The writer refers to Allan's and her own family members and is thought to be a relative; more research is needed. She also writes ".....I suppose you've heard all about the floods here, winter certainly is settling in early ....".Quinn CollectionA single page of unlined pale blue paper folded in book form to give four pages of writing (0836.a). Letter is headed Nurses Home, Alfred Hospital, Prahran and dated 3.04.1950. Matching envelope (0836.b) is addressed to M.S. Mongabarra, C/- Elder Smith & Co., Adelaide. 'Adelaide' has been crossed out and an indecipherable port, possibly Port Lincoln, has been added by a different writer and in darker ink. Envelope bears three red, two and halfpenny Australian stamps franked Melbourne. The letter commences "Dear Allan......" and is signed "Yours June". letters-from-abroad, quinn

The writer thanks Allan for his letter and adds "...I'm glad you have been at home in Sidney.....and wasn't it wonderful to see your folks and friends again?". He mentions that it is five years ago that Allan left home. Peer refers to Allan's next trip and advises Allan where to go and what to see when he is in Copenhagen and how sorry he, Peer, is that he will not to be there to show Allan around. Quinn CollectionThree page letter written on three pages of unlined cream paper (0837.a1-3). Letter is written in black ink, is headed Salinas,California and dated 11.04.1950. Below the address and date has been added, in pencil and in a different hand, 325 California Street, Salinas, California. Matching envelope (0837.b) has a large piece torn from the upper edge, centre, and has been re-addressed several times. The original address to Mr Allan Quinn M.S. Mongabarra, William Street, C/- Birt Elder, Melbourne, Austra. has been partly obscured by a cream coloured piece of paper stuck onto the envelope which appears to contain an address in South Africa. This in turn is obscured by a brown sticker stamped with purple ink 'Messrs. Nederiaktiebolaget Transatlantio, Gothenburg, Sweden. Below the green United States fifteen-cent air-mail postage stamp, is stamped in purple ink, Elder Smith & Co. Limited, Box 387 G.P.O. Adelaide, S.A. In the left upper corner the hand-written return address is P. Rasmussen, 325 California Street, Salinas, California. U.S.A. There are two Californian post-marks both partially torn off and one Capetown post-mark. On the back of the envelope are two overlapping South Australia GPO post marks, one Adelaide and one Melbourne postmark and a 'check address' post mark.The letter commences "Dear Friend!" and finishes "Many regards - your friend Peer". letters-from-abroad, quinn, peer rasmussen, copenhagen, california

Quinn CollectionTwo page letter written in green ink on two pages of very fine unlined cream paper (0838.a1-2). Letter, written at sea, is headed M.S. Mongabarra, Capetown, S.A. and dated 8.05.1950. Matching air mail envelope (0838.b) is addressed in green ink to Mrs E. Quinn, C/- Mrs Greeves, 14 Victoria Street, St. Kilda, Victoria. There are three South African stamps; one valued at one shilling and two valued at threepence each. The post mark is Capetown. Letter commences "My dear Mum" and is signed by Allanletters-from-abroad, quinn

Interesting historical note: the writer of the letter suggests a meeting with her friend Lord Sinha who will give Allan a tour of the Houses of Parliament and lunch. Lord Sinha is the son of Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha, the first (and only) Indian ever to be given the hereditary peerage and the first Indian member of the House of Lords. The peerage was created by Lloyd George in 1919.Quinn CollectionA single page of unlined blue paper folded in book form to give four pages of writing (0839.a). Letter is headed Oslo, Norway. The first half of the letter is dated 25.05.1950, the second half the 26.05.1950. Buff-coloured envelope (0839.b) is addressed to Allen Quinn Esq .M.S. Mongabarra, C/- Alex M. Petersen, 14 Meyr, Antwerp, Holland. Envelope bears one grey/blue Norwegian stamp. Post mark appears to be Gotenborg but is indistinct.Letter commences "My Dear Allen [sic],' and concludes "Love Vera".letters-from-abroad, quinn, lord sinha, vera south

The writer states that he is staying with his parents in Holland and that, ".....Holland is good again like before the war." He thanks Allan for his letter and the "Union book" and "....feels his chances are now bigger to get a ship back to Australia."Quinn CollectionThe Netherlands self-folding letter (0840) is addressed to Allan C/- Mongabarra, headed Apeldoorn and dated the 6/06/50. The overall colour of the letter is pale green. There is a fine blue pattern on the outside except for part of the middle section where the address, return address and a printed notice are displayed. There is a brown paper sticker with the printed words 'Firma C. K. Hansen, Kopenhamn K. Denmark' partly obscuring the address. The sender's name and return address, written in tiny writing, are unclear and partly obscured by a fuzzy postmark.The letter commences "Hello Allan!" and is signed "........ from your friend John."letters-from-abroad, quinn, apeldoorn, holland, john holsheim

