The West Australian Airways (WAA) trans-continental airmail service between Adelaide and Perth started in June 1929. Mail both from and to the UK was carried on the first flights.
Mail addressed to New Zealand was flown on the first flight from Perth, but it was not until August that mail from GB to New Zealand could use the service and July 1930 until mail from New Zealand was accepted.
First Flight, June 1929
Adelaide - Perth
The first flight for Perth left Adelaide in a DH 66 Hercules aircraft on Sunday 2 June 1929, but had to turn back due to bad weather.
The mail eventually left Adelaide on Tuesday June 4. The route was via Ceduna to Forrest where there was an overnight stop. The mail was then flown to Kalgoorlie on June 5 where the mail was transferred to a DH 50 and flown to Perth, arriving later that day.
The postal rate was 4½d made up of 1½d surface and 3d airmail. Australia issued its first airmail stamp on May 20 so that it would be available for this flight. It is on the example cover and shows a DH 66 Hercules.
Mail from New Zealand was not
accepted on the Adelaide - Perth service until 4 July 1930.
To New Zealand via Perth - Adelaide, June 1929
The DH 66 was due to leave Perth on the return flight on June 4, but with the delay in leaving Adelaide, that was not possible. Instead, the mail from Perth was flown on June 5 in a DH 50 to Kalgoorlie where the mail was exchanged with the DH 66. The DH 50 flew back to Perth while the DH 66 returned to Adelaide arriving on June 6, only one day late.
This cover is one of the few flown on the first flight from Perth and addressed to New Zealand. On the back, it has a label advertising the advantages of air mail.
After arrival in Adelaide on 6 June, it was sent by rail to Sydney where it connected with the trans-Tasman steamer. It was not backstamped on arrival.
From August 1929, UK mail for New Zealand
could be sent on this service.
Connections with the UK mailboat
The major reason for setting up the Adelaide - Perth airmail service was to connect with the regular UK mail boat service.
The P & O mail boat route was via the Suez Canal and Colombo to Australia where it called at Fremantle (Perth) on a Tuesday and Sydney on the following Monday. Use of the WAA service enabled mail to be unloaded at Fremantle and flown from Perth, arriving in Adelaide on the Wednesday. The mail was then sent by overnight train to Melbourne, arriving on the Thursday morning and Sydney early on the Friday morning, 3 days before the mail boat [2,4].
In the opposite direction, the mail boat for the UK left Sydney on a Wednesday and Fremantle on the following Monday. Mail could be sent from Sydney by the Friday overnight train to Melbourne and from there by the Saturday overnight train to Adelaide. The weekly WAA airmail service left Adelaide on a Sunday, arriving in Perth the next day to connect with the P & O mail boat [2,4]. Hence mail could leave Sydney two days after the mail boat and catch up with it at Perth.
UK to Melbourne via Perth - Adelaide, May - June 1929
Each week, the latest time of posting of mail for Australia was 6pm on a Thursday at the GPO in London. The mail would then be carried from London to Paris by the night boat train and then by train from Paris to Marseilles where it would join the mail boat for Australia.
According to Proud [5], the first acceptance for the Perth - Adelaide service left London on Thursday 9 May 1929 and connected at Marseilles with the Maloja which had sailed from the UK on Friday 3 May.
The example cover is to Melbourne and was postmarked in the UK on Wednesday 8 May. It has the inscription First England - Australia Airmail, and stamps to the value of 4½d (1½d plus 3d airmail).
The mail arrived in Fremantle on Tuesday 4 June (26 days after leaving the UK) and was flown on the first Perth - Adelaide flight on 5 - 6 June. (The flight had been delayed by a day for the reasons given above.)
After being flown Perth - Adelaide, it was carried on the overnight train to Melbourne where it was backstamped on 7 June 1929.
The British Post Office allocated numbers to air routes and Perth - Adelaide was
Air route No. 15.
to UK via Adelaide - Perth, June - July 1929
Mail for the UK was accepted on the first flight from Adelaide to Perth.
This registered cover from Melbourne is postmarked on 1 June 1929 and would have been sent to Adelaide on the overnight Saturday train to connect with the first flight scheduled to leave Adelaide on 2 June. However, due to the delay described above, the mail did not arrive in Perth until 5 June and so missed the mailboat at Fremantle on Monday 3 June. It was therefore sent on the 10 June mailboat. The mail arrived in London on 8 July, 28 days after leaving Australia.
This cover is franked with 3d airmail, 1½d surface plus 3d registration fee.
and has two Melbourne 1 June backstamps, a red London registered
8 July backstamp
and a Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham backstamp later that day.
