William Reeve Rundell
Born10 July 1848
Deptford, England
Died6 or 8 March 1936(1936-03-08) (aged 87)
Sydney, Australia
NationalityBritish
OccupationPost Office official
Known for
ChildrenAda Rundell

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 in 1924.

Early life

William Rundell was born in Deptford,[1] London, on 10 July 1848,[2] to William Reeve Rundell, a shipwright, and his wife Sarah Sophia Rundell.[3] In 1855, William senior emigrated to Australia, settling in the Ararat and Ballarat districts, and in 1856, William junior and Sarah joined him.[1][3] 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".[3]

Personal life

William junior married Agnes Manchester (1848–1909) and they had one daughter, the physiotherapist Ada Sophia Rundell (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).[3]

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.[4]

Career

A three pence stamp of the first issue in Victoria, 1850
An 1850 "Sydney view" stamp of New South Wales

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[3] where he was also responsible for post office records until 1908.[1][5] He retired in that year, when he may have visited England with his daughter.[3]

Rundell also collected stamps, specialising in the issues of the State of Victoria.[1] He was a founder member and four times president of the Philatelic Society of Victoria[1][6] and a life member of the Sydney Philatelic Club.[1]

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, 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, he showed 48 Sydney view stamps on original covers, the first stamp of that state,[7] including the variety of two pence with "CREVIT" omitted.[8]

In 1914, he was president of the Second Australasian Philatelic Congress,[9] and in December that year was elected a member of the Royal Philatelic Society London.[10] He sold his stamp collection during the First World War.[4] He signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1924.[2]

Death and legacy

Rundell died in Sydney on 6 or 8 March 1936,[2][4][11] his body being cremated at Lidcombe Crematorium.[4] He had laterly resided at Canterbury, New South Wales.[4] His philatelic research notes were acquired by the Australian philatelist J. R. W. Purves who used them in his own research.[12]

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Who Was Who in Philately". ABPS. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust. (2011) Background notes on The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists September 2011. London: Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "RUNDELL, Ada Sophia". emhs.org.au. East Melbourne Historical Society. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Obituary", The Argus, 11 March 1936, p. 8. Retrieved from Trove, 7 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Two Shillings, Green, and Other Values of Victoria, 1854–61", The London Philatelist, Vol. 24 (1912), pp. 162–163.
  6. ↑ "The Philatelic Society of Victoria", The London Philatelist, Vol. 7 (1898), p. 252.
  7. ↑ Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue: Commonwealth and British Empire Stamps 1840–1970. 123rd edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2021, p. 17. ISBN 9781911304784
  8. ↑ "The Philatelic Society of Victoria", The London Philatelist, Vol. 9 (1900), pp. 221–223.
  9. ↑ "The Second Australasian Philatelic Congress and Exhibition", The London Philatelist, Vol. 23 (1914), pp. 126–127.
  10. ↑ "Royal Philatelic Society, London", The London Philatelist, Vol. 24 (1915), pp. 22–23.
  11. ↑ William R Rundell Probate • Australia, Victoria, Index to Probate Registers, 1841–1989. Family Search. Retrieved 6 September 2021. (subscription required)
  12. ↑ "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.

Further reading

  • Kellow, Geoff, "The 'Rundell' First Day Covers of Victoria (1897–1901)", Cover Collector, Vol. 16 (March 2008).
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