The writer mentions some of Allan's family members. He also comments on the extremely wet weather Sydney has been experiencing and encloses a newspaper clipping with a cartoon of the Rugby League first Test match between England and Australia and a photo of two very muddy players; Australian front-row forward Douglas Hall and England's captain Ernest Ward. The match was played at Sydney Cricket Ground.Quinn CollectionA two-page letter written on two pages of buff-coloured, lined paper (0841a1-2) is headed 802 Macleay Regis, Macleay Street, Potts Point and dated 13/06/50. The matching envelope (0841.b) bears a one and sixpence Australian stamp, is postmarked Sydney and stamped with the slogan 'Road Carelessness Kills'. It is addressed to Mr Allan Quinn, M.S. Mongabarra, C/- Transatlantic Shipping Co., Gothenberg Sweden. Enclosed in the letter is an undated newspaper clipping (0841.c).The letter commences "Dear Allan" and is singed "Your sincere friend Jim".letters-from-abroad, quinn, douglas hall, ernest ward, england v australia rugby test, sydnry cricket ground, sydney 1950

Quinn CollectionThe Netherlands self-folding letter (0842) is addressed to Allan C/- Mongabarra, headed The Hague and dated the 23/06/50. The overall colour of the letter is pale green. There is a fine blue pattern on the outside except for part of the middle section where the address, return address and a printed notice are displayed. The sender's name and return address is J. Holsheim, 65 van Hassell ladn (spelling tbc), Apeldoorn. The letter is postmarked S'Gravenhage.The letter commences "Dear Allan!" and is signed "........ John."letters-from-abroad, quinn, apeldoorn, holland, john holsheim

Allan describes his voyage from Gothenburg to Capetown and his impressions of Sweden and Norway.Quinn CollectionTwo and a half page letter written in green ink on two pages of unlined cream paper (0844.a1-2). Letter, written at sea, is headed M.S. Mongabarra, and dated 18.08.1950. Matching envelope (0844.b) is addressed in green ink to Mrs E. Quinn, C/- Mrs Greeves, 14 Victoria Street, St. Kilda, Victoria. There are two South African stamps; one valued at one shilling and one at sixpence. The post mark is Capetown. Letter is from Allan to his mother.letters-from-abroad, quinn, ms mongabarra, sweden, norway, allan charles quinn

Mrs Quinn writes that she is to marry 'Kit'. She also mentions that '....Things look very grim in Korea.....'Quinn CollectionTwo page letter written in blue ink on one page of lined cream paper (0845.a). Letter written to Allan from his mother is dated 20.08.1950. Off white envelope (0845.b) is addressed to Mr A Quinn, M.S. Mongabarra, c/- Transatlantic Shipping Agency, 235 Boston House, Strand Street, Capetown, South Africa. Envelope is post marked Melbourne and bears a one and sixpence stamp. Letter commences 'Allan Dear' and concludes'...'God Bless always, Mum' letters-from-abroad, allan charles quinn (1928-1990)

Indicates a friendship at the time.Quinn CollectionA blue self-folding letter (0850.a) postmarked Melbourne and addressed to Allan is dated 9.11.50. The return address is 160 Head Street, Elsternwick, S4, Melbourne. Cost of the airletter is seven pence.Letter commences 'Hi Allan' and concludes 'Well that's all for now pal. Hope to hear from you soon. Bluey'.letters-from-abroad, quinn

The correspondent writes "'.... I am sending ........a little Xmas gift of 100 pounds Sterling that should be worth 125 pounds at the rate of exchange when it reaches Australia"Quinn CollectionThis letter is written on a single sheet of unlined buff-coloured paper. The paper has been folded in half, in book form (0852.a). It is headed The Meadows, Epsom and is dated 7/12/50. The off-white envelope (0852.b) is addressed to Kip Hayes, 14 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, Victoria. There are two United Kingdom stamps in the upper right hand corner, an air mail sticker on the left and is post-marked Epsom, Surrey. The letter commences "Dear Kip..." and is signed "Jim". letters-from-abroad, jim hayes

The writer is replying to a letter from Allan and contains news of fellow seafarers.Quinn CollectionThree page letter written on three sheets of thin, unlined, buff-coloured paper (0853.1a-3a). It is headed Salinas and dated 08/12/50. The air-mail envelope (0853.b) is bordered with red and blue alternating diagonal stripes. It is addressed to Mr Allan Quinn, Liddesdale Avenue, Frankston, Victoria, Australia. The return address, written in the top left hand corner, is Peer Rasmussen, 330 1/2 Central Avenue, Salinas, California, USA. The stamps and part of the post-mark have been torn from the envelope. Letter commences "Hello my friend, ....." and concludes ..."'your sincere friend, Peer."letters-from-abroad, peer rasmussen, salinas

Allan writes that he has left the ship M S Mongabarra in Sweden and traveled by train to Oslo where he will stay for about 14 days before travelling to London. He has sent "...a very big carton, a smaller one - a trunk and coffee table back to Australia."Quinn CollectionA single sheet of very thin paper folded in half, book form, with writing on the first and third pages only (0854.a). Written in green ink it is headed Oslo and dated 14/12/50. The air-mail envelope (0854.b) is bordered with alternating purple and yellow diagonal stripes. There are three Norwegian stamps, one green and two purple, in the right upper corner. It is post-marked Oslo and addressed Mrs K Hayes, 14 Fitzroy Street, St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia. The letter is from Allan to his mother. letters-from-abroad, allan quinn, oslo