UK to New Zealand via Perth - Adelaide, August 1929
The first UK acceptance for New Zealand via Perth - Adelaide was on 8 August 1929 [1].
This registered cover is postmarked in Ibstock on Wednesday 14 August and there are registration backstamps on 14 and 15 August. The mail left the UK on Thursday 15 August and was carried by train via Paris to Marseilles where it joined the mail boat for Australia.
The cover has a Perth backstamp on Tuesday 10 September (26 days after leaving the UK) and so was flown Perth - Adelaide on 10 - 11 September before being carried on the overnight train to Melbourne where it was backstamped on 12 September. It would then be carried by train to Sydney and by sea to New Zealand, but there is no backstamp giving the date of arrival in New Zealand.
The postage was the same as that for Australia (3d airmail plus 1½d surface) although, in this case, there is an extra 3d registration fee.
The amount of mail appears to be very small.
Walker [1] does not show an example, but comments that covers were
available at quite a reasonable price, even as late as 1947!!!
The article by Legg [2] does show a cover, but it is the one above.
(I purchased it in 2007.)
If the first dispatch of mail was on 8 August then this cover was carried on the
second dispatch.
Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London, December 1929
Mail from Australia could be flown on both the Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London air mail services from December 1929 although mail from New Zealand was not accepted until July 1930.
This cover is postmarked 14 December 1929 in Melbourne and has the manuscript Australia - Karachi - London. It was flown Adelaide - Perth and then from Karachi on the first acceptance from Australia.
It would have been carried by overnight train on Saturday 14 December to Adelaide and flown from there to Perth on 15 - 16 December where it connected on Monday 16 December with the mail steamer for Colombo. It was then taken by surface to Karachi from where it was flown on 30 December arriving in London 1 day late on 9 January [3], 24 days after leaving Australia.
It is franked with 1/3 in stamps made up of
4d Adelaide - Perth airmail, 6d Karachi - London
airmail, 1½d surface postage plus a registration fee.
First Acceptance from New Zealand, 4 July 1930
To Perth
From 1 July 1930, New Zealand stamps were accepted to pre-pay airmail postage on overseas routes and so letters from New Zealand could be sent on the Adelaide - Perth service. The cost was 3d per ½oz airmail plus the normal surface postage rate of 1d.
This cover is postmarked on 30 June in Christchurch and went by ferry to Wellington from where it was sent to Sydney on 4 July by the SS Maunganui. It was then sent by rail from Sydney to Adelaide before being flown Adelaide - Perth on 13 - 14 July. Walker [1] estimates that only 5 covers addressed to Perth were sent on this flight.
Mail flown by the Adelaide - Perth service and adressed to
countries beyond Australia cost an extra 1d giving a total of 5d.
Also flown Karachi - London
In addition, mail for the UK could be flown via the Imperial Airways Karachi - UK airmail route at a further cost of 7d per ½oz. giving a combined postage rate of 1/-.
This is one of 10 letters from the first acceptance of air mail from New Zealand that was flown on both the Adelaide - Perth and the Karachi - London service. It has the correct franking of 1/-.
The postmark is 1 July 1930 in Wellington and was sent on the same service as the first cover. On arrival in Perth on Monday 14 July it connected with the Fremantle - UK mail boat [2].
The mail boat route was via Colombo where this cover was off-loaded
and taken to Karachi by surface.
It was flown from Karachi by Imperial Airways on 29 July
and arrived in the UK on Monday 4 August [3], 21 days after leaving Australia.
It is also franked with a ½d British stamp in order to get
a Sutton Coldfield arrival mark, but that was not until 7 August.
Later Flights
Flight August 1930
According to Walker [1], only 152 items were sent from New Zealand via the combined Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London services in the first year which averages at only about three on each flight. Examples like this one are therefore uncommon. It is always interesting to have proof that a service was actually used by the public and that covers exist other than those flown on the first flight.
This cover is postmarked on 6 August, 1930 and would be flown Adelaide - Perth on 17-18 August and Karachi - London on 2 - 8 September. There is a manuscript on the back stating that it was received on 9 September, 22 days after leaving Australia.
It is only franked by 11d in stamps instead of the required 1/-.
It is not surprising that there was confusion regarding the postage which was 7d Karachi - London. The Adelaide - Perth rate was 4d if addressed to the UK, but 3d for letters addressed to Perth. That extra 1d might reasonably be assumed to cover the surface rate while in fact a further 1d was required.
Between May 1930 and May 1932, the British Post Office did not accept
mail for Australia or New Zealand on the London - Karachi route [2]
although, as can be seen from the examples on this page,
mail was accepted from Australia and New Zealand.
