issue no. 18 june 2016 -...
TRANSCRIPT
2 0° I 0’
Issue No. 18 – JUNE 2016
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE MAURITIUS PHILATELIC SOCIETY
20° I0’
Issue No. 18 – June 2016 Contents Monthly Society Meetings ………………………………………………………………………………….……………..……….. 1
Operation Mars Observer …………………………………………….………………………………………..…………………… 5
Management Committee Meetings ………………………………..………………………………………………………….. 7
Stamp Programme 2016 & 2015 …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
Definitive Stamps/Commemorative Stamps ....…..…………………....…………………………………………..…… 10
Philately in Independent Mauritius ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
To Err is Divine ……..……………………………………………….…………………………………….………………………..….. 19
Annual General Meeting 2016………………………………………………………………………..…………………………… 20
Accounts Schedules 2015 …….…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Central Flacq Post Office/”Post Office” News/Corrigendum/2016 Management Committee …….. 25
They Came to Mauritius …. David Livingstone 1813-1873 ……….……………………………………….…….…….. 26
David Livingstone Stamps …….…..………….……………………………………………………………………………….……. 27
International Anti-corruption Day/Society Meetings 2016/Update ……………………………………………. 28
The Metered Transition of a Bank ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29
The Press and The Post ………………………………………………………………………….…………….….…………………. 30
Note that stamps and illustrations are not necessarily shown actual size.
OPERATION MARS OBSERVER - See page 5
20°I0’ is a publication of the Mauritius Philatelic Society Written and Edited by Mico W Antoine P.O. Box 89, Quatre Bornes, Mauritius www.mauritiusphilatelicsociety.com
[email protected] ©Mauritius Philatelic Society 2016
Note: The material contained in this publication has been compiled and collated in good faith for general information and no liability can be accepted for errors and omissions.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 1
MONTHLY SOCIETY MEETINGS
Five monthly society meetings were held as
scheduled and on time between January and June
2016. All the meetings were held at College du St
Esprit, Sir Virgil Naz Avenue, Quatre Bornes at 14:00
hours, one hour after the monthly management
committee meetings which are also held at the
same venue.
JANUARY
The society did not hold the usual members
monthly meeting during the first month of 2016.
The January interruption has now become a not
unusual tradition. Almost everyone in Mauritius
takes a break at the beginning of each year.
The management committee met on
23rd January 2016 at 13:00 hours at the residence of
the president at 3A La Louise Avenue, Quatre
Bornes. The affairs of the society for the whole of
2015 were reviewed. Proposals for the new year
were examined, the programme for 2016 was
discussed and the agenda of the first quarter
established.
Two important resolutions were taken; the
date of the annual general meeting was fixed for
5th March 2016 and it was decided that the society’s
website be managed, operated and developed from
Mauritius as soon as the transfer from Australia was
completed.
FEBRUARY
The first members monthly meeting of
2016 was held on 6th February. The convocations
dated 27th January 2016 were mailed from
L’escalier post office on the 26th. The agenda listed
three items; a review of 2015 stamps by
A N Maderbokus, postal history of 2015 and the
invitation to members to show their acquisitions
and additions to their collections during 2015.
A N Maderbokus castigated the postal
services for their dismal handling of the 2015
stamps programme. The four single stamps of the
four issues, the inclusion of the unprogrammed
Jeux des Iles event, the French-Mauritius joint ship
issue, the risk reduction disaster and the racks and
shelves archives stamps. The non compliance with
the listed cabinet approved November
anniversaries issue and the non issue of the
December Flora and Fauna set as well as not
respecting listed issue dates was staggering. 2015
has been the worst and poorest year since the
incorporation of Mauritius Post in so far as the
annual stamp programme was concerned
notwithstanding the release of a new printing of an
Indigenous Flowers Rs 7.00 stamp.
There was not much to show or talk about
the postal history of Mauritius either apart for a
couple of publicity handstamps. There was no
Mauritius Post annual newsletter available and
therefore not much to report on the performance
or non performance of the corporation in 2015.
A N Maderbokus showed some of his 2015
acquisitions which included a couple of bills of
lading, some B53 items, a 19th century packet letter
and some entires. S Mungra presented some
recently acquired historical postcards of Mauritius
and modern incoming registered covers from
Argentina, Italy and the UK all clearly struck with
postmarks of dispatching postal authorities and
received in Mauritius with poor Port
Louis/Mauritius datestamps on arrival.
Mico Antoine showed additional material
on the 300 years of débarquement des Français à
l’Ile Maurice stamps from French sources which
included the French pochette. He also presented a
range of metered covers on the banking sector.
(1) The South East Asian Bank and Bramer
Bank franking machine meter and the collapse,
mergers, take overs and whatever of the
“nationalised” Bramer Bank with the Mauritius Post
and Cooperative Bank, the name change to
National Commercial Bank and the consolidation
into Maubank with their various Neopost meter
franks were shown. The Mauritius Post and
Cooperative Bank in which Mauritius Post was the
main shareholder is no more and Mauritius Post at
the end of 2015 is effectively broke. The old Post
Office Savings Bank was never ever broke not even
after a run on the bank in 2004 when small savers
rushed to withdraw their meagre savings after an
impulsive government decision to close down the
Post Office Savings Bank and in the process damage
not only the bank but also the General Post Office
(1) See page 29
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 2
with politically inspired management appoint-
ments.
The first meeting of 2016 began rather well
with an attendance of 16 members and good sales
lists. Fine sweets and refreshments provided by
A N Maderbokus who missed the December 2015
meeting more than made amends for his absence.
MARCH
The annual general meeting was held on 5th
March. The convocation was posted from Britannia
post office on 24th February. The convocation listed
the items of the AGM agenda and nothing else. No
backdrop display was announced.
Four of the six display units however were
filled with a range of modern picture postcards of
Mauritius. After the completion of AGM business all
the members remained to view and to discuss the
display of special postcards. The fifth board was
used for recent commercial covers and one board
carried the accounts, budget and other AGM
schedules.
Most of the postcards which were mainly of
sets of special limited editions included the
following:
- A series of 8 Maison coloniale, peinture à
l’huile by Françoise Nozaïc.
- R. Temple’s early years of the British
occupation of Mauritius produced by the
Mauritius Museum Council from the
original watercolours in the Institute’s
collection.
- R. Temple’s scenes of Port Louis in sepia
from the MMC collection.
- L’APEIM, L’Association de parents d’enfants
inadaptés de l’Ile Maurice, fund raising
postcards of 19th century Mauritius by T.
Bradshaw, A. Richard and Sainson.
- Municipality of Curepipe’s centenary pack
of 20 sepia postcards produced in 1990 to
mark the occasion.
- The Post and Telegraph departments set of
four sepia postcards of post offices issued
in 1991.
- The Postal Services series of stamps on
postcards of the Trochetia, Model Ships
and Bicentenary of Mahebourg issues.
- The Mauritius Philatelic Society’s 1991 pair
of Joseph Osmond Barnard postcards.
- The April 2006 Chagos Archipelago “CRG
Historical visit to our motherland …” set of
10 postcards.
- The B.I.O.T. 2004 Birds definitive 12 stamps
postcard set.
- La Sentinelle Ltd one dozen set of Père Laval
postcards and other Père Laval postcards.
- Other single once only postcards such as
the Pope John Paul visit postcard and
aircraft postcards.
- And finally the souvenir postcards on
fauna, flora and paintings and other
material in the collection of the Mauritius
Museum Council sold only in their outlets.
No commercial picture postcard produced
for the tourist market were shown.
Many members collect the black and white
“historical picture postcards” of Mauritius of yester
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 3
years, several members collect more modern
special postcards and others collect both. The
backdrop display was appropriate for an AGM. No
presentation was necessary as members simply
gaped, gasped and asked questions.
Some of the more modern postcards of
Mauritius are much more difficult to find than older
classics – try to collect some of the moderns and
find out for yourselves.
After all AGM business was completed
board number 1 was cleared and a rather surprising
small collection of Mauritius cinderellas and
fantasies was affixed to the freed space. These
items included a couple of Lapirots, and Edward VII
King’s Head set of 9 stamps from 4 cents to
Rs 10.00, a George VI King’s Head definitive of 14
values, Queen Elizabeth II denominations of
Rs 20.00 and Rs 50.00 as well as QE II “Queen’s
Head” set of 10. There were also several unadopted
essays, overprints and perforation fantasies. Most
of our members had not seen this type of stuff
before and lots of questions were asked and
cinderellas and fantasies were explained.
18 members attended the annual general
meeting of 2016 – a very good turnout.
APRIL
The April meeting was held on the 2nd of the
month at 14:00 hours. The agenda listed three
items namely Postage Due/More to Pay, British
Indian Ocean Territory UK stamps and USA covers
and an aspect of Mauritius. The convocation was
posted to members on 24th March from Rivière du
Poste post office.
A full range of inland commercial covers
from August 2015 to March 2016 tracing the non
collection of the adjustment of fees on returned to
sender mail as well as other non compliance with
procedures for the correct application of correct
charges following the revision of postage rates on
1st August 2015 were shown. Mauritius Post
Instruction No 32/2015 of 7th August 2015 was
revisited and fully analysed (see 20o10’ No 17
December 2015). No incorrectly machine metered
franks nor Neopost digital impressions have been
seen after September 2015 however Rs 7.00
instead of Rs 10.00 inland letters continued to be
delivered without the insufficient postage being
collected before acceptance nor at delivery. Not a
single cover with actual “postage due” postage
stamps have yet been recorded since 1st August
2015. It stands therefore that no genuine postage
due covers affixed with “postage due” postage
stamps in compliance with Instruction No 32/2015
exist. Should any cover postmarked between
August 2015 and March 2016 turn up they will be of
very doubtful origin no matter how well they are
doctored.
All the listed stamps of B.I.O.T. from 1965
to 1976 and a selection of stamps from 1990 to
2015 were shown. USA-FPO, Diego Garcia,
philatelic covers serviced by the USPS carried from
and returned to Mauritius by the US Air Force and
philatelic and Official First Day Covers from B.I.O.T.
