Introduction.

Prior to Federation, regulations of the Australian Colonial postal administrations provided that double the deficiency of postage on unpaid or insufficiently prepaid postal articles was to be collected upon delivery. Payment was made by the recipients either in cash or by means of unused postage stamps.

So that better supervision of such articles could be maintained and also to provide a form of receipt or voucher to indicate payment of the deficient postage, both the New South Wales and Victorian postal administrations decided in 1890 to issue separate series of postage due stamps. The Victorian series was introduced late in 1890 and the New South Wales series early in the following year. However, this innovation was not adopted by the other four colonies.

Shortly after Federation, when the Colonial postal administrations had become amalgamated into the Commonwealth Postmaster-General's Department, it was decided that postage due stamps should be used throughout Australia. The stamp series then introduced was made by slight modification of the several values of the New South Tales postage due series, which then ceased to be issued. The new Postage due series was employed in all States except Victoria, the latter retaining its separate series. Subsequently a new uniform series based on the Victorian design was adopted for Commonwealth-wide usage.

The Colonial postage due stamps were the progenitors of the Commonwealth postage due series, not only from the viewpoint of purpose, but also in design and accordingly are embraced in this article, which is therefore concerned in broad outline with all Australian postage due stamps.

The Victorian Series

The Victorian Postmaster-General decided, early in 1890, that postage due stamps should be introduced into use and regulations for the use of postage due stamps in lieu of dockets were approved on 24th March, 1890.

The general design for the first and subsequent issues is illustrated at Fig. 2. This design was evolved at the Victorian Government Printing Office which from 1885 had become responsible for the printing of all Victorian postage stamps.

The Postmaster-General had also decided that the stamps should be provided in a common design and printed in two colors so that they would be distinctively different from ordinary postage stamps. For the latter reason, it was necessary to make separate dies and plates for each value tablet although only one die was required for the frame design, the latter being common to all values. The dies for the ten dies were engraved by Arthur Williams and the frame die by John McWilliams, both of Melbourne.

The plates were arranged in undivided units of 120 (12 x 10), and the printing was carried out by the letterpress process at the Victorian Government Printing Office, Melbourne. The first series appeared in November, 1890, the centre portion, the value tablet, being printed in dull blue color and the frame in brown-lake color. Considerable shade variations occurred in some printings, particularly of the ½d., 1d., 2d. and 4d. in which the brown-lake colour tended towards brownish red and claret shades. Following the introduction of the stamps into use on 1st November, 1890, notices drawing the attention of the public to the new requirements were exhibited at post offices. References also appeared in the press of the day.

First Series: 1st November, 1890. Type as Fig. 2. Letterpress-printed on paper watermarked as Fig. 3. Perf. 12 x 12½. Shades of dull blue (centre) and brown-lake (frame). ½d, 1d., 2d., 4d., 5d., 6d., 10d., 1/-, 2/-, 5/-.

Second Series:

During 1894, it was decided that the color presentation could be improved and as from 17th January, the several values of the series began to appear with the centres printed in rosine color and with frames in bluish-green. Variations of shades occurred from the outset and the 2/- and 5/- stamps, when issued, were found to have centres in red color and frames in a distinctly different yellowish green color. This difference is attributed to the fact that they were not printed at the same time as the eight lower denominations. These two stamps were not brought into use until March, 1895.

Subsequently, from 1896, a new combination of shades, scarlet instead of rosine, and yellow-green in lieu of the earlier bluish-green, was employed for the five lowest denominations of the group. About this time also it was decided to discontinue the 10d. denomination.

Second Series: Type as Fig. 2. Letterpress-printed on paper watermarked as Fig. 3. Perf. 12 x 12½.
1895.
Centre: rosine. Frame: Bluish-green. ½d., 1d., 2d., 4d., 5d., 6d., 10d., 1/-.
Centre: red. Frame: Yellowish-green. 2/-, 5/-.
1896. Centre: scarlet. Frame: Yellow-green.½d, 1d., 2d., 4d, 5d.

Third Series:

The main characteristic of the third series was that the stamps were printed on a new supply of paper in which the watermark device differed somewhat as regards detail, the form being shown at Fig. 4.

This series, printed in scarlet and yellow-green color, and comprising only the five lowest denominations, first appeared in 1897. However, in printings made two years later, further distinct color shades occurred in respect of the 1d. 2d. and 4d. stamps and are separately listed below. During this period also, two different perforation gauges were employed. The 6d. denomination made its last appearance in this series, being subsequently discontinued.

Third Series: Type as Fig. 2. Letterpress--printed on paper watermarked as Fig. 4. Perf. 12½ or 12 x 12½.
1897 Centre : scarlet. Frame : yellow-green. ½d., 1d., 2d., 4d., 5d., 6d.
1899. Centre : dull red. Frame : bluish-green. 1d., 2d., 4d.

Fourth Series:

Apart from shade variations which continued-to be a feature of the postage due series, the distinguishing characteristic of the fourth series, through its several shade graduations, was the use of paper in which the watermark device (Fig. 5) again differed in detail from that of the papers of earlier years. This class of paper was maintained from 1900 to 1905.

Fourth Series: Type as Fig. 2. Letterpress-printed on paper watermarked as Fig. 5. Perf. 12½ or 12 x 12½.
1900. Centre : rose-red. Frame: pale green. ½d., 1d., 2d., 4d.
1901. Centre : pale red. Frame : pale green. ½d., 1d., 2d., 4d.
1902. Centre : scarlet. Frame: deep green. ½d., 1d., 2d., 4d., 5d., 1/-, 2/-,
1904. Centre : rosine. Frame: green. ½d., 1d., 2d., 4d.

(to be continued).

Extracted from APO Philatelic Bulletin no 64, 1964