Inclusive rate: UK - New Zealand via Adelaide - Perth, March 1931
Early airmail rates were calculated as an airmail surcharge on top of the ordinary surface rate.
In February 1931, the British Post Office announced inclusive rates with the rate for GB to New Zealand via Perth - Adelaide being 4½d for the first ½ ounce. Mail from New Zealand continued to have an airmail surcharge in addition to the surface rate.
This cover to Timaru was sent on the first acceptance for the service on Thursday 12 March 1931. The mail boat from the UK was due in Fremantle 26 days later on Tuesday 7 April and so the cover would be flown Perth - Adelaide on 7 - 8 April, arrive via the night train in Melbourne on the morning of 9 April and Sydney on the morning of 10 April. The cover is not backstamped, but a similar cover to Christchurch described by Walker [1] was backstamped on 15 April.
The address is in the same handwriting as the cover
shown by Walker and so it is possible that most, if not all covers,
sent on this first flight were sent by the same person.
Flight August 1931
This attractive cover appears philatelic in origin and is postmarked in Perth of 18 August.
As it is franked with a complete set of the Kingsford Smith commemoratives plus the 3d airmail, it is grossly overfranked. However, there does not seem to be anything special about the date of this flight which would have taken place on 18-19 August, 1931.
The 3d airmail has a green dot in the middle of the bottom
margin which shows that it is from a booklet.
First New Zealand airmail stamps, November 1931
a) Flown Adelaide - Perth
This cover is postmarked on 11 November 1931. It was carried on the overnight ferry on 12/13 November from Christchurch to Wellington and then to Sydney on the SS Marama which left Wellington on Friday November 13 [1].
From 6 September 1930, the Adelaide - Perth service left on a Saturday rather than Sunday as before [2]. Hence the cover would be taken by rail from Sydney on the night of 19 November to Melbourne and on the following night to Adelaide arriving on Saturday 21 November.
It was then flown from Adelaide to Perth on 21-22 November as part of its route to the UK. This was the first time that covers carrying special New Zealand airmail stamps had been flown on this service.
The cover is correctly rated at 6d made up of 2d ordinary postage
(the surface rate had been increased to 2d
in March 1931) while the airmail rate via
Adelaide - Perth to England was 4d per ½ oz.
Covers addressed to Western Australia cost only an extra 3d per ½ oz.
airmail.
b) Flown Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London
The next cover was also sent from Christchurch, but is routed Karachi-London in addition to Adelaide - Perth. It is an example of the special Christmas Greetings envelope produced by the Air Mail Society of New Zealand.
It was flown Adelaide to Perth on 21-22 November and then went by mailboat on 23 November to Karachi from where it was flown to London on 10 - 17 December [5], arriving 24 days after leaving Australia.
In addition to the 6d postage on the first cover, it contains the 7d airmail stamp
to cover the Karachi - London postage.
c) Flown Christchurch - Auckland, Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London
This cover has routing instructions for it to be flown on three different flights: Christchurch - Auckland on the special New Zealand internal Christmas flight of 12 November; Adelaide - Perth on 21-22 November and Karachi - London on 10 -17 December 1931.
It is correctly franked with the complete set of airmail stamps:
the 3d pays for the internal New Zealand flight, the 4d for Adelaide - Perth and the 7d
for Karachi - London.
In addition, the 2d GV covers the surface rate.
Commercial use 1932-1933
Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London, January 1932
The next cover was flown Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London. It is postmarked Wellington on 5 January 1932.
It is likely to have been flown Adelaide - Perth on 16-17 January and Karachi - London on 3 -11 February, arriving 2 days late [3] and 24 days after leaving Australia.
Although the cover is philatelic to the extent that it is franked
with the complete 1931 airmail set (and so is overfranked by 1d),
it is commercial as this was an ordinary flight.
Adelaide - Perth, April 1932
This is a registered cover that appears to be genuine commercial use rather than being sent for philatelic purposes.
It is postmarked on 6 April 1932 and addressed to the UK. It was backstamped in Sydney on Tuesday 12 April and in Perth on Monday 18 April. It would therefore be flown Adelaide - Perth on 16 - 17 April. As the mail boat left Sydney on a Wednesday, the day after the Sydney backstamp, use of the Adelaide - Perth airmal service would not have saved any time.
The cover is correctly franked with 10d as
the postage rate was 2d surface, 4d airmail surcharge and
the registration fee was 4d as it had been increased from 3d on 1 March 1931.
Adelaide - Perth, January 1933
The next registered cover is postmarked in Wellington on 11 January 1933.
It is backstamped in Sydney on 16 January
and in Perth on Monday 23 January and so would
have been flown Adelaide - Perth on 21 - 22 January.
