Shipwrecks: Sunday Stamps

It may be a little morbid, but when I read that the theme this week for Sunday Stamps was "ships" I immediately thought of this beautiful presentation pack of stamps I have featuring shipwrecks.

I don't generally buy presentation packs, I find them cumbersome, so that is where I generally draw the line when it comes to stamp paraphernalia (gutterstrips: tick; FDCs: tick; presentation packs: buh-bow) but as with all lines in the sand that I draw for myself, I do shift the boundaries from time to time. (For instance, this time last year FDCs were in the "buh-bow" no-deal column, or on the wrong side of the line in the sand. Said line has since been adjusted). Anyhow, objections to presentation packs aside, I couldn't resist this particular presentation pack due to the rather lovely 1878 map that adorns the inside.

The stamps themselves are quite beautiful, I think. I like the muted colours, and that the images evoke the era by using contemporary engravings of the disasters. I have been to the cemetery that is the eternal resting place for many of the Loch Ard victims and it is quite a haunting place, situated on a very stunning, but treacherous and rugged coastline.

The Dunbar sank near the entrance to Port Jackson, on the 20 August 1857, as the stamp says. The stamp also indicates that 120 lives were lost. What it doesn't say is that there were only 121 people on board. Only one crewman survived the wreckage, because he was tossed by waves onto a rock ledge.

To counter the rather bleak topic of shipwrecks, I thought I would also share with you a 2004 issue of stamps that is bright and happy and reflects the romantic side of shipping.

I really like these steamer stamps, with their nod to art-deco styling and the bright colours of the travel posters. They make me want to voyage around the world at a leisurely pace while sipping cocktails on the deck.

In what was a massive end to a massive week, I acquired these stamps yesterday, whilst trawling through 100 years of family history stored in my Grandparents' house which was recently sold. Grandma Nellie collected the annual stamp books put out by Australia Post, and so this more recent part of her collection just made its way to me on the weekend. The books are pretty cool and have lots of detail about all the stamps issued in that year, as well as the actual mint stamps.

There will be more tales from my massive week and massive weekend soon on this blog... but for now, it is good night and good luck, fellow stampers and fellow bloggers.

Famous Australian Women 1975

This weekend I am heading off to sunny Adelaide for a little sojourn to enjoy some wineries, enjoy some music (Florence and the machine!) and to hang out with a posse of awesome chicks. And speaking of awesome chicks, I thought I would share this beautiful issue celebrating Australian women from 1975 before I head out of town. 

I found this stamp series on my last little weekend away when we skipped off to the Great Ocean Road. I am excited about the treasures that might await me in markets around Adelaide. No doubt I will be blogging about them soon enough....

Even though I sometimes call myself a historian, I was not familiar with a couple of the women featured on these stamps, I am ashamed to say. So I looked them all up on the Australian Dictionary of Biography and found that all six were remarkable and inspiring women and leaders in their fields. I have included a line about each of them and a link to their ADB page, for good measure.

 Catherine Spence (1825-1910) and Henry Handel Richardson (1870-1946)

Catherine Spence was a suffragette and author, who, incidentally, was from Adelaide. Henry Handel Richardson is the author of 'The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney' which I bought a lovely second-hand copy of earlier this year... but it is still sitting in my 'to read' pile.

Constance Stone (1856 -1902) and Edith Cowan (1861-1932)

Constance Stone was a Doctor, educated overseas at a time when Melbourne University still did not allow women to enroll in medical degrees.  Edith Cowan, whose portrait will be familiar to most as it features on the $50 note, was the first woman elected to an Australian parliament, when in 1921 she was elected to Western Australia's Legislative Assembly.

Louisa Lawson (1848-1920) and Truganini (1812-1876)

Louisa Lawson was one of the women who I was not familiar with - from her surname I was expecting her to be Henry Lawson's wife, but in fact she was his mother. But more than that she founded a printing press and was a writer and women's rights activist.

Truganini's life story is enough to make your heart break. She is widely known for being Tasmania's 'last Aborigine' and despite her expressed wishes her body was put on public display in the Tasmanian Museum from 1904- 1947. A final insult.

Many of these women were suffragettes, agitating for women's rights and social reform. They are all quite inspiring - so I am so glad these stamps encouraged me to explore their lives a little!