Post Office on the atoll were shown. The F.P.O.
cachets and datestamps were from 1974 to 2007
with the various designation changes and the
British covers mainly from the 1990s to more recent
times. Some of the philatelic covers were of
Mauritius Philatelic Society origin. Mico Antoine
gave a talk on the display.
An aspect of Mauritius was mostly about a
particular “Roland Garros” signed flown cover of
1937 and some postal history of the colonial period.
The society has come across a fair number of
“Roland Garros” covers and at least two members
in the room own between them over 20 of these
covers.
Another matter dealt with was the three
points raised by Valery Chavyrko of Russia, a friend
of the society, on the 40c on 75c value change local
overprint of 1993, the Rs 7.00 Indigenous Flowers
new printing of 9th June 2015 and the Independence
Street address on a 1965 cover.
A very good range of material were on offer
in the spot auction and three purchase lists. One list
was made up of 20 Official FDCs put on sale
exceptionally at the request of a particular
member. Cinderellas and fantasies of Mauritius
sold well.
MAY
The May meeting was held on Saturday
7th May and the convocations were posted from
Camp Diable post office on 27th April 2016. The
agenda was of two topics namely Aerophilatelic
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 4
stamps world wide and flown covers of Mauritius
and an aspect of Mauritius.
Derek Taylor presented a comprehensive
display of aerophilatelic flown covers of Mauritius,
pioneer flights, “Roland Garros” and “Raid Samat”
covers, 100th Anniversary of the Madagascar-
Reunion-Mauritius covers in both directions,
Imperial Airways GUBA and Qantas covers.
Commercial airline first flight covers to and from
Mauritius by Lufthansa, BOAC, Air France, South
African Airways, Air India, Swissair, Air Mauritius as
well as flown covers by private institutions and aero
clubs such as new aircraft delivery flights and US Air
Force flights. Other aero material include censored
WW II aerogrammes and early air mail covers,
modern aerogrammes, postcards and photographs
of Plaisance airport from 1945 to 2015 and the pilot
licence to fly “any kind of flying machine” of a family
member. Derek gave a fairly detailed account of his
aviation collection as well as anecdotes and insights
on his role in some aspects of the development of
civil aviation in Mauritius.
Mico Antoine helped out with an
arrangement of a modern worldwide range of
aircraft and aviation material and stamps such as
covers of several African countries, two Royal Air
Force (RAF) military aircraft series and some rather
special flown covers such as the Catovair Mauritius-
Rodrigues-Mauritius inaugural flight of
1st September 2005 and the 1992 USA “The Beast”
Operation Mars Observer flight cover signed by the
crew.
The four unit aerophilately display did not allow any
space for the aspect of Mauritius announced in the
agenda, this item was carried forward to another
occasion.
The notice board however was full of
philatelic news which included a new feature of the
society, the first “Quarterly Updates” of March
2016, the Hong Kong November 2015/31st Asian
International Stamp Exhibition/Certificate of
Award/Large Silver for the Mauritius Philatelic
Society 25th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine, news
reports on paralysis at Mauritius Post and pages
from the 2015 annal of Mauritius Post dated March
2016. The fancy financial evolution graphs and pie
charts on page 7 could not conceal the dire
financial state of the corporatised institution.
Also shown were a range of commercial
inland covers comfirming the hopelessness of the
unmanageable postmark problems of the postal
services, the inconsistency in Neopost digital users
identifications abbreviation and a UK to Mauritius
“Missent to Jamaica” airmail postcard which posted
on 4th April arrived at destination on 2nd May 2016.
The auction offered 22 lots and the two
purchase lists a total of 40 items.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 5
A low turnout, an exceptional display of a
popular subject, excellent sales on a fine day and
the horse racing in full swing, is what the May
meeting was about.
OPERATION MARS OBSERVER
USAF Advanced Range Instrumental Aircraft (ARIA) modified
EC18B (Boeing 707) based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Ohio
arrived at SSR International Airport Mauritius on Tuesday
22nd September 1992.
On Friday 25th September, the aircraft nicknamed "The
Beast” monitored the flight of “Mars Observer” launched that day
from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The ARIA took off from SSRI Airport at
17.30 hrs for a point approximately 200 miles south of Madagascar
and returned on Saturday at 00.40 hrs (26/9/92).
During the flight of 7 hours and 10 minutes, the aircraft accomplished its mission of observation and
transmission of data of the launch of “Mars Observer”. 12 covers were carried on the flight by John GIESEKE of
the U.S Embassy of Mauritius and were signed by five members of the mission. They were: Leon SHAFER -
mission command, Doc HANKINS - mission surgeon, John SHREVE, Ed BELLUM and John HAMBEL, mission
specialists.
The covers are postmarked at SSR international Airport 3 PM 25 SP 92 and are embossed with the seal of the
Embassy of the United States Port Louis Mauritius. “The Beast” left Mauritius on 27th September 1992.
W.M.A
See Contents page
ARIA modified EC18B at SSR International Airport, Plaisance, Mauritius
JUNE
The June meeting was held on the 4th of the
month at 14:00 hours. The convocation posted
from Camp Diable on 27th April together with May
convocation, mentioned an audio and video
presentation on Mauritian philately and the 1994
“Mammals of Mauritius – the story behind the
stamps”. The audio and video item was rescheduled
for August and the second item was enlarged to
accommodate the story behind the “250th
Anniversary of the wreck of St Geran” 1994 and the
“150th Anniversary of the Mauritius Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (MCCI) 2000
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 6
commemoratives.The reason for the rescheduling
was the publication by Weekend of three important
philatelic articles during May. These were the David
Livingstone visit to Mauritius titled “Le séjour de
l’explorateur écossais David Livingstone à Maurice
en 1856” on 1st May 2016 and “Le cas du Mauritius
Post Office” in two parts on 8th and 29th May.
The society highly recommends that our
members, friends and readers make the effort to
consult these articles for their own philatelic and
historical enhancement.
The rather long first part of the “Post
Office” two page “case” is about the two most
famous stamps in the world. No sourced
bibliographic acknowledgements are made yet
postal historians and writers such as Peter
Ibbotson, Arnold Rudge, Helen Morgan and others
have sifted through lots of guesswork and
suppositions. They have firmly establish fact from
fiction. It is however Georges Brunel engaged by a
stamp dealer to write up the “Post Office” stamps
who is quoted at length. He gave full vent to his
fertile mind on imagined blunders and twisted
second-hand information from unreliable
Mauritian sources to satisfy his fantasies. His
sensational exaggerations were not unlike that of a
contemporary local scribe’s recent rantings.
Equally long Part II is about the “Post
Office” to “Post Paid” change. Once again no
bibliographic acknowledgement but for a long
extract from one of those local experts, Christian Le
Conte. The supposed correction of the “historic
error” argument and the “preeminence” of the
French “Bordeaux Cover” without any reference to
the indian “Bombay Cover” are some of the bias
that characterises the two articles. The “Bombay
Cover” is the cover that was dubbed “the crown
jewel of philately” before any other
Commonwealth philatelic item and not the
“Bordeaux cover”. There is absolutely nothing new
or original in these articles about the first primitive
classics of Mauritius.
Emmanuel Richon, curator of the Blue
Penny Museum, simply repeats what has been
written by others. The only merit of the “Post
Office” articles is that they were published in
French for a fairly naïve postal history readership.
Those who know, know better!
Photographs of “Paul’s buckle” and “Virginie’s thimble” found at the site of the wreck
Photographs from which the Mammals Rs 10.00 stamp was drawn
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 7
The story behind the three sets of stamps
was about the stamps themselves and the
reference material used for the preparation of the
artwork by professional stamp designers abroad in
two cases and by a local graphic artist in one case.
The mammals set was drawn from actual
photographs of the animals. The wreck of the Saint
Geran Rs 10.00 stamp was designed from
photographs of “Virginie’s thimble” and “Paul’s
buckle”. The ship’s bell was from a photograph of
the Mauritius Museum Council. The ship leaving
Lorient was from the photograph of a painting
provided by a museum in St Malo France and the
ship in a storm from a woodcut print. The Mauritius
Chamber of Commerce and Industry set was
designed locally by Hans Offman to the
specification of the MCCI. The then president and
secretary general of the MCCI are today members
of the Mauritius Philatelic Society. Between 1993
and 1996 the editor was involved in all decisions
taken by the government ministry responsible for
the postal services in matters regarding the official
postage stamps and philatelic policy of Mauritius.
That was then – today is now!
The turnout for the June meeting was
rather low at 14 even if sales which included some
Mauritius cinderellas and fantasies were good.
Proposed unadopted design Adopted design
* * * * *
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MEETINGS
Management committee meetings are held
once a month on the first Saturday of the month at
13:00 hours at College du St Esprit, Sir Virgil Naz
Avenue, Quatre Bornes except for the month of
January when the meetings are held mostly at the
residence of the president in La Louise.
The management committee is made up of
nine members and the attendance of five members
out of nine committee members constitutes the
quorum. The quorum was assured by the presence
of 6, 7, 8, 6, 6, 8 at the six meetings between
January and June 2016.
Mauritius Philatelic Society Forthright Reliable
23rd JANUARY 2016
The minutes of 5th December 2015 were
approved on a proposition of Alain Louis
seconded by Arnaud Guibert.
The 5th December 2015 members meeting
was reviewed.
The Annual General Meeting was fixed for
5th March 2016.
The transfer of e-files from Australia to
Mauritius have been completed and the
data is being scrutinized and updated.
S Mungra and A Guibert were designated as
joint managers of the website.
The society’s Mauritius e-mail address has
been registered and will be incorporated in
the letterhead.
The draft of newsletter 20o10’ No. 16 was
shown. It will be issued late due to a
complete review and reformat.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 8
The February 2016 members meeting
agenda was fixed.
The case of a non-member’s presence at
successive recent meetings was raised.
The six committee members at the meeting
agreed to stand for election at the March
AGM.
6th FEBRUARY 2016
The minutes of 23rd January were approved
on a proposition of Jean Auguste seconded
by Mico Antoine.
