Stamps were made available to collectors at a reduced price. They were Cancelled to Order (CTO) with a date stamp having:

  • Melbourne at the top;
  • a two line date in the centre;
  • no inscription at the base.

The first line of the date has two-letters for the month followed by two digits for the day. In only one instance (22 May 1900) does the day preceed the month.
The second line records the year in two digits.


About 11 dates with CTO cancellations are recorded:

  • on the First Day of Issue - Oct. 22 /97. This is a scarce date samp with only 4 examples of each denomination recorded to date.
  • a Melbourne datestamp of Nov. 16 /97. A much more common date with more than 10 examples recorded.
  • a Melbourne datestamp of 9 June 1903 - 6 years after issue and after Federation.
    At least two sets of singles with this date are affixed to paper backing although this has no importance or relevance given the late dates.

The popularity of this issue with collectors resulted in very few of these CTO stamps being prepared.


Multiples are rare and only have one of two dates (see below).


There is no record of how many CTO examples were prepared but, across both denominations, there are probably less than 30 singles or multiples presently known.


The 1d has:

The 2½d has:


CTO on cover


Two CTO stamps affixed to covers are recorded. Why that would be a good idea is something that remans in the mind of the organisers of those covers.

Possibly fake cover with 1d (1/-) stamp with FDI date stamp.
The stamp has a FDI cancellation at Melbourne centered so that it is not tied to the cover -
and hence the stamp could have been added to a genuine cover at some time later - possible replacing the original stamp.


The reverse side of the cover shows an arrival date stamp
at ONE MILE CREEK 4 days later - on 26 October.
That is possible but whether the stamp on the front was the original stamp is questionable.

22 October 1901 - 4 year anniversary of issue.
One cover recorded.
It has a single of each denomination and is purely philatelic as the address is too general for delivery.\


CTO cancellations on multiples of each denomination.

16 November 1897 - CTO strip of four.
Largest recorded CTO multiple.
Provenance: Rod Perry September 1993;
Millennium Auctions June 2011 Lot 492.

8 November 1897 - CTO strip of three.

16 November 1897 - CTO strips of three:
Millennium Auctions October 2002 Lot 273.

16 November 1897 - CTO on a 1d (1/-) horizontal pair.

16 November 1897 - CTO on a 2½d (2/6) vertical pair.
Image courtesy of Ken Pearson.

Other dates recorded for CTO stamps for this 1897 issue are summarised in the following table
which draws heavily on the research and documentation by Ken Pearson from Victoria:

  1. 1897 - 22 October - single 2½d (2/6) - cancellation at top cutting BO.
  2. 1897 - 28 October - single 2½ (2/6) - Ebay August 2025.
  3. 1897 - 29 October - single of each stamp with 14O above date (image courtesy of Ken Pearson).
  4. 1897 - 16 November - pairs of each stamp.
  5. 1897 - 16 November - pair 1d (1/-).
  6. 1901 - 22 October - single 1d (1/-).
  7. 1902 - 2 June - single 2½d (2/6).
  8. 1903 - 7 April - single 2½d (2/6).
  9. 1903 - 9 June - singles of each denomination on piece.
    (Status Auctions October 2011 Lot 1735; February 2012, Lot 1670)
  10. 1903 - 15 June - single 2½d (2/6).
  11. 1903 - 10 August - singles of each denomination.
  12. 1903 - 13 December - singles of each denomination.
  13. 1904 - 21 December - single 2½d (2/6).
  14. 1905 - 15 June - single 1d (1/-).
  15. 1905 - 25 June - single 1d (1/-).
  16. 1905 - August 24 - singles of each denomination.
  17. 1905 - 10 October - single 1d (1/-).