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William Reeve Rundell, sometimes Reeves, (10 July 1848 – 6 or 8 March 1936) was an Australian postal officer. He was born in England but emigrated to Australia with his family while still a child. He obtained employment in the Victorian post office and was promoted to senior posts in Melbourne where he was in charge of post office records. He was also a philatelist, specialising in the stamps of Australia and the State of Victoria. He was a founder member and president of the Philatelic Society of Victoria and a life member of Sydney Philatelic Club. He signed the
Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...
in 1924.


Early life

William Rundell was born in Deptford, London, on 10 July 1848, to William Reeve Rundell, a shipwright, and his wife Sarah Sophia Rundell. In 1855, William senior emigrated to Australia, settling in the Ararat and Ballarat districts, and in 1856, William junior and Sarah joined him. William senior died in 1876 after a successful career as a publican, leaving his wife £2,000 and naming his son as his executor, whom he described as a "Gentleman, Ballarat".


Personal life

William junior married Agnes Manchester (1848–1909) and they had one daughter, the physiotherapist
Ada Sophia Rundell Ada Sophia Rundell (1 January 1876 - 1936), was an Australian physiotherapist who before the First World War promoted the use of physiotherapy by the military, and who subsequently served with the Australian Imperial Force in France and England ...
(1876–1963). Rundell's homes in Melbourne included Hoddle St, Collingwood (1880–1882), Moorabbin (1888–1893), South Melbourne / Albert Park (1896–1922), and Caulfield (1906). He was a founding and life member of the Middle Park Bowling Club in Melbourne and a member of the executive body of the choral group the Melbourne Liedertafel.


Career

In 1871, Rundell joined the Victorian Postal Department and in 1878 moved to the Correspondence Branch in Melbourne, subsequently moving to the city and from 1887 managing the branch where he was also responsible for post office records until 1908. He retired in that year, when he may have visited England with his daughter. Rundell also collected stamps, specialising in the issues of the State of Victoria. He was a founder member and four times president of the Philatelic Society of Victoria and a life member of the Sydney Philatelic Club. His collection was exhibited in 1900 at a display in Melbourne to celebrate the jubilee of the first stamps of Victoria in 1850. Among the items shown were the one and two penny first issues on
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
, the four pence of 1885 printed in the colour of the two pence in error, and three plates (one engraved) of the two pence, Queen on throne. From
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, he showed 48 Sydney view stamps on original covers, the first stamp of that state,''Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue: Commonwealth and British Empire Stamps 1840–1970''. 123rd edition. London:
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 ...
, 2021, p. 17. ISBN 9781911304784
including the variety of two pence with "CREVIT" omitted. In 1914, he was president of the Second Australasian Philatelic Congress, and in December that year was elected a member of the
Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...
. He sold his stamp collection during the First World War. He signed the
Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...
in 1924.Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust. (2011) ''Background notes on The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists September 2011''. London: Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust.


Death and legacy

Rundell died in Sydney on 6 or 8 March 1936,"Obituary"
''The Argus'', 11 March 1936, p. 8. Retrieved from Trove, 7 September 2021.
his body being cremated at
Lidcombe Crematorium Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating ...
. He had laterly resided at
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
, New South Wales. His philatelic research notes were acquired by the Australian philatelist J. R. W. Purves who used them in his own research."Victoria 1879–83: The Letter Combinations found in all the New Designs appearing in this Period &c.", J. R. W. Purves, ''The London Philatelist'', Vol. 82 (1973), pp. 151–156.


Selected publications

* "Victoria. 4d. in colour of 2d.", '' Gibbons Stamp Monthly'', Vol. 22, No. 253 (January 1914). * "Were Sydney Views, the First Stamps used in ?", '' The Australian Philatelist'', Vol. 21, No. 11. * "The Stamps of Victoria", ''
The Australian Philatelic Record The Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria is a philatelic society based in Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia. History The society was founded in Melbourne in 1892 as The Philatelic Society of Victoria and it received the "Royal" pr ...
'', 1925–30. * "The Six Pence Stamp of Victoria of 1862–65", '' The London Philatelist'', Vol. 41, No. 488 (August 1932). * "Postage Stamps of Australia", ''
Australian Stamp Journal Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
'', April & August 1935. * "Postage Stamps of Victoria", ''Australian Stamp Journal'', 1935–37.


References


Further reading

* Kellow, Geoff, "The 'Rundell' First Day Covers of Victoria (1897–1901)", ''Cover Collector'', Vol. 16 (March 2008). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rundell, William Reeves 1848 births 1936 deaths Australian postal officials British emigrants to Australia British philatelists People from Deptford People from the Colony of Victoria Philately of Australia Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists