About Us CONTENTS

History
Formation
The Cover Collector
Auctions
Commemorative Covers
The Committee
Committee Members
Regional Meetings
Annual Competition
Statement of Purposes  

 

History

In the 1990s the collecting of philatelic covers in Australia had few friends.

It was not always so. Souvenir and flight covers, with their postmarks, had been seriously collected since the 1920s. Collecting First Day Covers had grown in popularity from the mid 1940s to the late 1960s. With the collapse of the stamp ‘investment’ boom, however, cover collecting lost focus.

Noel Almeida had begun to document and value one aspect of cover collecting by publishing Australian Post Office Souvenir Covers, 1982, followed by Supplements 1 to 4 in 1987, 1990, 1993 and 1997.

Another branch of the hobby began to be documented when Clarrie Peck began publishing New Look Pictormarks in 1984. This was a catalogue of Australian pictorial and commemorative postmarks.

Rodney A Perry Auction Galleries conducted two landmark auctions in April 1997 and November 1998. For the first time, many hundreds (almost 2,000 in all) of Australian covers mainly by private publishers, were described and identified. Their scarcity and values surprised many collectors.

 In 2000, Michael Moore published the first of what became a series of eight monographs, Australian Philatelic Covers, whose aim was to document and describe privately published Australian covers. In 2001, Colleen Woolley and Jan Eury fell heirs to Clarrie Peck’s work and began publication of Australian PictorMarks®

In 2002 also, several collectors who wished to exhibit Australian philatelic covers in their own classification, including Frank Pauer and John Sadler, began negotiations with the Australian Philatelic Federation.

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Formation

A meeting was held in Melbourne on 24 May 2002 of Noel Almeida, Michael Moore, Frank Pauer and John Sadler. They determined to form a Society to promote cover collecting in Australia.

The Australian Cover Society was formed on that date. It was decided to incorporate the Society in Victoria under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981, using the standard Rules for incorporated associations. The Society was Incorporated on 24 September 2002.

The Society held an Inaugural General Meeting at "Stampshow Melbourne 02", on 5 October 2002. This meeting determined to invite Arthur Bergen to be Patron. Arthur accepted the invitation and remains Patron. The Meeting also appointed Michael Moore as Editor of a Society Journal. He also remains Editor.

The first meeting of the Committee was held at Endeavour Hills, Victoria, on 5 December 2002. The first Committee was: Noel Almeida (President), Ken Wilson (Vice President), Michael Moore (Secretary), Frank Pauer (Treasurer), John Sadler and Tom D’Arcy (Committee Members).

The photograph below shows an early meeting of the first Committee.Those present were: (left to right) Standing: Michael Moore, Frank Pauer; Seated: Tom D’Arcy (dec.), Noel Almeida, Ken Wilson.

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The Cover Collector

One of the most important features of the Society has been its publication of a journal. As a result of a competition among members, this was given a title in March 2003: The Cover Collector.

The journal reports the regular activities of the Society and carries Annual Reports and Financial Reports. Each issue also includes important original research detailing major cover producers ("cachetmakers"). Cachetmakers and Cover Series whose work has been described for the first, and only, time in The Cover Collector have included:

• Australian Cover Collectors’ Association
• Rex Bodin
• AC Campe
• Max Easther
• Erskine Stamp Service
• Reg Ferguson
• Leslie Grant
• Fred Hagen
• Harbour Covers
• Haslem’s Cover Service
• Hunter Stamp Company
• Mappin and Curran
• Miller Bros
• Alex Napier
• Northern Stamp Company
• Eric Ogden
• Stan Orlo-Smith
• Overseas Mailers
• A J Peake
• Rex Pillar
• Arthur Segnit
• Seven Seas Stamps
• Frank P Smith

In addition there have been summary articles and new research on cachetmakers whose work has been partially documented elsewhere, including:  

• Australia Post generic First Day Covers
• Artcraft
• Arthur Bergen
• John Gower and all his cachetmaking companies:
• Kangaroo Correspondence and Exchange Club
• Gower’s Stamp Den
• South Australian Stamp Company
• Wesley Cover Service
• S Mitchell
• Parade Covers
• Royal Covers
• Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (Queensland)
• William Rundle
• Saville Sheard
• Wesley Cover Service after Gower

The covers of many contemporary cachetmakers, several of them members of the Society, have also been described.

Back issues of the journal are available here. The detailed contents of all previous journals are routinely advised to new members.

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Auctions

The Committee appointed Frank Pauer, who was then also Treasurer, to be Auction Manager in 2003.

Each journal issue after the first has included an auction of (mainly) Australian covers. There are typically about 140 lots in each Auction. Although a minority of members bid in Society auctions, we like to think that most members read the detailed descriptions.

These descriptions allow members to identify their own covers and to gain a true, market, appreciation of their values.

There is a vendor’s commission of 20%, but no buyer’s commission. Auctions typically now realise over $4,000 and Auction 13 realised almost $8,000. The commissions are a most important source of funds for allowing the Society to expand its activities.

 

Commemorative Covers

The Society, and its Patron, have from time to time produced philatelic covers available only to members. These are illustrated on another page of this site … click here.

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The Committee

The 2^nd Annual General Meeting, in 2004, amended the Society’s Rules to increase the number of Committee Members to eight. The Committee elected in 2005 has been re-elected each year since then. The members are:

President: Frank Pauer – Frank is a well known collector of Australian covers who has assembled exhibits which have gained awards up to the level of Large Gold. He has been President of the Australian Philatelic Society and is the current First Day Cover Convenor for the Australian Philatelic Federation. (03) 9761 6701  or email Frank here.

 

Secretary: Michael Moore – Michael is a well known researcher on Australian private cachetmakers. (02) 6161 7540  or email Michael here.

Vice-President: Colleen Woolley – Colleen is an editor and publisher of Australian PictorMarks® and seven complementary publications, five of which have been featured in exhibitions at the National Postmaster Gallery. (03) 9438 5137  or email Colleen here.

Treasurer: Shane Gray – Shane is a collector of Australian First Day and Commemorative Covers. (03) 9499 6780  or email Shane here.

 

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Committee Members

Leigh Harding – Leigh is a collector and cachetmaker of philatelic covers. (03) 5282 3350 or email Leigh here.

 

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Regional Meetings

The Society is essentially a correspondence club. However, occasional regional meetings are held where some Committee members and other members are likely to be present. These have been held in Melbourne in 2006 and 2008, Adelaide in 2006, Sydney in 2007 and Canberra in 2008.

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 Annual Competition

Members may participate in an annual competition. The Noel Almeida Trophy was donated by the inaugural President. To date this has been won by Robert Phaup (2006), John Sadler (2007) and John Rennie (2008).

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Statement of Purposes  

• To promote and encourage the collecting and exhibiting of Australian and international philatelic covers.
• To raise the profile of philatelic cover collecting as a branch of organised philately.
• To support research into, to increase knowledge of, and to widen access to information on, Australian philatelic covers.
• To provide a forum for collectors of philatelic covers to establish and maintain contact with other collectors
• To advise Australian postal and philatelic authorities and dealers associations, in the interests and concerns of philatelic cover collectors.
• To liaise, and co-operate, with other Australian philatelic societies to increase their appreciation of philatelic covers.
• To establish and maintain contact with international philatelic cover societies.
• To support and publicise the production of new philatelic covers in Australia.