Preparation for the Annual General
Meeting of 5th March 2016 were discussed
in depth. Drafts of the budget, accounts,
membership list, the press notice and the
agenda were examined. Other related
matters were assessed.
Committee members were requested to, at
the very least, answer their “missed calls”
from other committee members as well as
from “unknown” members. There have
been complaints.
The society’s website transfer was
evaluated and it was reported that as from
1st April 2016 all business will be conducted
exclusively from Mauritius.
5th MARCH 2016
The minutes of meeting of 6th February
were approved on a proposition of
A N Maderbokus seconded by T Dieudonné.
The February members meeting was
assessed.
The president and the secretary advised
that everything was ready for holding the
Annual General Meeting.
The president and the secretary were
designated to meet the Port Louis City
Council librarian to discuss the future of the
stamp club.
One individual and two institutions were
proposed as guests of the society during
the second half of 2016.
The suggestion that selected articles
published during the last 25 years by the
society be reviewed and revised for
publication in future newsletters was
examined.
A progress report of the work on the
website was made.
The new quarterly update project was
given the go ahead. The four annual
updates will only be available on the
website as from April 2016.
2nd APRIL 2016
The minutes of 5th March were approved
on a proposition of S Mungra seconded by
A Guibert.
A report on the 2016 Annual General
Meeting was discussed. All went well, all
business were carried out, all returns have
been filed or lodged with the appropriate
authorities within the prescribed dates. A
supporting display by A N Maderbokus and
M Antoine served as a backdrop to the
AGM.
The president and the secretary met with
the librarian of the Port Louis Municipal
Council on 18th March. A further meeting
was proposed before the end of May.
The May and June 2016 members meeting
agendas were fixed.
The e-mail and website address were now
on all the society’s documents.
The No. 1 Quarterly Update and the No. 16
20o10’ were under control.
No decisions were taken with regard to
guest speakers.
The auditor was presented with a copy of
the Society’s 25th Anniversary Souvenir
Magazine.
The membership position was discussed.
7th MAY 2016
The minutes of 2nd April were approved on
a proposition of Alain Louis seconded by
A. Guibert.
A report on the April meeting was
considered.
The attendance at the February, March
and April meetings averaged 16 members
per meeting. The topics and displays were
of a high standard with material of good
quality offered for sale.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 9
It was noted that no new members joined
the society between January and April
2016.
PayPal payment arrangements were
approved.
The disposal of a collection of Official First
Day Covers by a member was studied and
it was decided that no special priviledge
would be extended to the vendor.
A meeting of the Port Louis Municipality
Stamp Club was fixed for 28th May 2016 at
the Freddy Desvaux Polyvalent Centre at
Cassis.
The decision on a guest speaker was
deferred.
4th JUNE 2016
The minutes of meeting of 7th May 2016
was approved on a proposal of Jean
Auguste seconded by Alain Louis.
The May meeting display by Derek Taylor
on Mauritian Aerophilately was of the
highest standard.
The July topic by Alain Louis on digital
frankings was approved. A video show was
scheduled for August and a guest speaker
for September was subject to confirmation.
October and November themes were left
open. The December Agenda to be the
usual overview of 2016 and members
hobbies other than philately. The holding of
six members meetings for the second half
of 2016 was confirmed.
A website and e-mail utilization report was
scrutinized.
The 28th May meeting of some 30 children
and 3 minders of the Port Louis
Municipality Stamp Club was held as
scheduled.
The June 2015 No. 16 20o10’ was
programmed for distribution in July 2016
almost one year later than planned.
A N Maderbokus offered to order 12 SG
Indian Ocean catalogues, 3rd Edition 2016,
on behalf of the members.
Noëllie Chang Kai On was admitted as a
member of the society and the presence of
the non member raised in January resolved.
STAMP PROGRAMME 2016
The 8th item of the Cabinet decision of
25th March 2016 approved the issue of postage
stamps of Mauritius for the year as follows:
(a) Fresh Water Fauna in Mauritius
(b) Endorsement of the Sustainable Development
Goals
(c) Maritime Air Squadron (New Dornier Aircraft)
(d) Nature Walks
(e) Fresh Water Flora in Mauritius
(f) World Diabetes Day
Mauritius Post subsequently posted the
decision on its website, as is, without any additional
data such as themes, number of stamps per issue,
date of release and other details. No Mauritius Post
2016 “Stamp Programme” was produced nor
available from the Philatelic Bureau as official
letterheaded handouts.
STAMP PROGRAMME 2015
The stamp programme listed four “themes”
for the year 2015 as follows:
(i) Natural Disaster (ii) Historical Events
(iii) Anniversaries (iv) Fauna and Flora. Only two and
a half out of the four “themes” were eventually
issued. One of the two listed Anniversaries stamp to
mark the 100th Birth Anniversary of Joseph Guy
Rozemont scheduled for November 2015 and the
whole of the Flora and Fresh Water Fauna set
scheduled for December 2015 were not produced.
These “two themes” (iii, iv) were proposed by the
S.A.C. (Stamp Advisory Committee) in 2014. Either
Cabinet decisions in Mauritius are worth what they
are worth or nothing really works any more. Only
four commemorative stamps were issued in 2015.
Mauritius Philatelic Society
1989 – 2016 Over 27 years of Mauritian philatelic
history
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 10
DEFINITIVE STAMPS
Three new printings of the 2009 Indigenous
Flowers of Mauritius definitive stamps were printed
in 2016 and released in Mauritius during the month
of May on the following dates:
Rs 3.00 Myonima obovata 31st May 2016
Rs 8.00 Distephanus populifolius 24th May 2016
Rs 25.00 Roussea simplex 24th May 2016
The three new stamps are imprinted with
the year 2016 in the bottom stamp margin.
The Rs 3.00 denomination pays the little
used C.O.P. (Certificate of Posting) fee, the Rs 8.00
stamp pays the charges for the overseas surface
mail 20 gms letter rate to India and the Rs 25.00
value will be affixed to copies of birth certificates as
a fiscal charge.
Mauritius Post has long ago lost its way in
controlling its stamp issuing and usage policy.
Definitive stamps are no longer stamps issued for
use over a long period for regular postage unlike a
commemorative stamp. In Mauritius today
commemorative stamps are produced in
disproportionately large quantities with all kinds of
unrelated to postal charges denominations
whereas definitives are hardly produced for
meeting regular usage.
The Rs 10.00 denomination of the original
definitive printing has never been printed anew nor
a new denomination of Rs 27.00 stamp to meet the
standard inland letter registered rate. With the
abysmal low stocks of definitives from 2009 to 2015
these stamps are no longer supplied to post offices
in Mauritius. Mauritius Post has turned everything
upside down by operating almost exclusively with
commemorative stamps. The whole system has
broken down.
COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
A single stamp was issued on 9th May 2016
to mark the formal adoption of the 17 sustainable
development goals of the United Nations 15 years
agenda for the period 2015-2030 – taken on the
25th September 2015.
The stamp incorporates the title of the
occasion and the United Nations logo against a
plain white background. It was released to coincide
with the visit of the Secretary General of the UN Ban
Ki-moon to Mauritius.
The technical details:
Graphic works : Mauritius Post
Denomination : Rs 27.00
Format : Landscape (horizontal)
Stamp size : 44.45 x 29.94 mm
Printer : BDT International Security Printing Ltd
Printing process : Lithography
Watermark : w18
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 11
Sheet format : Two panes of 25 stamps separated
by a central gutter
Perforation : 14
The front of the folded data card or insert is
headed Together for Sustainable Development –
Mauritius UN Office with a People / Planet /
Prosperity / Partnership / Peace logo and a short
write up. Details of the 17 point goals clutter the
whole of the inner surface of the unfolded card in
small print. The technical details and the UN logo
are found on the backside of the card.
The Official First Day Cover is over
illustrated with 17 graphic symbols of the UN goals
and a quote from the Secretary General - much
more colourful than the stamp!
The unimaginative stamp is cancelled with
the 27 mm double circle circular First Day of Issue /
Mauritius datestamp at 8:15 AM on 9th May 2016
(8:15AM / 9 MY / 16). A United Nations / Mauritius
logo is found in the right bottom corner of the
OFDC. No other cachet, cancelling nothing, is
applied to the cover. The logo of Mauritius Post is
imprinted on the gumless back flap.
The denomination Rs 27.00 is the standard
inland combined postage (Rs 10.00) and register fee
(Rs 17.00). The stamp should at the very least
propagate the UN goals message within Mauritius
as the Rs 27.00 value is the second most extensively
utilized rate after the inland letter rate of Rs 10.00.
The OFDC priced at Rs 70.00 went on sale in
Mauritius as from 9th May 2016.
FRESHWATER FAUNA
Scheduled for December 2015 as “Flora and
Fresh Water Fauna” the Freshwater Fauna set of
four stamps were released on 6th June 2016.
The stamps feature respectively
Re 1.00 Giant Mottled Eel / Anguilla
marmorata
Rs 10.00 Water Scorpion / Laccotrephes
annulipes
Rs 18.00 Nile Tilapia / Oreochromis niloticus
Rs 32.00 Freshwater Shrimp /
Macrobrachium lar
The technical details are :
Graphic works : Mauritius Post
Format : Landscape (horizontal)
Stamp size : 44.45 x 29.94 mm
Printer : BDT International Security Printing Ltd
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 12
Printing process : Lithography
Watermark : w18
Sheet format : Two panes of 25 separated by
a central gutter
Perforation : 14
The folded data card contains relevant
information on the four species with appropriate
acknowledgements.
The Official First Day Cover is illustrated
with the photograph of a local waterway. The four
stamps are affixed to the right of the cover. The
stamps are cancelled with a single strike of the
standard 27 mm First Day of Issue / Mauritius
double circle circular datestamp at 8:15 AM on 6th
June 2016 (8:15AM / 6 JU / 16). A superfluous
double ringed special cachet measuring 30 mm and
reading Freshwater Fauna / Mauritius Post within
the inner circle and the date 06 June / 2016 in two
lines is struck in the centre of the cover between
the stamps and the illustration cancelling nothing.
