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. A general order in the Sydney Gazette read: "the Lieutenant Governor , in order to prevent the practice of such frauds in future, has been pleased to establish an office at which all parcels and letters addressed to the inhabitants of this colony shall be deposited, previous to their distribution." Nichols had been transported to NSW for stealing, but so impressed the authorities with his hard work during his seven-year sentence that he was appointed chief overseer of convict labourers. After his release he opened an inn on Sydney's George St, acquired more than 500ha of land, established a shipyard and was named superintendent of public works a month before becoming postmaster. After being appointed the colony's postmaster, Nichols opened Australia's first post office at his Sydney home and advertised the names of all mail recipients in the Gazette. Those listed could collect their letters from his home at the fixed price of a shilling a letter, with parcels costing more depending on weight. High-ranking members of the community received personal deliveries. In 1828, Australia's first postman began delivering letters around town and in 1831 the first posting boxes for letters appeared. Stamps were not required because the recipient paid for the letters, not the sender. Pre-paid stamped letter sheets were introduced in 1838, two years before the world's first adhesive postage stamp. England's famous Penny Black, but at a cost of one shilling and threepence a dozen it was expensive and people still preferred to make the addressee pay. Prepayment of mail became compulsory in the 1850s. In 1852, Victoria was the first to make stamps compulsory. (There is a coloured sketch of Isaac Nichols in the article) Plenty more can be found on a google search. Kind Regards Kevin Wilson Brisbane QLD

"The Stamp of Australia" is the story of how Australians have told the world and each other what it's like to be Australian. In 1809, Governor Lachlan Macquarie appointed a thief as Australia's first Postmaster. This man, convicted - according to legend - of stealing a donkey, started a business that today is worth billions of dollars and touches every Australian. "The Stamp of Australia" will commemorate the 2009 Bicentenary of Australia's oldest institution. It is a snapshot of Australia's history during the tumultuous eras of a new colony as it evolved from convict settlement to a prosperous and proud nation. The Post Office has been actively and intimately involved in all that has happened in this country since European settlement, coping with gold rushes, huge influxes of immigrants and several wars as well as rapid and dramatic changes in technology. Without following a strict timeline, "The Stamp of Australia" will use a Presenter-cum-storyteller to lead our audience through a landscape of fascinating stories and heroic deeds of the pioneers who made the Post Office prosper: the men and women who conquered the tyranny of distance so the mail always got through. http://www.historychannel.com.au/tv-shows/showDetails.aspx?show=300 THE STAMP OF AUSTRALIA FOXTEL WORLD PREMIERE Part 1: ISAAC'S BABY - 23 MARCH 7.30PM (AEDT) Part 2: ISAAC'S LEGACY - 30 MARCH 7.30PM (AEDT)