THE NIMROD POST OFFICE. AUCKLAND, December Q.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 34

THE NIMROD POST OFFICE. AUCKLAND, December Q.

The announcement that the mail for King Edward VII Land, per,Niinrod, would close at Lyttelton at 7 a.m. to-morrow, and that, residents at the extremities of both islands could catch this by. sending what messages they wished by, telegraph, excited a good deal of interest in Auckland to-day, especially among philatelists, who wer« keenly desirous of securing not only the poet-notfrk of" the. most southern post office ift the world, _ but also some of the limited supply of stamps which have been specially issued by the Government for King Edward VII Land. * The local telegraph office officials were, needless to say, bothered with numerous inquiries as to the particular method to adopt, and being up to their eyes in despatching New - Year greetings, they naturally wished the enterprising ones anywhere but there, and King Edward VTI Land- still further. Nevertheless, the officials were most courteous, and explained that any telegraphic messages sent to the Far South would have to be marked "Post Lyttelton." As the majority of the senders, however, were not acquainted with any of the members of the expedition, they mostly sent their messages to fictitious persons in the belief that the letters would in due course be classed as " dead" ones, and returned to the senders with the King Edward VII Land post-mark. One of the seekers after such a souvenir sent the. following message : . " Jack Frost. King Edward VH Land. — Please see Shaokleton gets through," after which followed the enterprising one's name and address. Not satisfied with this, the individual also .sought to get an autograph letter from Lieutenant \ Shackleton with King Edward VII Land stamps and post-mark by sending a money ! order telegram as follows : ■ "Shackleton, i King Edward VII Land. — Have asked Jack Frost see you through. - "Reply -by post, sixpence expenses enclosed." What with j these messages coming on top of the ordinary rush or business on the last day of the year the work at the telegraph office became so congested that a notice was posted intimating that there would be a delay of two hours in connection with - messages lo the South Island. WELLINGTON. December 31.

The Postal Department states that an impression prevails that letters posted to King Edward VII Land by the Nimrod will on their return bear the marks of the

expedition stamp -on the postal label. This, of course, is a mistake. Any letter posted at Lyttelton, for instance, -to King Edward VII Land will have the postage stamp obliterated with the Lyttelton date stamp, and the only mark of the expedition that it will bear will be the King Edward VII • Land, date stamp on the baokof the envelope. -It -will be well- for the public who hope to obtain mementos of the expedition to bear this fact in mind in order to save themselves trouble.