lot 806. A Victorian delivery envelope (VC-EO-8) used to send a telegram to Hobart, Tasmania. That use would have been occasioned by a break in the cable.

22 September 1884.

PMG Frank stamp in blue.