Transvaal Post Offices

Picture postcard number “4459” was published by R.O. Füsslein and was formerly in Joan Matthews Transvaal collection. It is captioned in red "Bloemhof, The Post Office" and has a divided back (address side) printed in green. Inside the printed box intended for the adhesive stamp, is the number ‘104444’, which may have been the printers order number. The picture shows several people in the shade of the building. The notice affixed to the stoop support reads “POST OFFICE … ? … ? … … PARCELS TELEGRAPH”. The larger notice on the wall reads “EXPRESS DELIVERY OFFICE”. Here, as at many Post Offices in the Transvaal; shade trees have been planted for the benefit of Post Office staff and customers. For those who gathered for the mail to arrive, the Post Office became a social meeting place, where the well off, servants and labourers, could meet their equals for a tête-à-tête.

'The Postmaster General’s (Frank Brown) Report' for the year ending 30^th June 1906 records, "Tree Planting. - Through the kindness of the Director of Agriculture, I have obtained trees for planting by Postmasters in ground round their offices." Later 'The Postmaster General’s Report' for the year ending 30^th June 1909, records “The trees which have been issued by the Department of Agriculture to Post Masters have improved the appearance of many country Post Offices.”

Trees were clearly planted before these dates, both in the South African Republic and later in the Transvaal Colony. Nevertheless, the offer to the Transvaal Colony Post Office must have been most welcome.

Many pictures of Transvaal Colony Post Offices, show a notice in English only on the façade, explaining the services provided. Bloemhof was damaged during the South African War and the postal service may have restarted in late 1902. The building on the postcard here may date from that time.

References
‘Tree Planting Schedule’ reported in The Transvaal Government Gazette, 20^th November 1906, p.1280.

Transvaal, Department of Post and Telegraphs, Annual Report 1^st July, 1905, to 30^th June 1906, and Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of His Excellency the Governor, Pretoria, p.E1.

Transvaal, Department of Post and Telegraphs, Annual Report 1^st July, 1908, to 30^th June, 1909, and Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of His Excellency the Governor, Pretoria, p.4.

Picture postcard number '68' was published by Braune & Franssen & Company of Johannesburg. (Their early cards were produced during 1904.) This is captioned in black 'Post- and Telegraph-Office' and 'JOHANNESBURG - Braamfontein' and the undivided back (address side) is also printed in black. The message is annotated “15.1.06.”

'The Postmaster General’s Report, year ending 30^th June 1906, notes that, in 1905 the white population of all the Transvaal was about 300,000. Moreover, Johannesburg and its suburbs were growing. '… there was one Post Office for every 835 of these.' and 'In Urban Districts a single office will serve some thousands of inhabitants, and in out-of-the-way places perhaps only a score; yet owing principally to the great difference in the cost of mail services to these offices, the more distant and smaller of them may be more costly to the Department, and yet will not be so convenient to the few whom it serves as is the town office to the many who make use of it.'

As to the Post Office buildings the PMG states: 'I have lately been able to arrange with the Public Works Department for the standardization of various types of Post Office buildings, and a large saving in time and labour should result, as there is now no necessity to prepare fresh plans, specifications , etc., for each new Post Office.' It is interesting that the Braamfontein building is very similar to at least one other new Post Office.

The town of Braamfontein was also to be used for a new store for the Post Office. Frank Brown the PMG reporting for in the year ending 30^th June 1907, 'The new Postal Stores Building at Braamfontein was occupied in April last, a stores building hired at a monthly rental of £65, being vacated in consequence.’ He did not say where this store was located.

Reference
Publisers of Picture Postcards of Southern Africa and Boer War and Boer War Related Postcards, (1991), Castleton, Isle of Man.

Transvaal, Department of Post and Telegraphs, Annual Reports for the Year ended 30th June, 1906, p.E.1.

Transvaal, Department of Post and Telegraphs, Annual Reports for the Year ended 30th June, 1907, p.2.

The picture postcard published by Braune & Lévy of Johannesburg, is numbered 4204 and the divided back (address side) is printed in red. Like many postcards of the early twentieth century it has been cut out of 'square' and the print therefore appears crocked. This picture, taken before the planting of shade trees, shows a typically stereotype Government building of the South African Republic (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek). The left door is the Post Office and the right door is the Court House. During the South African War, Christiana was the first town occupied by British forces, 14^th May 1900. Therefore, this must have been the first South African Republic Government building to fall into British hands.

According to the 'Postmaster-General Report' for 1910 “Two new Post offices at Potchefstroom and Christiana were erected and occupied.”

Reference
Union of South Africa, [U.16-1911] give final reports for each constituent colonies 1909-1910, for Transvaal - see page 42.

Picture postcard published by R. O. Füsslein of Johannesburg, number 4313. Captioned in red 'Cleveland Post Office and National Bank' (the Post Office is the building on the right). The divided back (address side) is printed in red.

Reference
- see The Transvaal Philatelist, Board, C. 2008 in the Author Index.

Before the South African War, Willem Bachofner was the Telegraphist and Postmaster here until at least October 1899. During the War Ermelo was destroyed by British forces. One of the first buildings to be built was the Government Offices seen here, which included the Post Office and was opened on 15^th August 1902. Chris Board records that ‘some of the wealthier municipalities were in the process of building imposing town halls and municipal offices.’

