Brunei 1906-2006
A display by the Sarawak Specialists' Society
Thursday 9 March 2006
The Local Issue Of 1895 | The Provisional Issue Of 1906 | 1907 - 1924 Definitives | The 1924 Issue | Registered Mail | Pre-War Airmail Flights | The Second World War 1939-1947 | British Military Administration | 1947 Definitive Issue | Post-War Airmail Flights | The 1952 Definitives | The Indonesian Confrontation 1962-1966 | Military Mail 1967 - 2005 | Brunei - Postal Services In The Late 20th C | Bibliography
Introduction
This display drawn from the collections of members of the Sarawak Specialists' Society celebrates one hundred years of Bruneian philatelic history.
Brunei is a small independent sultanate on the north-west coast of Borneo with a total area of 5,769 square kilometres and a coastline to the South China Sea of about 161 kilometres. The ruler, His Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam, is the 29th Sultan of his line.
The country is divided into 4 administrative districts:
i) Brunei/Muara, encompassing the capital and its port at the mouth of
the Brunei river with the majority of the population;
ii) Tutong, based on the town of that name halfway along the coast and
largely agricultural;
iii) Belait, including the oil towns of Kuala Belait and Seria and
iv) Temburong, a large, hilly and sparsely populated area with a small
town at Bangar
The Local Issue Of 1895
The first stamps issued in Brunei were the Local Issue in 1895. This issue has been surrounded by controversy since its release. Up until this date any mail was taken by the Sultan's boat to Labuan free of charge, where it entered the international postal service.
A concession to produce a set of stamps was given to John Robertson in 1894. He was to finance the production of the stamps with the Sultan having the monopoly of sales in Brunei and Robertson outside of Brunei. The stamps are thought to have been printed by Maclure, Macdonald and Co of Glasgow and were available from March 1895 until October 1899. The stamps are inscribed Postage and Revenue, but there are no recorded examples of revenue usage. Unusually the stamps use three different languages; English, Jawi and Chinese scripts. The Sultan's head does not appear on the stamps due to religious constraints at that time. The display illustrates the retouches and flaws on this issue.
The majority of covers known are addressed to F. R. Parker and to C.D. Pead which are the survivors of mass postings arranged for these dealers. Examples of commercial covers are also on display.
The Provisional Issue Of 1906
The Sultan of Brunei handed over the general administration of the State to a British Resident on 2nd January 1906. Plans were made for a complete postal service, with the official inauguration of this service on the 11th October 1906. New stamps were ordered from the Crown Agents and, pending their arrival, surplus stocks of the Labuan Crown issue were overprinted and surcharged by the Government Printers in Singapore. The usage and varieties existing on these overprints and surcharges along with a possible trial of the Brunei overprint on a Straits Settlement stamp are followed by some Crown Agents documents. Examples of the errors on the overprint and surcharge including the black overprint on and off cover and flaws on the basic stamps are displayed.
1907 - 1924 Definitives
Although a postal service had been established in Brunei on 1st October 1906, with stamp values of 1 cent, 2 cents, 3 cents, 4 cents, 5 cents, 8 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 30 cents, 50 cents and $1, and with postage rates the same as in Labuan, the actual stamps were delayed in transit and were put on sale only as from 26th February 1907.
The stamps, showing a typical river scene, had been engraved by De La Rue as separate vignette and frame plates with the letters and figures of value added by pantograph. They were printed on paper watermarked Multiple Crown and CA, and line perforated 14. The sheet format was five rows of twelve stamps. These parameters were unchanged until 1924, although single plate printing for selected monochrome stamps was introduced late in 1911 to simplify production. The frame master plate had retouches on R1/5 and R4/12 and the vignette master plate had retouches at R1/2 and R5/6. Two working vignette plates were laid down, both showing additional retouches. The original 1907 issue was printed with differing frame and vignette colours using vignette plate 1. The only stamp to be reprinted using vignette plate 2 was the 4 cent in 1909.
