Hi Kevin, An interesting article. The following is from the HRA and although I did send it to the list many years ago, some of the new listers may be interested. It also explains why the Sydney Gazette often published the names of people for whom mail was waiting to be collected. Post Office ---------------- The Lieutenant Governor Paterson we owe the establishment of the first post office at Sydney. The practice prior to April 1809, had been for captains of vessels to take charge of the mails and hand them to the addressees on application. This primitive system, adequate enough before the birth of trade, soon opened the gate to fraud. Personation became easy. Masters of vessels had in most instances no personal knowledge of the applicants; and when the individual, for whom the letter was intended, applied, he found that it had already been delivered to another. To rectify this, Paterson notified, in an Order dated 25th April 1809, that Mr Isaac Nichols (then assistant to the naval officer) was to take charge of all letters etc. His private home was to be the post office. This was before the days of prepayment by postage stamps; and Paterson fixed the following scale of charges which had to be paid at the Sydney, or receiving, end, before a letter would be delivered, viz:- Every letter - 1 shilling Parcels under 20lb - 2s and sixpence Parcels over 20lb - 5 s Soldiers letters - 1 penny Lists were ordered to be published in the Sydney Gazette of the names of persons for whom letters or parcels were waiting. Macquarie endorsed this act of Paterson's in an Order dated 23rd June 1810. He slightly reduced the charges, and made provision for letters from any part of the territory (this would include VDL) for which the charge was to be fourpence. Isaac Nichols was continued in his position and his home in High Street (now George Street) remained the office. Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html -----Original Message----- From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Kevin and Sandra Wilson Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 11:01 PM To: aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com Subject: [PJ] Thief Was the First Postie - Isaac NICHOLS 100 years in 1909 A recent story from the Courier Mail in Brisbane Qld (3 March 2009, page 43) Thief Was the First Postie Australia Post had a colourful beginning when a convict was appointed our first postmaster. Mail theft prompted the birth of Australia's postal service - but, ironically, the first man appointed as postmaster was a convicted thief. The Lieutenant Governor of the time deemed the new service a necessity because of frequent stealing of mail from incoming ships and appointed former convict Isaac Nichols to take charge of all mail arriving in the colony of New South Wales. That appointment, on April 25, 1809, heralded the start of a formal postal service in the fledging colony.