The logo of Mauritius Post is imprinted on the
gumless back flap.
The Official First Day Cover went on sale at
Rs 120.00 per unit in Mauritius on Monday 6th June
2016.
The Re 1 denomination is a fractional value
which will be seen on mail where needed to round
off a rated charge. The stamp has been recorded on
a Certificate of Posting (C.O.P.) of Rs 3.00 in other
words 3 x Re 1 stamps to pay a small fee instead of
a single Rs 3.00 stamp from the Indigenous Flowers
definitive set.
Rs 10.00 stamps will be used extensively to
pay the standard inland letter rate.
The Rs 18.00 denomination will be seen
almost exclusively on overseas airmail postcards
(size 105 mm x 148 mm) only and very rarely as an
additional stamp to make up a specific rate.
Rs 32.00 stamps will be rarely seen used on
inland mail, most of these stamps will be used on
mail destined for overseas destinations.
Visit the Society website for the Quarterly Updates
March – June – September - December
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 13
PHILATELY IN INDEPENDENT MAURITIUS
A. Jean-Claude Montocchio
FIFTY YEARS OF LOCAL MANAGEMENT: AN
ASSESSMENT (I)
Before departing from Mauritius in 1968, the
British gradually bequeathed to the Mauritian
authorities the fairly highly efficient administrative
institutions and services in the different fields that they
had been in charge of until then. Fifty years of decision-
making responsibilities later, the record of that legacy
is mixed. Certain areas – such as telecommunications
– have made strong progress, whereas others – water
supply – have not moved forward at all, and still others
have declined. Among the latter areas, one finds the
management of Mauritian philately.
In all fairness to those entrusted in 1968 with
the responsibility to get this sector to keep
progressing, one must say that the British left behind
them a record of strong reputation for our philately at
international level. Since 1859, the stamps and other
philatelic items issued in Mauritius had generally been
ordered, designed, printed and forwarded through the
Crown Agents, whose representatives outsourced
their design and production to competent
professionals in Britain. This reputation was founded
to a large extent on the "Post Office" initiative of 1847:
on their own, the two stamps issued that same year
conferred a second to none dimension to ensuing
issues of stamps and various philatelic items of
Mauritius that came out until independence.
Thus, for nearly 110
years, Mauritius boasted fine
series of stamps and postal
stationery. Those were no
doubt of the very classical
type, but they were all the
same free from errors and
slippages in terms of graphics
and spelling except for the 20
cents of George VI series of 1950 for which the name
“Virginie” was spelt as “Virginia”.
At the time of independence, the country was
entrusted with the strong responsibility of maintaining
and perpetuating this flagship of our colonial period.
All in all, it has fared relatively well, at least until the
middle of the first 2000 decade. Rather unfortunately
BILAN DE 50 ANS DE GESTION
MAURICIENNE (I)
Avant même leur départ de Maurice en 1968,
les Britanniques nous avaient graduellement légué des
services administratifs performants dans les différents
domaines dont ils avaient la charge jusqu’alors.
Cinquante ans de prise de responsabilités plus tard, le
bilan de cet héritage est mitigé. Certains domaines –
tels les télécommunications – ont progressé
fortement, certains autres – tel la fourniture d’eau –
sont toujours strictement au même point, et d’autres
encore ont régressé. Parmi ces derniers, on trouve la
gestion de la philatélie de Maurice.
À la décharge de ceux à qui a été confiée la
responsabilité de faire avancer ce secteur en 1968, il
faut reconnaître que les Britanniques nous avaient
laissé un dossier de forte renommée internationale.
Les timbres et autres objets philatéliques émis à
Maurice étaient généralement commandés, conçus,
imprimés et expédiés à travers les « Crown Agents »,
qui eux-mêmes en confiaient le design et la production
à de véritables professionnels en Grande-Bretagne.
Cette renommée avait été bâtie sur dans une mesure
appréciable sur l’initiative relative aux « Post Office »
de 1847 : à eux seuls, les deux timbres émis cette
année-là ont conféré une dimension hors pair aux
timbres et aux divers objets philatéliques de Maurice
jusqu’à l’indépendance.
Ainsi, pendant près de 110 ans, l’île Maurice
s’est enorgueillie de belles séries de timbres et
d’éléments de papeterie postale, très classiques
certes, mais dépourvus d’erreurs et de lapsus à
caractère graphique et orthographique à l’exception
du timbre de 20 sous de l’émission « George VI » de
1950, dans lequel le nom « Virginie » a été mal
orthographié en « Virginia ».
Au moment de l’indépendance, le pays héritait
donc d’une forte responsabilité en matière de
maintien et de perpétuation de ce fleuron de notre
patrimoine. Si, dans l’ensemble, le pays s’en est
relativement bien tiré, du moins jusqu’au milieu des
années 2000, un nombre relativement élevé d’erreurs
et de manquements, parfois grossiers, dans la gestion
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 14
however, several errors and failures – some of them
quite significant – in design, printing and management
have marred the consistency of initiatives and have
abated the overall level of the collection's standing.
Let it be said bluntly: the unspoken and the
politically correct language that prevails in Mauritius,
the weakness of knowledge in some fields and lack of
a critical mind among so many Mauritians often
provide an opportunity to some of the island’s officials
to obviate - either voluntarily or not - the obligation to
fulfill their obligations to the best of their abilities, and
shortcomings follow...
This is a first text in a series of three articles
that we shall be devoting to the management of
Mauritian philately since independence. Our intention
is to identify failures, omissions, blunders and the lack
of professionalism that have characterized the
management of local philately over the last fifty years.
Our island’s philatelic history will benefit.
This first text is geared mainly towards the errors
that have cropped up along the years in the design,
illustration, description and printing of stamp issues
since 1968. While some of those errors may already be
known to some philatelists, others have been
identified through our research in the field. We also
draw the attention of readers to what appears as a
blatant failure of the Mauritian postal authorities to
respect rights of reproduction on the occasion of a
stamps issue that took place in August 2010.
1. Issue of 5 stamps on 2 July 1976. Theme:
Mail Carriers to Mauritius
Among the five vessels that are illustrated is the
‘Pierre Loti’ (SG 501). She was indeed owned by the
"Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes", but never
actually came to Mauritius. Her overall length is
shorter than the one of the vessel with the same name
that served Mauritius as from 1953, and her funnel
(painted in red and black) is different from the ones of
the four vessels, also run by the Messageries
Maritimes, that called at Mauritius after WWII until
1970.
The vessel that appears on the stamp was in
fact commissioned by the Russian Navigation and
Trade Company and built at the John Brown shipyard
of Clydebank, in Britain, in 1913. She was named
'IMPERATOR NICOLAS I'. Requisitioned by the Russian
Navy in early 1915, she was used for the transport of
de l’activité ont contribué à porter atteinte à
l’homogénéité des initiatives et des résultats qui y ont
prévalu.
Disons-le franchement : l’habitude du non-dit et
du politiquement correct qui prévaut à Maurice, le
faible niveau des connaissances dans certains
domaines et l’esprit critique défaillant dans l’île
permettent souvent à certains responsables de
l’administration d’obvier – volontairement ou pas – à
leurs obligations, sans en subir les conséquences qui
s’ensuivent.
Voici le premier d’une série d’articles que nous
allons consacrer à la gestion de la philatélie
mauricienne depuis l’indépendance. L’intention sera
de procéder à un relevé aussi précis et complet que
possible des défaillances, des omissions, des
égarements et du manque de professionnalisme qui
ont caractérisé l’activité des responsables de ce
secteur de l’administration au cours des cinquante
dernières années. L’histoire de la philatélie de Maurice
en bénéficiera.
Ce premier texte se limite essentiellement à un
listing des erreurs que nous avons notées dans
l’illustration de certains thèmes ayant fait l’objet d’une
impression et d’une émission de timbres depuis 1968.
Si certaines de ces erreurs sont déjà connues des
philatélistes, nous en communiquons d’autres qui sont
le fruit de nos recherches. Nous signalons aussi, en fin
de texte, ce qui apparaît comme une grossière
omission de l’administration postale en matière de
respect de droits de reproduction lors d’une émission
de timbres intervenue en août 2010.
1. Émission de 5 timbres le 2 juillet 1976.
Thème : Mail Carriers to Mauritius
Parmi les cinq navires illustrés dans cette série
figure le « Pierre Loti » (SG 501). Ce Pierre Loti a bien
appartenu à la Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes,
mais il n’est jamais venu à Maurice. Il est moins long
que celui qui a desservi Maurice à partir de 1953, et sa
cheminée (peinte en rouge et noir) ne ressemble en
aucune façon à celle des quatre navires de cette
compagnie qui venaient régulièrement à Maurice
jusqu’en 1970.
Le paquebot mixte qui paraît sur le timbre a en fait
été construit en 1913 par les Chantiers John Brown à
Clydebank en Grande-Bretagne pour le compte de la
Compagnie russe de Navigation et de Commerce et a
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 15
army equipment by the Red forces, but was disarmed
afterwards until her seizure by the French in December
1918. Taking back her name of EMPEREUR NICOLAS I,
she was used for 2 years by the French Government.
Handed over in 1921 to the Messageries Maritimes,
whose representatives gave her the name of ‘PIERRE
LOTI’, she plied mainly between Mediterranean ports.
She was used until 1942, when she ran aground in the
estuary of Gabon (12 December).
The ‘Pierre Loti’ vessel of the Messageries
Maritimes that served Mauritius was built in 1951 at
and the Lorient shipyard in France. Her funnel was
identical to the one of three other ships that called at
South-Western Indian Ocean ports after the Second
World War (see below).
At left: the first ‘Pierre Loti’ with its red and black funnel.
At right: the short, black, stocky and rounded funnel, struck
with the 'M. M' emblem of the Messageries Maritimes
vessels that served Mauritius until 1970.
2. Celebration of Namibia Day – Issue of 26
August 1983
In the design of this stamp, the country located to
the northeast of Namibia was wrongly given the name
of Angola, and the one due north of it the name of
Zambia. The opposite would be correct.