The Colonial Office Journal for April 1908 notified the adoption of UPU colours for the 1 cent - all green; 3 cents - all red; and 8 cents - all blue. This resulted in the 2 cents gaining a chocolate frame from the 3 cents, and the 5 cents gaining a light orange frame from the 8 cents. At this time only the 1 cent, 3 cents and 5 cents were on order and were issued on the12th June 1908. The 1 cent used vignette plate 1, the 3 cents and 5 cents vignette plate 2 in bright red and bright orange respectively. The 5 cents vignette plate 1 with light orange frame was a later printing. The Journal for July 1908 stated that the new 2 cents and 8 cents were being printed. The 8 cents blue with an indigo frame was issued in October 1908 using vignette plate 2. A further printing from vignette plate 1 was dispatched on the 18th October 1911. The 1908 Stamp Enactment, effective from the 1st January 1909, required duties to be paid in adhesive stamps, and consequently two additional values, $5 carmine on green and $25 black on red, were dispatched on the 3rd November 1910.
Correspondence in 1911 with De La Rue concerning an order for 3 cents stamps indicated that the use of single printing plates was under consideration. The 3 cents stamps printed from vignette plate 1 were dispatched on 26th September 1911. The 30 cents and $1 stamps continued to be printed from vignette plate 1, but with colours changed to conform with the Straits Settlements stamps (purple and orange-yellow, and black and red on blue.) Both were dispatched on the 18th October 1911 and issued on the 18th March 1912. The De La Rue Day Book notes on 14th December 1911 that an Original Stamp Plate with duty left blank, and two working Duty Plates, 1 cent and 4 cents derived from vignette plate 2 with the bottom dotted line of the water removed, had been prepared. On 10th January 1912 it is noted that six working Duty Plates, 3 cents, 5 cents, 8 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents and 50 cents had been prepared. Single plate printing for monochrome stamps was now possible. The master plate shows re-entries on positions R1/4 and R1/5. The former shows marks just below the BR of BRUNEI together with extra curved lines on the outside of the top value tablet corners facing into the vignette. The latter has some duplication of the UNE of BRUNEI with a line over the letters just above the solid background. A constant variety occurs in the scrollwork below the top left hand value tablet caused by damage to the die during preparation of the plate. On the sheet the changeover from the normal impression to the damaged impression occurs in the sixth column from the right, between the second and third impressions down. The lower of the two curved lines from the scroll is thinned and broken. The earliest of these new stamps to be issued was the 4 cents claret on 17th April 1912 and it is possible that the 1 cent green was issued in 1912 also. On the 10th January 1912 De La Rue shipped the 5 cents orange, 8 cents ultramarine and 10 cents purple on yellow. This was followed on the 25th January 1912 by the 25 cents lilac and the 50 cents black on green to blue-green - possibly the only printing . The 25 cents lilac was issued on the 30th May 1912, the 50 cents black on green in August, and the 10 cents purple on yellow on thin paper in November. A pale shade of the 10 cents exists.
The 1924 Issue
Brunei stamps on Multiple Crown Script CA paper, first introduced in 1921, began to be issued in 1924. Only the 30 cents and $1 were still printed from double plates, with all the other values printed from single plates. Specimen stamps were distributed by the U.P.U., overprinted until 1928 after which they were perforated "Specimen". A new design for the 6 cents and 12 cents values was introduced in 1924, and a plate proof of the 6 cents is shown in the colour of the issued 12 cents.
Master plate retouches occur on the fourth and fifth stamps of the top row and can be found on all values printed from single plates. The sheet format was changed c.1931 to produce sheets of 50 rather than 60 stamps to assist with accounting. When De La Rue changed from printing on dampened paper to printing on dry, pre-gummed paper in about 1924 there was a considerable difference in the size of the stamp. This meant that the comb perforator had to be altered to fit the new sheets and a line perforator was brought into use for a time.
The five cents stamp, printed from the single plate, has a major retouch on the top left-hand ' 5 c ' on the eighth stamp of the top row. The retouch occurs from the first printing in 1916 and continues on all printings until 1952. The retouch became clearer as the plate wore, and it was recognised by A. M. Leverton in 1951. Early positional blocks are rare. Other values also show retouches, many of which can be found on different printings. Vignette II was used also for the stamps printed from double plates, and a major retouch occurs on the tenth stamp of the third row.
Most overseas letters were sent to the United Kingdom and the U.S.A.. and destinations to other non-European countries outside the British Empire are unusual. The Christmas card rate to London is seldom seen.