The picture postcard was ‘Published by W. Herald & Co. Ermelo.’ and is captioned in red ‘Government Offices, Ermelo, Transvaal.’ with a divided back (address side) which is also printed in red.

Reference
Board, C., (2008), The Transvaal during the first decade of the twentieth century, The Transvaal Philatelist, Vol.43, No.3 (167) August 2008.

Seeba, S., (1997), Ermelo District – A postal History; Part 1, The Transvaal Philatelist, Vol.32, No.1 (121), August 1997.

Woolgar, J., (2021) Transvaal Postal Department Staff before and after the South African War, pp.13, 32.

The picture postcard which is captioned in red “Rissik Street, Johannesburg” was published by Hallis & Co., Port Elisabeth. The divided back (address side) is printed in green. Stuttaford's store is situated on the corner of Rissik and Pritchard Streets. The Stuttaford building on the left has a typical Edwardian Beaux-Arts and dormered sloping roof. The conspicuous clock tower of the General Post Office is a little further along Rissik Street on the same side of the street.

Reference
Woolgar, J., (2021) Transvaal Postal Department Staff before and after the South African War, Gravesend, pp.58-59.

Private photographic postcard of 1907 showing the aftermath of the fire to Government buildings.

Reference
- see The Transvaal Philatelist, Board & Woolgar, 2006 in the Author Index.

Pietersburg in the Zoutpansberg gold mining country of the northern South African Republic was a little town in the mid-1890s, yet rapidly advancing in importance. One observer recording that: ‘Many of the young Dutch maidens were to be seen perambulating the streets dressed in the latest fashions, very representative of the change that the Boer is experiencing, and a sure sign of the present prosperity of the higher class landowners.’ It was here that the Transvaal Hotel was recommended by those who took the stagecoach from Matabeleland to Johannesburg. For a while during 1900 it became the temporary seat of government for both the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, but later was damaged by British (Australian) troops during the early days of April 1901.

The much enhanced picture postcard here was annotated and posted on 28^th November 1909. It has an undivided back (address side) which is printed in black and was sent to Sweden.The published is unknown.

The 1904 Censes for ‘All Races' of the population of Pietersburg was: '3,276' and for all of the Zoutpansberg (Census District ‘8’) being 318,064.

References
The Directory of Bulawayo and Handbook to Matabeleland 1895 - 1896, (1981, Facsimile reproduction), Books of Zimbabwe, pp.213-215.

Stroud, R., (2020), The Closure and Restoration of Civil Post Offices in the ORC and Transvaal 1900-1902 pp.11, 233.

Results of a Census of The Transvaal Colony and Swaziland taken on the night of Sunday the 17th April, 1904, Presented to His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, May, 1906.

- see also Board, C., and Woolgar, J., (July 2018), The Road to Pietersburg and the Middelburg Forwarding Agency, The Transvaal Philatelist, issue number 200, p.61.

The undivided back (address side) is printed in brown as part of the ‘ “FRED COOP” SERIES ’. It entered the post at Potchefstroom on the 23^rd July 1906 at 6pm. The photograph was taken from the ‘King’s Hotel’ and the postcard is captioned: ‘View from King’s Hotel Stoep. Potchefstroom. S.A.' The building on the other side of the green is the Post Office. This Government building was erected during the days of the South Africa Republic, probably as late as 1895. Albertus Scholten Borrius was the Postmaster here when the South African War began during October 1899. The Orange Free State Post Office Circular No.8, Paragraph 14, dated 15^th October 1901 reports that Potchefstroom Head Office in the Transvaal was open for civil traffic, and The Official List of the Transvaal Public Service 1909 states that James Edward was the Second Class Clerk from 20^th October 1900. Later a new post office building was erected next to this one, and the building seen here was used as a Magistrates Office and an Officers’ Mess for the South African Police.

References
Union of South Africa, Report, Postmaster-General (Department of Posts and Telegraphs) Year 1910, Cape Town, p.42.

Woolgar, J., (2021) Postal Department staff before and after the South African War Gravesend, pp.14, 17, 44.

Postcard published by R.O. Füsslein of Johannesburg, numbered 6351, is captioned in red “Springs, The Post Office”, the divided back (address side) is printed in green and the message annotated with the date: “6.11-11”. The picture shows the building adjacent to the Market Square.

The Statistics of The Transvaal Colony records the costs on Public Works Loan Expenditure for the following Post Offices, Springs, Boksburg, Waterval Boven, Roodepoort and Pretoria.

The Postmaster General’s Report year ending 31^st June, 1904 records, “A commodious new Post Office was opened at Springs on 24^th June, 1904”.

There were several tree planting programs to enhance Government buildings and to act as shade trees - see Bloemhof Post Office above for more details.

References
Statistics of The Transvaal Colony For The Years 1904-1909, Compiled in the Colonial Secretary’s Office, Pretoria, p.51.

Transvaal, Department of Post and Telegraphs, Annual Reports for the Year ended 30th June, 1904, p.D.1.