Auction 321 - 332 Australian States & Commonwealth of Australia, St. Helena, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Swaziland, Brazil 1843 –1870 - Day 1

Norfolk Island 1853: 4 d. orange, Plate II, coarse engraving, a used horizontal pair, slightly stained and one with pre-printing paper fold, boldly cancelled by "72" numeral obliterators of NORFOLK ISLAND in black, in use for less than a year. The Penal Settlement of Norfolk Island was administered from Hobart, its sole external Post Office. Supplies of stamps and numeral cancellation arrived 4 September 1854. The last of the convicts and military establishment were removed from Norfolk Island in May 1855, leaving it uninhabited except for the caretakers. Seven or eight items are known with the "72" numeral, this being the sole multiple - illustrated in "Norfolk Island" by Murray Brown (2012). A unique and outstanding pair.rnrnProvenance: Collection Stephen Bradford, Premier, Melbourne, 9 Nov 2002, lot 87.rn                     Collection D. Macnamee, Prestige, Melbourne, 7 May 2013, lot 360.rnrn