Historical information

When the Commonwealth Post and Telegraph Act was passed in June 1902, and a national Postmaster General's Department (the PMG) was established the responsibility for the nation's mail and telephone services fell on local Post Offices.
The Bendigo Post Office, built in 1887 and is situated on Pall Mall, it was the central distribution centre for receiving and delivering communication and postal services until 1997 and is now the Bendigo Visitor Centre.
The Dead Letter Office, aka Mail Distribution Centre's job is to reunite the mail with their owners and to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the mail. This item is part of the postal collection donated by the Rankins family in memory of the last postal manager at the Bendigo Post Office, Ted Rankins.

Physical description

Printed brown paper which folds into an envelope.

Inscriptions & markings

O.H.M.S / Postmaster - General's Department / P.M. 29. / Dead Letter Mail / Date Stamp / Office of Despatch / to the / Dead Letter Office / Enclosed are Articles