{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2022
The colony of South Australia began issuing postage stamps in 1855, and continued until the first stamps of the Australian Commonwealth were issued in 1913. Many of these stamps were intended for use on official mail by government departments, and were overprinted with various initials to prevent unofficial usage by staff and to identify the department concerned. The overprints were in use from 1 April 1868 until 1874, when they were replaced by the letters "O.S." which was then used on official mail of South Australia. Red and black were the most common colours for overprints, but blue was also used.
List of overprints
The initials and the relevant departments were:
*A. Architect
*A.G.
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
*A.O.
Audit
An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...
Office
*B.D.
Barracks
Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
*C.D. Convict Department
*C.L. Crown Lands
*C.O.
Commissariat
A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries.
In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary.
In some ar ...
Surgeon
In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
s
*H.A. House of Assembly
*I.A. Immigration Agent
*I.E. Intestate Estates
*I.S. Inspector of Sheep
*L.A. Lunatic Asylum
*L.C. Legislative Council
*L.L. Legislative Librarian
*L.T. Land Titles
*M. Military
*M.B. Marine Board
*M.R. Manager of Railways
*M.R.G. Main Roads, Gambiertown
*N.T. Northern Territory
*O.A. Official Assignee
*P. Police
*P.A. Protector of Aborigines
*P.O. Post Office
*P.S. Private Secretary
*P.W. Public Works
*R.B. Road Board
*R.G. Registrar General
*S. Sheriff
*S.C. Supreme Court
*S.G. Surveyor General
*S.M. Stipendiary Magistrate
*S.T. Superintendent of Telegraphs
*T. Treasury
*T.R. Titles Registration
*V. Volunteers
*VA. Valuer of Runs
*Vn. Vaccination
*W. Waterworks
See also
*
Postage stamps and postal history of South Australia
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of South Australia, a former British colony that is now part of Australia.
Pre-stamp era
The first postmaster of South Australia was Thomas Gilbert, appointed in 1836. Letters sent or re ...
Sources
*''The Australian Stamp Catalogue'', 1976, Stamp Publications, Dubbo, NSW, Australia.
*''Stamps of the World'', 1980.
Stanley Gibbons
The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...