This blatant error calls for at least one observation: did
Mauritian officials – either the postal administration
management team or the members of the Stamp
Advisory Committee, or both – have the opportunity at
the time to receive pre-print proofs of the issue that
was to follow, and did they give their assent thereon?
If so, and in retrospect, their lack of rigour is quite
despairing. And if one argues that they were not given
access to the proofs, then it appears obvious that they
should have insisted upon enjoying such access and
using their decisional prerogatives.
été appelé IMPERATOR NICOLAS I. Réquisitionné par la
marine russe au début de 1915, il a servi au transport
de matériel pour le compte de l’Armée rouge, puis a
été désarmé jusqu’à sa prise par les Français en
décembre 1918. Reprenant son nom d’EMPEREUR
NICOLAS I, il a été utilisé pendant 2 ans par le
gouvernement français. Remis en 1921 aux
Messageries Maritimes qui l’ont baptisé PIERRE LOTI, il
a circulé surtout entre les ports de la Méditerranée. Il
a été exploité jusqu’en 1942, année où il s’est échoué
dans l’estuaire du Gabon (le 12 décembre).
Le « Pierre Loti » des Messageries Maritimes qui a
desservi Maurice a été construit en 1951 à Lorient. Sa
cheminée est identique à celles des trois autres navires
qui ont desservi l’océan Indien après la Seconde
Guerre mondiale (voir ci-dessous).
A gauche: le premier « Pierre Loti » et sa cheminée rouge
et noire. A droite: la cheminée courte, noire, ramassée et
arrondie, frappée de l’emblème ‘M. M’, des navires ayant
desservi Maurice jusqu’en 1970.
2. Célébration du Namibia Day – 26 août 1983
Dans le dessin de ce timbre,
l’Angola a été situé au Nord-Est de
la Namibie, et la Zambie au nord de
celle-ci, alors que c’est l’inverse qui
correspond à la réalité.
Cette erreur grossière appelle
au moins une remarque : les
officiels mauriciens – soit
l’administration postale et les
membres du Stamp Advisory Committee – avaient-ils
la possibilité à l’époque de recevoir des épreuves des
tirages prévus et de leur octroyer leur aval ? Le cas
échéant et en rétrospective, leur manque de rigueur
est assez désespérant. Et s’ils n’ont pas eu un accès à
ces épreuves, peut-être auraient-ils dû insister pour
l’avoir.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 16
3. The "Anniversaries and Events" issues of 4th.
and 27th. December 2007
This blatant error is now well known in philatelic
circles and is even starting to push up the price of the
stamps with the "Osman" surname and photo that
were inappropriately issued in early December 2007. It
obviates the need to revisit this slippage and elaborate
upon it.
One still needs to point out that such a confusion
on the identity of a local personality illustrates a deep
and unacceptable easy-going attitude towards our
philately’s standing: indeed, family members of the
personality whom the postal authorities wished to
honour were certainly within easy reach on the island
at the time, and they would have been able, without
any doubt whatsoever, to provide the necessary
details on the personality, and proceeding thus would
have avoided the mess that resulted.
This error was compounded by the fact that some
subscribers to the stamps services of the Philatelic
Bureau of Mauritius (among them foreign subscribers)
received their first day cover(s) with the “Osman”
stamp issued on 4th. December 2007 (removed a few
days later), while others had to wait until after 27th.
December 2007 to receive their FDC(s) after the
replacement stamp was hastily printed. Thus, not all
subscribers received the same treatment, and those
having received the initial issue with the wrong stamp
did not receive any replacement. This event did little
for the reputation of Mauritian philately at
international level.
4. Al-Idrissi, Arab geographer and cartographer
– Issue of 5th. August 2010
The image used for
this issue is not the one of
Al-Idrissi, but of
philosopher Avicenna. The
latter, born in Bukhara in
Uzbekistan in a Persian
family, is generally
considered as the father of
medicine. He was neither
Muslim nor Arab. And his
name has been given to
some hospitals in Europe.
3. « Anniversaries and Events » – 4 décembre et
27 décembre 2007
Cette autre grossière erreur est maintenant bien
connue dans le monde philatélique et commence
même à faire grimper le prix du timbre avec le
patronyme «Osman » inapproprié émis au début de
décembre 2007. Elle nous dispense de la nécessité de
revenir sur ce lapsus pour l’expliciter.
Il est toutefois incompréhensible qu’une confusion
de ce type, relative à une personnalité locale ayant
vécu au milieu du XXe siècle, ait eu lieu, les membres
de sa famille étant certainement joignables dans l’île
pour fournir les précisions à son propos, ce qui aurait
permis d’éviter le cafouillage auquel elle a donné lieu.
Cette erreur a été aggravée par le fait que certains
abonnés aux émissions du Bureau philatélique de
Maurice (dont certains à l’étranger) ont reçu leur(s)
pli(s) premier jour avec le timbre erroné, alors que
d’autres ont dû attendre la réimpression d’un nouveau
timbre et sa diffusion à partir du 27 décembre 2007
pour obtenir le(s) leur(s). L’image de l’île Maurice à
l’international n’est pas sortie grandie de cette
épreuve.
4. Al-Idrissi, géographe et cartographe arabe –
5 août 2010
L’image utilisée pour cette
émission n’est pas celle
d’Al-Idrissi, mais du
philosophe Avicenne. Ce
dernier, né à Boukhara dans
l’Ouzbékistan d’une famille
perse, est généralement
considéré comme le père de la
médecine. Il n’était ni
musulman, ni arabe. Et son
nom a été donné à certains
hôpitaux en Europe.
Avicenne Al-Idrissi
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 17
Al-Idrissi was born in Ceuta, Spain, in the 12th
century. He was an Andalusian geographer who
worked at the court of the Norman kings of Sicily and
built his reputation on the carving, for the account of
Sicilian King Roger II, of a globe made from silver and
especially on the drafting of a text – his masterpiece –
with comments on that same globe.
His world atlas, which was very accurate for the
period when he lived, clearly displays the three
Mascarene Islands in the South-Western Indian Ocean.
5. Joint France-Mauritius issue of 25 September
2015
We have dealt with this issue in a detailed manner
in an article published in a local weekly (part of the
article was censored and removed, against our wish).
As a reminder, this issue came with its own
disappointments: on the stamp, Dufresne d'Arsel's
vessel is shown approaching Tamarin Bay and not Port-
Louis, and the text appearing on the
stamp is in English, whereas the one
issued simultaneously in France was
in French. It gives the impression
that the official language of
Mauritius is English, which is not the
case (see the text of the
Constitution of Mauritius).
6. Naval Battle of Grand-Port - Issue of 28th.
August 2010
We would like to conclude with an omission,
and not an error, on the part of the postal
administration of Mauritius. It relates to the
commemoration of the bicentennial of the battle of
Grand-Port. As both local and foreign philatelists will
recall, the two stamps issued on that occasion were the
following:
De son côté, Al-Idrissi est né à Ceuta, en
Espagne au XIIe siècle. Ce géographe andalou a
travaillé à la cour des rois normands de Sicile et a bâti
sa grande réputation sur la réalisation, pour le compte
du roi Roger II de l’île, d’un globe en argent et surtout
d’un livre de géographie – sa pièce maîtresse –
commentant ce globe. Son atlas du monde, très précis
pour son époque, indique clairement les trois îles des
Mascareignes.
5. Émission conjointe France-Maurice du 25
septembre 2015
Nous avons parlé en détail de cette émission dans
un article publié dans un hebdomadaire local (dont une
partie a été retranchée contre notre gré). Pour rappel,
cette émission a été décevante : le navire de Dufresne
d’Arsel se dirige vers la baie de Tamarin et non pas vers
Port-Louis, et le texte paraissant sur le timbre est en
anglais, alors que celui paru
simultanément en France est en
français. Il donne l’impression que
la langue officielle de Maurice est
l’anglais, ce qui n’est pas le cas (voir
le texte de la Constitution de
Maurice).
6. Combat du Grand-Port – Émission du 28 août
2010
Nous voudrions terminer en signalant non pas une
erreur mais une omission de la part de l’administration
postale de Maurice, relative à la célébration du
bicentenaire du combat de Grand-Port. Comme se
souviendront ceux qui s’intéressent à la philatélie de
Maurice, tant dans l’île qu’à l’étranger, les timbres
émis à cette occasion étaient les suivants :
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 18
The one with the 14 rupees denomination was
processed from a photograph of the lower left part of
a painting by French artist Julien Gilbert, the original of
which belongs to the National Naval Museum in Paris.
When one looks closely at the image that appears on
the stamp and compares it with the original painting,
one can see that it is less clear than the original, and
one can deduce that the photo used for its printing was
shot from a reproduction of the painting of J. Gilbert,
probably the one that (still?) is exhibited at the
Mahebourg Naval Museum.
As for the drawing of the Ile de la Passe stamp
of 21 rupees denomination, it comes from the French
Archives, and was originally kept in the country's
« Dépôt des fortifications des colonies ».
Strangely enough, in the text of the descriptive
leaflet that was inserted in the First Day Cover for that
issue, one finds no mention whatsoever of the source
of the ‘Battle Scene’ image and of the ‘Ile de la Passe’
drawing. Such lack of reference to the original painting
and drawing therefore prompts the following question
to the postal authorities of Port-Louis: have the rights
of reproduction of the painting and of the drawing
been sought/obtained prior to the printing of the
stamps? Given that copyrights and rights of
reproduction are flouted in Mauritius, this request is
quite relevant: indeed, it would be sad to get
confirmation of the fact that a Mauritian Government
parastatal has done exactly the same as the many
individuals and small outlets on the island who help
themselves without hesitation with works of others for
their own needs and interests. It would be all the more
serious when one considers that the stamps of
Mauritius are widely distributed, sold and traded
abroad, in France and the United Kingdom in
particular.