It is correctly franked with 7d, consisting of 3d airmail surcharge
(as it is addressed to Perth),
3d registration and 1d surface postage.
(The surface rate and the registration fee had been reduced to 1d and 3d
respectively on 1 June, 1932.)
Perth - Adelaide, February 1933
The next cover is a commercial use of the Adelaide - Perth airmail at the inclusive rate of 4½d. It is postmarked in London on Thursday 12 January 1933 and was redirected on arrival in New Zealand which resulted in a 16 February postmark being applied.
These dates fit in with it leaving London on Thursday 12 January and arriving in Fremantle 26 days later on Tuesday 7 February before being flown Perth - Adelaide on 7 - 8 February.
It is always good to see a commercial use of a cover as
that shows that this service was actually used by the public.
Also flown Trans - Tasman
a) Trans - Tasman, February 1934
The first official trans-Tasman airmail from New Zealand to Australia was on 17 February 1934. This cover was flown Adelaide - Perth after being flown trans-Tasman.
The trans-Tasman rate of 7d included onward surface delivery. Although the extra rate for the Perth-Adelaide airmail when addressed to the UK was 4d, the rate when addressed to Perth was 3d and so this cover would seem to be overfranked by 1d.
The cover was backstamped on arrival at Sydney on Saturday 17 February.
It was not flown from Adelaide until
the following Saturday (24 February) arriving in Perth
on 25 February when it was backstamped.
That was the problem with air mail, if you missed the flight
connection then it was some time before the next one.
a) Trans - Tasman plus Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London
The next 1934 cover was flown on both the Adelaide - Perth and Karachi - London routes as well as being flown on the first trans-Tasman flight.
It was backstamped at Sydney, but at neither Adelaide nor Perth although from the backstamp on the previous cover shows that it had arrived in Perth by 25 February. It has a manuscript on the back stating that it was received in Glasgow on 23 March and so it was flown on the IA flight that left Karachi on 15 March and arrived in London on 22 March [3].
It is correctly franked with 1/6.
The trans-Tasman rate of 7d included onward surface delivery
to the UK. The extra rate for the Perth-Adelaide airmail and on to UK
was 4d while the Karachi-London airmail was 7d.
Unsubsidised service from April 1934
West Australian Airways' contract for a subsidised Perth - Adelaide airmail service was for five years and ended in April 1934 although an unsubsidised service continued after that date.
This cover is postmarked 2 April 1934 in Perth and the manuscript on the front states that it was flown on the first flight of the new unsubsidised service.
It is addressed to Auckland and was also flown on Ulm's first official airmail from Australia to New Zealand on 11 -12 April. There is an Auckland backstamp of 12 April and a faint official cachet on the back.
The franking in Australian stamps is 1/1 which covers:
3d Perth-Adelaide,
7d trans Tasman and 3d registration fee.
After delivery in Auckland, the cover was re-addressed back to Perth and a typescript added stating: Per Return flight NZ - Aust & Adelaide - Perth Air Service. The back of the cover has the set of three New Zealand airmail stamps postmarked 13 April, a Kaitaia postmark of 14 April, a Sydney backstamp of 14 April and a Perth backstamp of 20 April. The official trans - Tasman cachet is on the front. However, although it was flown back from New Zealand to Australia, the arrival date in Perth is a Friday suggesting that the routing instructions were not followed and it was sent to Perth by rail.
The cover had not finished its travels.
It was re-addressed once again, this time to Camberwell
in Victoria and there are further backstamps of 24 April in Perth,
28 April in Melbourne and 30 April in Camberwell.
Postscript
When the regular London - Australia airmail service started in December 1934, the Adelaide - Perth service was no longer used for mails from New Zealand.
In June 1936, West Australian Airways were taken over by Adelaide Airways.
A recent article in The Kiwi describes the material on this webpage [4].
back next
All scans were made by the author.
Information on this page is taken from:
[1] Airmails of New Zealand, volume 2 (1986) compiled by
Douglas A Walker published by the
Air Mail Society of New Zealand
[2] W.H. Legg, Aspects of the London-Karachi and the Perth-Adelaide
Routes, Air Mail News, vol 44, pp 106-116, August 2001 and pp 178-183,
November 2001.
[3] Peter Wingent, Aircraft Movements on Imperial Airways' Eastern Route,
Vol 1, 1927 - 1937, Winchester 1999.
[4] Robert Clark, Adelaide - Perth Airmail: The New Zealand Connection,
The Kiwi, vol 56, pp 61-66, May 2007.
[5] E B Proud, The Postal History of British Air Mails,
1991.