Historical information

This envelope was used to post a letter or other similar document from Bacchus Marsh in Victoria around November 1861 to a Mr James Henderson in Coldstream, Northumberland, England. The contents inside the envelope have been lost and the sender of the envelope is not known.

Significance

Postal services in Bacchus Marsh can be traced back to at least 1847 when Henry James of Bacchus Marsh was appointed postmaster for Bacchus Marsh replacing the service previously conducted from Ballan. Henry James conducted this postal service from his residence. This service was still designated as the Ballan Post Office until September 1850 when its name was formally changed to the Bacchus Marsh Post Office. The envelope of 1861 addressed to Mr Henderson in England is therefore a fairly early documentary artifact from users of the Bacchus Marsh postal service.

Physical description

An envelope used for a letter in 1861. An address in Norththumberland, England is written on the front of the envelope. It also shows a postage stamp depicting Queen Victoria of Great Britain. The postage stamp is a sixpence stamp produced in the colony of Victoria in the 1850s and 1860s. On the reverse of the envelope are 3 circular shaped post office marks: 'Bacchus Marsh Victoria No.25 1861'; 'Melbourne 1 Z No.25 61'; and 'Coldstream JA22 62'.