We shall discuss in future about other aspects
of the modern period of Mauritius philately that are
dubious, focusing on three further aspects of its
management, namely the inappropriate use and abuse
to which our stamps issues have been put to, the lack
of originality in the design and the pre-printing process
of stamps in the last ten years and the major
weaknesses in the promotion of our stamps, both mint
and used, in Mauritius and abroad.
Celui de 14 roupies provient d’une
photographie de la partie inférieure gauche du tableau
du peintre (de marine) français Julien Gilbert, dont
l’original appartient au Musée de la Marine à Paris. Les
détails du tableau qui apparaissent sur le timbre étant
moins précis que ceux de cet original, l’on peut déduire
sans grand risque de se tromper que c’est une photo
d’une reproduction du tableau de J. Gilbert qui a servi
pour l’impression du timbre, probablement celle se
trouvant au Musée de Mahébourg.
Quant au plan de l’île de la Passe qui figure sur
le timbre de 21 roupies, il provient des Archives
françaises, et se trouvait à l’origine au « Dépôt des
fortifications des colonies » de ce pays.
Dans le texte du feuillet descriptif qui
accompagne le pli premier jour de cette émission du
28 août 2010, il n’y a curieusement aucune mention de
la source de l’image « Battle Scene » et de celle de
l’ « Ile de la Passe ». Cette absence de référence nous
pousse donc à demander aux autorités postales de
Port-Louis si les droits de reproduction de la peinture
et du plan leur ont été accordés à cette occasion. Vu
que les droits d’auteur et de reproduction sont peu
respectés à Maurice, cette demande est pertinente :
en effet, il serait désespérant de se faire confirmer
qu’un organisme du Gouvernement mauricien a imité
tous les individus et les débits dans l’île qui se servent
sans hésitation des créations d’autrui pour leurs
propres besoins et intérêts. Cette infraction serait
d’autant plus grave si l’on tient compte du fait que les
timbres de Maurice sont largement distribués, vendus
et échangés à l’étranger, en France et au Royaume-Uni
en particulier.
Nous aborderons une prochaine fois d’autres
aspects des défaillances de la gestion de la philatélie
de Maurice en nous concentrant sur trois autres
aspects de celle-ci, à savoir l’utilisation déplacée et
abusive à laquelle ont servi certaines émissions de
timbres de notre pays, le désespérant manque
d’originalité dans le design et la préimpression des
timbres depuis une dizaine d’années et les grandes
faiblesses de la promotion de notre philatélie, tant à
Maurice qu’à l’étranger, depuis 1968.
© All Rights Reserved
No part of this article, however short may be reproduced by any means and in any media whatsoever, either in Mauritius or abroad,
without the prior written permission of the author and the Mauritius Philatelic Society.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 19
“TO ERR IS DIVINE”
By DAVID LODGE
David Lodge, Contributing Editor of Scott
Stamp Monthly the USA publication, is responsible
for the back page of the journal.
In March 2001 I submitted some Mauritian
oddities to David for consideration. I was pleasantly
surprised to learn the most of what I submitted had
never been published by Scott Stamp Monthly.
The frequency with which short pieces on
Mauritian stamps appeared in the To Err is Divine
page has been good publicity for Mauritius stamps
even if this sometimes expose us to ridicule
because of some very silly mistakes.
Whilst I am credited at the end of each
piece with “Thanks to Mico Antoine of Quatre
Bornes Mauritius” it is David Lodge who wrote the
pieces from background material supplied by me,
enhanced of course with additional data from his
own source and treated in his own inimitable style.
* * * * *
The above is from the Mauritius Philatelic
Society – 25th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine
published in April 2015. Five “errors” were
concerned namely 60c Cow being milked (1974),
Rs 1.50 Indian immigration (1978), Rs 2.00 Vieille
Ferme (1987), Rs 9.00 Anjalay Coopen (2000) and
Rs 1.00 Finished pullover (2001).
Three other “errors” were not dealt with
because of a lack of space. They are now published
to complete the list of eight stamps submitted to
David Lodge.
N.B. Scott catalogue numbers were used.
Mico W. ANTOINE
* * * * *
Mauritius is a constituent part of the
continent of Africa and a former 19th- and 20th-
century British Crown Colony. It was in Mauritius
where the dodo, a flightless bird, was hunted to
extinction in 1681. The island became an
independent state in 1968. It lies approximately
500 miles east of Madagascar among the Indian
Ocean's Mascarene Islands, along with the active
volcanic island of Réunion (annexed by France in
1946), about 110 miles to its southwest. Although
Mauritius has no volcanic activity today, its
landscape, with multiple lava boulders and several
prominent protrusions of mountainous basalt
(dense, dark, volcanic rock) bears witness to a fiery
past. Included in the semicircle of basaltic monsters
(small mountains described by Mark Twain as
”quaint and picturesque groups of toy peaks”)
overlooking the capital of Port Louis and sheltering
its harbor is Le Pouce (The Thumb), which rises in
dramatic, bent thumb-like fashion to a height of
approximately 2,660 feet. Mauritius Scott 983,
featuring Le Pouce, errs with a colorful beige
portrayal of the dark basalt mass that is the island’s
foundation. Mico Antoine, a writer, newsletter
editor and founding member of the Mauritius
Philatelic Society, recently climbed to Le Pouce’s
summit with 11 society members, and reports that
the slopes are primarily covered with scraggy
vegetation, plants and small trees on three sides
with a larger section of basalt facing the west. "It is
not a barren outcrop at the top of the mountain,”
as shown on the stamp, he confirms.
June 2006
Mauritius Scott 1027-1030 depicts a
quartet of decapod crustaceans from the Brachyur
infraorder that embraces approximately 70 families
— from the pea crab with its pea-size frame to the
underwater Japanese spider crab that carries its 15-
inch torso on spider-like legs spanning almost 13
feet. Scott 1030 shows another giant arthropod, the
coconut crab (Birgus latro), the largest terrestrial of
its kind, with a body size of up to 16 inches and 10
legs, including two forelegs with powerful pincers,
extending outward for up to about three feet.
lndigenous to the Indian and south-western Pacific
oceans and environs, the coconut crab, unable to
breathe in water beyond its first two months of
existence, enjoys a diet of fruits, small dead animals
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 20
and prey lacking the speed and dexterity to escape.
Ably equipped to climb vertical coconut tree trunks,
it does not have to wait for windfalls or seed
separations to enjoy the palm trees’ heavily
protected fruit. With its massive claws ready to
crack the resilient shell, and its adjacent two pairs
of powerful gripping legs propelling the creature
upward to a height of around 20 feet, the coconut
meat and milky fluid are an easy target for this crab.
Scott 1030, with its depiction of a crab traversing
horizontally on a thin branch, with coconuts
looming behind it, puts the coconut crab in an
unlikely position (a dangerous sidewise horizontal
crawl) to the almost vertical tree trunks it ascends
for the fruit that is within easy reach at the top.
May 2008
Mauritius Scott 1031-1034 is an expression,
according to Mauritius Post Ltd., of the nation's
“multicultural population” and the extent to which
this diverse ethnicity has contributed to the
traditional games played by the island's children.
Scott 1031 features sapsiwaye, an ancient
Chinese game involving single-foot juggling that
keeps the sapsiwaye aloft and perpetually in the air.
Originally made from a handful of cock feathers tied
together near their lower end, today the propelled
implement, shaped similar to a badminton
shuttlecock, is made of a bundle of elastic bands
tied together in the form of a daisy.
Scott 1032 celebrates the game of marbles,
which originated in ancient Rome and Egypt. Scott
1034 honors the almost 3,000-year-old venerable
Chinese sport of kiteflying that spread rapidly
around the world to become a popular and
competitive activity for all ages.
Scott 1033 depicts hopscotch, game that
mimics the footwork agility training of Roman
soldiers stationed in conquered England from A.D.
47 to A.D. 410.
The game, developed by soldiers’ children
who watched their fathers train, spread around the
world. Today, hopscotch is commonly played in
schoolyards, where chalk and young girls
perpetuate its popularity.
Scott 1033 errs with its caption, which
reads "hop scotch” instead of “hopscotch.”
November 2007
* * * * *
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2016
The Annual General Meeting was held on
Saturday 5th March 2016 at College du St Esprit in
Quatre Bornes.
The notice of the AGM was published in
“L’express” of 16th March 2016 and the convocation
was sent out to all local members on 24th February
2016.
The press notice listed five orders of
business as follows:
1. To read and approve the minute of
proceedings of the last General Meeting.
2. To receive, consider and approve the
report of the president and accounts for
the year ending 31st December 2015.
3. To consider and approve the budget for the
year 2016.
4. To elect the Committee Members and
Office Bearers for the year 2016.
5. To appoint an Auditor for the year 2016.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 21
Closing date of letters of candidature was fixed
at 26th February 2016.
* * * * *
The meeting began at 14:00 hours.
Approval of minutes of AGM 2015
The minutes were read by the secretary
Sachitanand Mungra and were approved
on a proposal of Jean Auguste seconded by
Albert Koenig.
Report of the President for the year 2015
The president reported on the affairs of the
society for the period 1st January 2015 to
31st December 2015 as follows:
FINANCE
The financial position of the society
has been well controlled and has been
within the limits of the budgeted
provisions. Subscriptions forecast was met
as was sponsorship to meet the 25th
anniversary commemoration costs. Sales
were higher than projected and expenses
were well controlled.
The overall deficit is much less than
the forecast resulting in a reduction of
accumulated funds from Rs 72,500 to Rs
40,500 whereas the object was to reduce
these funds to around Rs 25,000. The
remaining comfortable cushion is thus
available to meet future deficits.
Further details will be provided by
the treasurer and other issues relating to
the financial position of the society are
appended to the board for examination.
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
At the beginning of 2015, the
former treasurer had not renewed his
membership and was therefore not a
member of the society on the date of the
AGM. Another former committee member
was told to withdraw his candidature
because of his past performance. At the
2015 AGM there were four fresh
applications for membership of the
committee and five serving members
offered their candidature. Furthermore,
the secretary elected at the 2015 AGM
resigned in July of that year and was
replaced under Article 5 of the rules of the
society. The nine candidate standing for
elections today are the same nine who have
been in office at the end of 2015.
