Tasmania - Colonial: 1854-1900.
Overview of Tasmanian Telegraph date stamps.

Three types of date stamps were produced specially for use at Telegraph Offices:

  1. rubber oval date stamps;
  2. rubber rectangular date stamps;
  3. TELEGRAPH OFFICE steel date stamps.

Click on the following hyperlink for details of the Australian classification scheme for Telegraph date stamps.

The earliest record of a date stamp used on a delivery form is that used at the Hobart Telegraph Office on 2 August 1888.

1. Rubber oval date stamps.

This format of date stamp was used in few offices in addition to the Chief Telegraph Office at Hobart. The only other example known is a Zeehan.

Two designs within this format have been identified one design having a single line on the otside while the other design has a double line:

Has 1 line in both the outside oval
and the inside oval.

Several designs for the division between words.

Examples recorded only for Hobart.
RO3 - TO.
Telegraph Office/Hobart in black.
26 April 1898.

Has 2 lines in the outside oval and 1 line for the inside oval.
Words in outer ring are separated by rosette stops
although there are other designs also for the division between words.

Size: 28 × 41.5 mm (e = 0.74).
RO6 - TO.
Telegraph Office/Launceston in blue.
12 September 1887 (one of the earliest recorded dates).
 
RO6 - TO.
Telegraph Office/Hobart in blue.
24 November 1890 (latest recorded date).

 

 

 

2. Rubber rectangular date stamps.

At least one office used this format for date stamps. The size of the rectangular date stamp is large.

Modern unbordered straight line C.T.O. date stamps are excluded from this category.


Launceston (RRH-1).
28 September 1894.

Has a consecutive counter number to the right of the date.

Size: 26 × 58 mm.

Used on TC-DO-4B.

  

 

3. Steel TELEGRAPH OFFICE.

At least two offices - Burnie and Devonport - used this format with either T.O. or TELEGRAPH OFFICE for their date stamps.

Burnie Burnie Vic Cent
Telegraph Office with Burnie at base.
Small square dots.
6 May 1953.

Long date line.
Diameter: 28 mm.

 Burnie 1954
T. O. Burnie with TAS-AUST at base.
4 mm side arcs.
6 January 1954.

Long date line.
Diameter: 31 mm.

 Burnie 1972
Telegraph Office, Burnie
with TAS-AUST at base.
Very small side arcs.
15 September 1972.

Short date line.
Diameter:

Devonport. Devonport
Telegraph Office with Devonport
at base.
Small square dots.
8 January 1934.

Possible that WEST has been removed.

Diameter: