Background
The Postal Stationery Society of Australia (PSSA) was set up to cater for the needs of collectors interested in the collection and study of postal stationery. This field has often tended to be a neglected part of philately in Australia, and until the time when the PSSA was established, there had been no society in Australia devoted to it, and to the interests of stationery collectors.
Aims of the PSSA
It was the aim of the PSSA that it should be a fairly informal Society that would enable collectors to share information and assist each other with forming their collections and keeping abreast of new developments, particularly the issuing of new types of postal stationery. The Society held its first meeting at the National Exhibition, Sydney Centrepoint 95, on 21 October 1995.
A further aim was to encourage all collectors of postal stationery to become members. Membership of the Society was not to be limited to collectors and researchers of either Australian colonies or Commonwealth of Australia stationery, nor was membership to be limited to residents of Australia.
Because it was hoped to involve collectors throughout Australia, it was decided that the Society would not be centred in a particular city, rather that opportunities would be taken to meet regularly at National and State exhibitions and on similar occasions involving gatherings of philatelists. It was hoped that office bearers would come from different States, and that there would be a representative (Coordinator) from each State. There is now a representative appointed for the North Island of New Zealand.
It was also decided that the Society would produce a journal, Postal Stationery Collector, four times each year, and the first issue appeared in May 1995. The journal is intended primarily as a means of communication between members, and for the exchange of ideas, news and information about postal stationery of all countries. It has developed into an important source of information about postal stationery recently issued by Australia Post, as detailed listings of some types of stationery, for instance, pre-paid postcards, are not usually available elsewhere.
Members are strongly encouraged to contribute to the journal, for its success depends on their input. All manner of contributions are encouraged, from information on new issues, articles on all postal stationery topics, including detailed research articles, also reviews of newly published handbooks, and notes on articles devoted to postal stationery topics that have appeared in current Australian and overseas philatelic journals. The Editor aims to have a good balance in the journal between Australian and overseas content. The Society has been encouraged by the awards gained by Postal Stationery Collector in Literature classes at overseas exhibitions.
The Society has embarked on a project to produce and publish a series of catalogues of the postal stationery issued by the Australian States prior to the issue of the first Australian Commonwealth stationery in 1911. A catalogue of the Postal Stationery of Western Australia was published in 2002. Further catalogues in the series are planned, and each State volume will be the work of an author or group of authors, who have expertise in that field of collecting and research. It is hoped to have a draft of the New South Wales catalogue shortly, and work on both the Queensland and the Tasmanian volumes is well advanced.
The PSSA and the Australian Philatelic Federation (APF) are now sponsoring a Contemporary Postal Stationery Competition, to promote the collecting and exhibiting of post-1970 postal stationery. This competition will be available at the Postal Stationery classes at Australian National Philatelic exhibitions from September 2004 until 2008. David Collyer, a well-known Australian philatelist and researcher, has agreed to be the Competition Convenor.
The Competition is open to entries covering the period from 1970 onwards. Entrants may select material from any country, or any type of postal stationery from that period. No Value Indicated (NVI) postal stationery entries is particularly encouraged. The PSSA has agreed to provide a suitable momento to all exhibitors in the Competition.
A set of guidelines for entrants to the competition has been prepared, and published in Postal Stationery Collector for February 2004. They are also available from the Secretary and the Competition Convenor. For further information about this Competition, please contact either of these officers (please see information below).
Readers who would like to know more about the Postal Stationery Society of Australia are very welcome to contact the Secretary, Ms Judy Kennett, either by post or by email.
Postal:
Secretary
Postal
Stationery Society of Australia
PO
Box 16
ULMARRA
NSW 2462
AUSTRALIA
Email:
jkennett@tpg.com.au
For further information about the Contemporary Postal Stationery Competition, please contact the Competition Convenor, David Collyer.
Postal:
Competition Convenor
PO
Box 201
Gladesville
NSW 1675
Email:
d_collyer30@hotmail.com (Note: there is an underscore _ between
‘d’ and ‘c’)
Judith Kennett
Secretary
June 2007