Rob1956
Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW)
08 Apr 2017
02:33:29pm | Old Parliament House, known formerly as the Provisional Parliament House, was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on May 9, 1927 after Parliament's relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra.
Parliament House was officially opened by the Duke York (later to become King George VI), at the day of the opening, stamps were sold at Parliament House to commemorate the historic event.
The "Australian Capital Territory" (ACT) was formerly known as "The Territory for the Seat of Government" and, later, on January 1st 1911, exactly 10 years to the day after Federation Day (the even was also on May 9), the territory was renamed the "Federal Capital Territory" , this is evident on the cancellations shown (F.C.T.), New South Wales ceded 2,360 square kilometres of land including the seaport of Jervis Bay; and in 1938 it was renamed a final time, becoming the "Australian Capital Territory" (ACT) which it is known today.
The following stamps (C.T.O.) were all issued at Parliament House on Opening Day, May 9, 1927 and are quite scarce; the O.S. (Official Service) stamps were never issued to the public; the stamps were for Parliamentary use only.
Top: "O.S." large cancellation "PARLIAMENT HOUSE CANBERRA FCT - 9 MAY 1927" & "CANBERRA FCT" "9 MAY 1927" and an unused "O.S.". It is known that an "O.S." with a small Counter Date Stamp (CDS) exists
Middle: Top left corner block of 10: Large cancellation "PARLIAMENT HOUSE CANBERRA FCT - 9 MAY 1927" with superb circular date cancellations.
Bottom: Block of 4: Large cancellation "CANBERRA FCT - 9 MAY 1927" & Block of 4: Small cancellation "CANBERRA FCT 9 MAY 1927".
The old Parliament House remained the seat of government until 1988, serving Australia for 61 years. Exactly 61 years to the day Queen Elizabeth II opened the new Parliament House effectively closing the chapter on Australia's first Federal Parliament House, it was also the Australian Bi-Centennial year.
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Horamakhet
19 Nov 2017
04:44:47am | re: 1927 Parliament House Opening
  Hi Rob
Thought I might add a picture of my copy of the booklet of these stamps that I purchased in Noumea whilst on a cruise with the family.
The front cover is postmarked Telegraphs Canberra with the issue date.
The inside stamps are postmarked Canberra FCT with the date.
Why would the cover be postmarked differently.
The booklet cost me the equivalent of $5.00 Australia, but some of the stamps are missing.
Regards
Horamakhet
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Rob1956
Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW)
19 Nov 2017
08:45:37am | re: 1927 Parliament House Opening
Hi Franz
A telegraph stamp was used for telegram payments, after the stamp is used a hole is punched through it, in the case of the cover being stamped "Telegraphs Canberra" it may have been a former governmental booklet designated to only be used for telegrams.
They are basically normal stamps put aside for that particular purpose. The stamps with the holes punched into them are scarce.
Rob
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