Registered Mail
In 1924 Brunei Town and Belait used registration handstamps, but in the smaller offices, such as Muara, the registration details were added in manuscript. The registration fee was increased from 12 cents to 15 cents on 1st July 1931. Undenominated Formula Registration envelopes were available until 1935 when a Registered envelope with an imprinted 15 cents stamp was introduced. A hand-painted essay of the 'Registered Letter Fee ' stamp is shown with two proofs from De La Rue archives. Two sizes of envelope were produced, and examples are shown. The size H envelope is rare used, as is any insured registered letter.
Pre-War Airmail Flights
The RAF called at Brunei in 1930 and 1931 when they were making a survey of the north coast of Borneo. A special chop was used on some of the covers carried on the return flight from Brunei to Kuching in 1930. Note the OHHS cover and the cover flown from Karachi to London. The 1931 survey included North Borneo and Brunei was visited on two occasions on return flights to Kuching. A different chop was used on these flights. Mail bag receipts are shown for some of the flights.
Connections were made with KLM flights from Alor Star from 1932, and with Imperial flights from Singapore from 1933. At first an airmail fee was charged in addition to the surface rate, but this was changed to an inclusive rate from 1934. Letters to the U.S.A. could only be flown as far as London as there were no flights across the Atlantic until 1939, and the airmail labels were cancelled with two red bars in London. However for an additional charge they could be carried by air once they reached the U.S.A.. The letter from Brunei carried by the Graf Zeppelin to South America in 1934 is the only such cover recorded from Brunei. When war was declared in 1939 all the airmail rates were raised immediately and the route across the Pacific flown by Pan American Airways began to be used. Although more expensive it was safer and quicker.
The Second World War 1939-1947
The discovery of oil in Brunei in the 1920s significantly increased both the importance and the prosperity of the country. Consequently the outbreak of what was at first only a "European" war was of particular significance to Brunei. Within hours of the declaration of war, censorship was introduced although postage rates remained the same until 1st October 1940.
With the invasion of Malaya at Khota Bharu, followed shortly afterwards
by the attack on Pearl Harbour, the oil installations in Brunei and neighbouring
Sarawak were destroyed to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. On
16th December 1941 the Japanese landed at Kuala Belait and entered Brunei
Town without encountering resistance on 22nd December.
The Japanese treated Brunei and the rest of British Borneo as a single
administrative entity divided into five prefectures with that of Brunei
including Lawas and Limbang, two towns in Sarawak near the border, and,
within a short time, also the island of Labuan. For the first eight months
or so, internal letters could be sent using the pre-war stamps of Brunei
and there are some covers bearing the unissued values of the Brunei definitives
that arrived shortly before the invasion mysteriously postmarked "7
April 1942" and "31 April 1942".
On 1st October 1942 the Japanese reopened the mails for civilian use between people of any nationality in South-East Asia and, on the same day, issued pre-war stamps handstamped in Japanese with the words "Imperial Japanese Government". Similar handstamps were applied to the issues of the other territories and, in theory, all were valid equally throughout the five prefectures. The first handstamps to appear in Brunei Town were in a deep violet while some values were overprinted in red and used in the Sarawak town of Miri. The 1937-40 and 1942 stamps of the Japanese "Showa" series could be used also in the region. At this stage the pre-war datestamps were still in use but on 11th November 1942 the Japanese issued a double circle datestamp inscribed in Japanese "Borneo" and with the date given as the regnal year of Emperor Hirohito so that "1942" became "17".
Early in 1943 the bulk of the remaining Brunei stamps were taken to Kuching in Sarawak where they were handstamped in violet, blue, black and red. No postal requirement for this procedure has emerged as it is unlikely that all the values were supplied to every Post Office and, during the Occupation, postage rates remained constant at 8 cents for letters and 15 cents for registration.
On 29th April 1943, by coincidence the 43rd birthday of the Emperor, a number of pictorial stamps were printed by the Japanese in Batavia with two values each for Java, Sumatra. Malaya and Borneo although the latter was now called Northern Borneo, possibly to reflect the inclusion of Labuan. This change was reflected also in the new single ring metal datestamps that began to appear in the summer of 1943 where the date was changed also from "18" to "2603", the latter being the year of the Japanese Empire.