MEMBERSHIP
Six new members joined the society
in 2015, four from Mauritius and two from
abroad. The target was ten. One new local
member happens to be 84 years old. At the
beginning of 2015, eight local members
were removed from the membership
register. Four local members are still not up
to date with their dues at today’s date. The
local membership is today 48 and it is
expected the total will rise to 50 plus by
December 2016. Overseas membership
stands at 20. The society is currently
updating all the data on them and will
manage their files more efficiently from
Mauritius in future.
ACTIVITIES
11 meetings were held in 2015 with
a high of 21 in April and a low of 14 in June
recorded in the attendance register. Taking
into consideration the total membership
for the period and the absence of a couple
of regular members, the average
attendance of 16 for the whole of the year
is more than satisfactory. 11 meetings are
scheduled for 2016 and it is hoped that
attendance will improve. The society
thanks all the members in the room today
for their support and loyalty during 2015.
The Municipality of Port Louis
Stamp Collecting Club had been virtually
inactive during 2015. Only one function was
organized in November with a small group
of children. The Society will continue to
respond when solicited.
At the end of 2015, the society took
over total control of the society’s website.
The website will now be managed and
hosted from Mauritius. The transfer
arrangements are being finalised and the
site will be fully operational as from
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 22
BUDGET 2016 / RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS 2015
BUDGET 2016
INCOME Rs EXPENDITURE Rs
Subscriptions 15,000 Cost of Sales 35,000
Donations & Sponsorships 20,000 Postage 4,000
Society Sales 40,000 Stationery 3,000
Other Income 5,000 Catalogues & Magazines 5,000
Cost of Monthly Meetings 12,000
Other Expenses 11,000
- Printing of News Bulletins 10,000
Total Income 80,000 Total Expenditure 80,000
STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2015
2015 2014 Balance at January 1,2015 RESOURCES
Rs Rs
Cash in Hand 500.00 500.00 Cash in Banks 57,215.33 27,200.53 57,715.33 27,700.53 Add : Receipts for the year
Entrance Fees 400.00 700.00 Subscriptions 17,500.00 15,000.00 Sales 46,675.00 50,525.00 Donations 57,000.00 50,000.00 Others - 11,000.00 121,575.00 127,225.00 Less : Payments for the year Cost of Sales 38,782.00 44,836.50 Newsletters/Bulletins 8,452.00 16,835.00 General Expenses 102,933.15 35,538.70 150,167.15 97,210.20 Balance at 31 December 2015 29,123.18 57,715.33
REPRESENTED BY: Cash in Hand – 31 December 2015 500.00 500.00 Cash at Bank – 31 December 2015 28,623.18 57,215.33 29,123.18 57,715.33
VISITING MAURITIUS? GET IN TOUCH WITH THE
MAURITIUS PHILATELIC SOCIETY
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 23
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE / ASSETS AND LIABILITIES 2015
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2015
2015 2014
Rs Rs INCOME
Entrance Fees 400.00 700.00 Subscriptions 17,500.00 15,000.00 Sales 46,675.00 50,525.00 Donations 57,000.00 50,000.00 Other Income - - 121,575.00 116,225.00 EXPENDITURE
Cost of Sales 38,782.00 44,836.50 Newsletters/Bulletins 8,452.00 16,835.00 Postage & Stamps 3,363.00 7,050.00 Printing and Stationery 1,662.15 3,312.50 Magazines 85,000.00 1,815.00 Audit Fees 3,450.00 3,450.00 General Expenses 12,908.00 19,911.20 153,617.15 97,210.20 (DEFICIT) / SURPLUS FOR YEAR (32,042.15) 19,014.80
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2015
2015 2014 FIXED ASSETS Rs Rs
Furniture & Fittings 7,735.00 7,735.00 CURRENT ASSETS Stocks 7,500.00 7,500.00 Debtors 3,000.00 3,000.00 Cash in hand 500.00 500.00 Cash at Bank 28,623.18 57,215.33 39,623.18 68,215.33 LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES Sundry Creditors 3,450.00 3,450.00 32,723.18 64,765.33 40,458.18 72,500.53 ACCUMULATED FUND Balance at January 1 72,500.33 53,485.53 (Deficit) / Surplus for Year (32,042.15) 19,014.80
40,458.18 72,500.33
ATTEND THE MONTHLY MEETINGS AND BE FIRST TO GET THE LATEST NEWS
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 24
mid-2016. This will allow for a more
efficient and appropriate development of
the website. The secretary and the assistant
secretary will control the website.
The newsletter of June 2015 No.16
is in the final stages of preparation and the
December 2015 No.17 newsletter will be
issued after mid-2016. The Society will
concentrate on these two newsletters after
the conclusion of all AGM business. The
delay has been caused mainly because of
the 25th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine,
the transfer of the website from Australia
to Mauritius and the stoppage of all work
on No.16 because of non-compliance with
the society’s instructions.
The commemoration of the 25th
anniversary of the society was in the end
neither of standards envisaged nor were all
the objectives met. The magazine was the
only positive outcome and was well
received and reviewed by our peers abroad.
The souvenir mug and plate support was
poor as was the sale of the polo shirt and
there was no special commemorative cover
produced. There were lots of ideas, much
silliness and some stupidity too. There is
still some unfinished business which should
be resolved soon. Members were kept fully
informed at the society meetings and all the
decisions taken by the committee were
duly minuted and approved.
I want to draw your attention to the
disengagement and departure of some
members during the last two years. Almost
all of them have found their new vocation
in the Mauritius Post sponsored Dodo
Philatelic Club for their personal pecuniary
advantage. Their limited contribution to the
Mauritius Philatelic Society, their
questionable philatelic knowledge, their
opportunism and their sensitivities are best
suited for their new mission. They have
been no loss to us, we are still here in our
27th year.
Let us concentrate on consolidating
our position during 2016.
Approval of the accounts ending 31st
December 2015
The treasurer Saoud Mauthoor
presented the accounts of the society, a
copy of which was appended to the notice
board. The accounts were approved on a
proposition of Diane Sher Mohamedkhan
seconded by Tarkeswar Nath Greedharrye.
Approval of the Budget 2016
The budget was presented by the
treasurer Saoud Mauthoor. Estimated
income of Rs. 80,000 and Expenditure of Rs.
80,000. The budget was approved on a
proposition of Jaswant Jhurry seconded by
Derek Taylor.
Election of Committee Members and Office
Bearers for 2016
The following were elected
unanimously by acclamation (18 members)
as members of the Management
Committee for 2016: Mico Wilfrid Antoine,
Jean Joseph Auguste, Thonyno Dieudonne,
Arnaud Guibert, Alain Louis, Ahmad Nasser
Maderbokus, Saoud Mauthoor,
Sachitanand Mungra, Jaswant Jhurry.
Appointment of Auditor for 2016
Man Fan Lam Hang, FCCA was
appointed as auditor of the society for 2016
on a proposition of Krishna Gunnoo
seconded by Thoolassingham Coothen.
A.O.B.
There was no other business raised.
* * * * *
Derek Taylor said a few kind words about
the amount of work done by members of the
management committee during the year under
review emphasising upon the voluntary aspect of
the committee’s exemplary and effective conduct
of the affairs of the society.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 25
CENTRAL FLACQ POST OFFICE
A press notice in “Week End” of
28th February 2016 announced the relocation of
Central Flacq post office from its former premises
on Post Office Road to a more modern setting in
“Flacq Coeur de Ville, Super U Complex”, as from
Monday 29th February 2016.
“POST OFFICE” NEWS
The annal of Mauritius Post Ltd which is
usually published in December of the year under
review was in 2015 published in March 2016. The
new look “POST OFFICE” NEWS on the events and
activities of 2015 was a slimmer than usual 16 page
newsletter.
It opens with the new “Chairperson’s
Message” and a lengthy ramble by the long
surviving “CEO’s Message” on innovations followed
by ten other reports which are essentially the yearly
recitals on reinvention and transformation. This is
followed by reports on customer service survey,
IT development, safety and health promotion,
financial evolution, human resources, sales and
marketing snippets, a World Post Day centerfold,
property assets maintenance, trade union matters
and finally philately closes the contents.
The one financial graph and three pie charts
overwhelmed page 7 leaving very little room for
some scant notes. Very few figures were given. The
graphics showed an unbelievable 100% jump in
non-postal revenue between 2003 and 2015. The
unmanageable staff costs however continues to
rise and stood at 75% of total cost in 2015. The asset
base of the corporation supposedly increased by
46% since 2003 and that well may be the reason
why Mauritius Post is almost broke and in very dire
straits for the last couple of years. Press reports and
the government audit office reports have been
more revealing than fancy graphics.
On the philatelic front only four
commemorative postage stamps were released in
2015. The Postal Museum has performed poorly
and the philatelic bureau has been fleecing its
customers with very unethical philatelic practices,
products and prices yet Mauritius Post proudly
reports that at “Singapore 2015” they were
awarded an ex-aequo third rate ranking for a
bronze with … Vietnam!
2016 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Management Committee of the Society was constituted on Saturday 5th March 2016 after the Annual General Meeting.
The members for 2016 are:
President – Mico Wilfrid Antoine Vice President – Ahmad Nasser Maderbokus Treasurer – Saoud Mauthoor Vice Treasurer – Alain Louis Secretary – Sachitanand Mungra Vice Secretary – Arnaud Guibert Members – Joseph Jean Auguste – Thonyno Dieudonné – Jaswant Jhurry
CORRIGENDUM
An inexplicable error escaped the vigilance
of the editor in the 20o10’ Issue No 17 December
2015 on page 17 paragraph 4 in the hard copy
distributed to members within Mauritius. The date
20th September 2015 should have read 25th
September 2015.
The error was corrected in the e-mail
edition transmitted to our overseas members – so
it is the local hard copy version that must be
corrected.
