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

The writer says it is very difficult to get accommodation in postwar Oslo, especially during the tourist season. He is paying four kronor a night for a shared room in the Pension whereas he was paying $4 a week for a room in New York. There is no shortage of work although there is food rationing and fruit and meat is scarce and expensive. People live on fish and potatoes.Quinn CollectionFour page letter written on both sides of two sheets of unlined buff-coloured paper (0843.a1-2). Each page is stamped with the letterhead of the Hotel Campbell, Poughkeepsie, New York. The hotel coat-of-arms is displayed top centre of the page and in the left upper corner is a picture of the hotel. Written underneath is Louis W. Parsons, Owner and Manager. The letter is from William F Preston, Pensjon Lindstow, Sven Bruno Gate 9th Oslo and dated 8 July 1950. The non-matching envelope (0843.b) bears a red Norwegian stamp and is postmarked Oslo. It has been post-marked twice.Letter is addressed to Allan and signed 'Bill'.allan quinn collection, letters-from-abroad, william f. preston, oslo, louis w. parsons, new york