Mauritius Philatelic Society for accurate
postal history of Mauritius
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 26
THEY CAME TO MAURITIUS …. DAVID LIVINGSTONE 1813-73
In June 2016 the monthly meeting agenda
was changed without prior notice in order to
accommodate other philatelic related subjects
because of three major articles in “Week End”
during the month of May. One of these articles was
titled “Le séjour de l’explorateur écossais David
Livingstone à Maurice en 1856”.
There are very few Mauritians who know
much about the real history of Mauritius. Some
contemporary historians having written their own
particular versions of “The history of Mauritius”
then argue amongst themselves and refer to their
peers as “pseudo historians”. Unresearched,
inaccurate, biased accounts are more than not the
norm.
The French period from 1715 to 1810 has
been more or less well documented, studied and
promoted by the local French community with
strong cultural and financial support from France.
Interest in the British period of 1810 to 1968
diminished with their departure and that era is
often bent with a particular slant. After 1968
anything goes. The honest historically accurate and
objectively correct history of Mauritius is yet to be
written.
Not many in Mauritius or elsewhere for that
matter know that David Livingstone visited
Mauritius for 70 days between 12th August and
22nd October 1856. Auguste Toussaint and Amédée
Nagapen both respected relatively reliable
chroniclers of Mauritian history do not mention this
visit in their repertoires. During Livingstone’s stay in
Mauritius, as the guest of General C M Hay at
Claremont, Beau Bassin, he met very few people as
he was in rather bad physical shape as well as in
very poor health so he rested and recuperated. He
did however meet members of Jean Le Brun’s
family and he gave two conferences on his African
explorations.
The rough crossing from Quilimane, in
Portuguese Mozambique, to Port Louis was
awesomely traumatic for Livingstone’s Makololo
headman Sekwebu who had never been to sea
before. Dreading the rest of the voyage to England
via Galle and Aden a demented Sekwebu
committed suicide in Port Louis harbour. This tragic
lost greatly distressed Livingstone whose intention
was to introduce an intelligent and very able African
tribesman to the British public and to western
civilisation.
What is widely known about David
Livingstone is his exploration and missionary work
in Africa, particularly in central Africa, and his
strong opposition to the slave trade. He criss-
crossed subequatorial Africa between 1841 and
1873 during four separate expeditions. He founded
mission schools in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. He
married Mary Moffat the daughter of fellow
missionary Robert Moffat in Zimbabwe. He
discovered the Victoria Falls (or Mozi-o-Tunya the
smoke that thunders) in 1855 and he explored the
Zambezi River and Lake Malawi. Feared dead he
was “found” by Dr. Henry M Stanley in 1871 at Ujiji
in the south west of Tanzania who addressed him
with one of the world’s most famous greeting “Dr
Livingstone, I presume”. He died of malaria in 1873.
His heart was buried at Chitambo in the north of
Zambia and his body was shipped to London where
he was laid to rest at Westminster Abbey.
His statue stands in the southern “Rain
Forest” at Victoria Falls. The Zambian border town
of Livingstone near Victoria Falls is named after
him. Livingstonia mission in Malawi honours his
memory and the commercial town of Blantyre also
in Malawi was named after his Scottish birthplace.
Many post independence name places in Africa
have been changed after the end of colonial rule,
the memory of David Livingstone has not suffered
that fate in the former Federation of Rhodesia and
Nyasaland.
The 1st May 2016 account of David
Livingstone’s sojourn in Mauritius in “Week End”
was written from data provided by three members
of the Société Royale des Arts et des Sciences of
Mauritius and acknowledgement is extended to
eight bibliographic sources. It is an excellent piece
of Mauritian history. If it was not for that article I
would not have written this piece, nor shown my
stamps or talked about David Livingstone at the
June meeting.
N.B. Countries are identified by their post-colonial
names in para 5 and 6.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 27
DAVID LIVINGSTONE STAMPS
David Livingstone has appeared on the
stamps of the following countries: Rhodesia and
Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Malawi, Zambia and the UK.
He described his discovery of Victoria Falls,
one of the seven natural wonders of the world as …
“scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by
angels in flight”.
In 1973 Great Britain featured David
Livingstone se-tenant together with Henry Stanley
in the “British Explorers” set of five stamps. It is
however in today’s Zambia that David Livingstone is
most honoured with the name place border town
of Livingstone, the Livingstone Game Reserve and
Livingstone Island in the Zambezi River near the lip
of the waterfalls. David Livingstone died at
Chitambo village in Zambia and his heart is buried
under a tree at the spot chosen by him. His death
centenary was commemorated in 1973 with a set of
six stamps and again in 1996 with another memorial
stamp.
In 1973 Malawi also honoured David
Livingstone with a set of four stamps plus a special
stamp of the stained-glass window of Livingstonia
Mission. Zimbabwe where his statue still stands on
the spot where he presumably first sighted the
Victoria Falls has issued several stamps on David
Livingstone … under its former colonial names and
the Victoria Falls have featured on many stamps of
the former colony. In today’s Zimbabwe David
Livingstone is remembered for the discovery of the
Victoria Falls but not much for his exploration and
missionary work.
M W Antoine
Reference: 1,000 Great Lives – Jonathan Law. / A Secondary Geography of Zambia – Longman/Temco.
British explorers
Dr Livingstone I presume
Blessed are they
He left his heart in Zambia
Livingstonia Mission
Southern Rhodesia
Rhodesia & Nyasaland
Rhodesia
Zimbabwe
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 28
INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION
DAY
Following the report in the December 2015
Issue No 17 20o10’ another rectangle handstamp
measuring 40mm long by 25mm with a different
message has been seen struck in red on inland mail.
This message reads in three lines Fighting
corruption/is everybody’s social/responsibility with
Hotline: 142 at the bottom. The design of this new
handstamp differs from the one reported earlier,
the font size and spacing between the lines are not
the same.
Two different messages for the same
campaign may well be the confirmation of how
corrupt Mauritius has become.
SOCIETY MEETINGS 2016
The society monthly meeting calendar for
the year 2016 was fixed as follows:
6th February, 5th March, 2nd April, 7th May,
4th June, 2nd July, 6th August, 3rd September,
1st October, 5th November, 3rd December. No
meeting is held in January.
All meetings are held at College du St Esprit,
Sir Virgil Naz Avenue, Quatre Bornes.
UPDATE
In newsletter No. 16 of June 2015 we
reported on datestamping, stamp cancelling and on
“Postage Due” procedures. On page 24 we stated
that underpayments will continue not only
throughout 2015 but also during 2016. Here is the
evidence for the month of March 2016 alone.
Furthermore the quality of postmarks have shown
no improvements because Mauritius Post is
incapable of fixing the problem at their counters
and in their back offices.
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 29
THE METERED TRANSITION OF A BANK
These metermarks tells the story of a
particular bank in Mauritius. Briefly South East Asia
Bank was bought out by Bramer Bank. Then Bramer
Bank became National Commercial Bank when it
was nationalized. National Commercial Bank then
absorbed The Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank.
Finally National Commercial Bank was
reconstituted as Maubank.
Note the rapidity of the digital changes from 02.03.2015 to 12.02.2016
Mauritius Philatelic Society 1989 - 2014
25TH Anniversary Souvenir Magazine
Entered in three philatelic exhibitions - Winner of three awards
Queensland State Exhibition 26-27 September 2015 – Vermeil Hong Kong 2015 (31st Asian International Stamp Exhibition) 20 – 25 November - Large silver
New York (World Stamp Show – NY 2016) 28 May – 4 June 2016 – Large silver
20°I0’ – Newsletter of the Mauritius Philatelic Society – Issue No. 18 – June 2016 P a g e 30
THE PRESS AND THE POST
06.01.2016 Le Mauricien : E-commerce : croissance de 30% à 40% en 2015.
12.01.2016 Le Défi Quotidien : Rs 15M d’héroïne pure saisie à la poste centrale.
14.01.2016 L’express : Le ministère des Finances injecte Rs 500 millions dans la Poste.
16.01.2016 Le Mauricien : MauBank : polémique sur les Rs 510M de la Poste.
16.01.2016 Le Défi Plus : Services postaux : (union matters re vacancies)
20.01.2016 L’express : Nominations à la Poste L’ICAC enquête.
22.01.2016 Le Défi Quotidien : Rs 2.7 millions de drogues saisies.
23.01.2016 L’express : Lutte antidrogue : La Poste met le paquet.
27.01.2016 Le Défi Quotidien : Trafic de drogue – La voie postale privilégiée.
13.02.2016 L’express : La Poste en pagaille : (Parcels Office).
27.02.2016 L’express : Un facteur violent devant un comité disciplinaire.
19.03.2016 L’express : Poste : polémique autour d’une soixantaine de transferts.
14.04.2016 Le Défi Quotidien : Collaboration Mauritius Post – PME
17.04.2016 Week End : Doléances contre le bureau de poste de Rose Hill
20.04.2016 L’express : La Poste paralysée
08.05.2016 Week End : Le cas de Mauritius Post Office (I)
14.05.2016 Le Défi Plus : Mauritius Post – deux cadres recalés
18.05.2016 Le Mauricien : Tentative de vol dans un bureau de poste.
23.05.2016 Le Défi Quotidien : Tentative de vol à la poste de Beau Bassin
25.05.2016 Le Défi Quotidien : Le suspect trahi par ses vêtements
29.05.2016 Week End : Le cas de Mauritius Post Office (II)
04.06.2016 Le Défi Plus : Les comptes de la Poste dans le rouge
08.06.2016 Le Mauricien : La Mauritius Post se positionne …. en e-commerce
26.06.2016 L’express Dimanche : Réduit L’ancienne gare ferroviaire …
29.06.2016 Le Défi Quotidien : Pertes de Rs 646,6 M à la Mauritius Post
Note: The two articles in “Week End” (I) and (II) were both lengthy two full page features.
Press coverage on Mauritius Post for the first six months of 2016 was rather negative on most fronts;
toxic loans at the Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank Ltd (MPCB), drug trafficking via the postal services, staff
problems, disfunction at the parcels office, paralysis in its operation and very serious financial problems. The
generally mediatic CEO and his management team kept a very low profile.