During 1944 the Japanese decided to overprint and surcharge three stamps for "telegraphic" purposes although only limited philatelic use is known at the end of the war. The stamps so treated were the 1 cent and $1 of North Borneo which were surcharged $2 and $5 respectively, and the 1 cent black of Brunei surcharged $3. Forgeries are known of all the overprinted stamps which are shown and explained in the display.
British Military Administration
Prior to the landing of the allied forces the Japanese destroyed all the stamps and documentation in Brunei and the British Administration continued to treat the three territories as one postal area using the stamps of Sarawak and North Borneo overprinted "B.M.A." which continued in use until the arrival of the 1947 definitives. In the period immediately following the re-occupation it is possible to find letters using Australian stamps from Brunei and also from the U.S. Navy stationed in Brunei Bay. The worldwide shortage of paper meant that registration labels were duplicated in black and red on sheets of local paper or on stamp selvedge while the stamps were cancelled with a three-line datestamp made up of linotype from the Singapore offices of the Straits Times newspaper until the arrival of the Australian type datestamps that remained in use until 1949.
1947 Definitive Issue
On 2nd January 1947 the B.M.A. overprints were replaced by a definitive issue using the pre-war plates and designs but in different colours. The issue can be divided into three groups:
i) The use of pre-war plates for the 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 6 cents,
10 cents and 25 cents values;
ii) New single plates for the 3 cents, 8 cents, 15 cents and 50 cents values
and
iii) New double plates for the 30 cents, $1, $5 and $10 values
Apart from the Master Plate, retouches can be found on all the old plates which had become worn by this time.
Silver Jubilee Of Sultan Ahmed Tajuddin
A set of stamps was scheduled to commemorate the Sultan's Silver Jubilee on 20th September 1949 but was not released until the 22nd as the two days prior were declared to be public holidays. The stamps were recess printed by De La Rue in denominations of 8 cents, 25 cents and 50 cents.
Post-War Airmail Flights
The R.A.F. carried mail by air from Labuan to Singapore to connect with B.O.A.C. flights from Singapore which resumed in 1946. The rates were the same as the immediate pre-war rates. Airmail Letter forms were introduced and were carried to Empire destinations for 25 cents (USA 30 cents) from December 17th 1945 when the post offices reopened. There was also a special rate for the military of 10 cents. In 1947 Malayan Airways took over from the R.A.F. with a 25 cents per ounce rate throughout the Local Postal Union, which was reduced to 12 cents in 1950. All local first class mail was carried by air from 1952.
Aerogramme rates had been published but the service was very little used mainly because the post offices did not sell the forms and they were not pre-stamped. Pre-paid aerogramme forms were introduced on 2nd June 1975 and continue to be produced. Examples are shown, including some issued to commemorate events held in Brunei such as the 25th and 30th anniversary of ASEAN and the 20th SEA GAMES.
The 1952 Definitives
1952 saw the introduction of the first new definitive design since 1906 with the portrait of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin on the lower values and of the water village on the dollar stamps. The frames begin with sections cut from the original printing plates for the 1 cent and $2 stamps, followed by the issued stamps. In 1964 the watermark changed from Multiple Script CA to Multiple St. Edward's Crown Block CA and printings on glazed surface paper were made from 1969. During 1972 various values appeared with sideways watermark and are shown with the De La Rue printer's imprint.
The Indonesian Confrontation 1962-1966
In 1962 the territories of British Borneo, namely Brunei, Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak again found themselves involved with hostilities, but in this case in guerrilla war rather than invasion. The root cause was the proposal to form a Malaysian Federation made up of Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah (North Borneo) which conflicted with Indonesia's aspirations in the region. The revolt commenced on 8th December 1962 with attacks on the Sultan's Palace, the Police Station, the Seria oilfields and on Limbang in Sarawak. The battle-hardened 17th Gurkha Division with both Gurkha and British regiments was available for rapid response together with 42 Royal Marine Commando from Singapore and by the end of the month the revolt was over as the rebels tried to escape to Indonesia. The second phase of hostilities commenced in April 1963 with a direct Indonesian incursion into Sarawak and, for the next three years a state of guerrilla warfare, known for political reasons as the "Confrontation", persisted along the frontiers of Indonesian Kalimantan, Sarawak and Sabah.
The British forces serving in the region were provided with mail services by a network of British Field Post Offices of which there were six in this area, their locations and approximate dates being as follows:
BFPO 605 |
Brunei |
December 1962 onwards |
BFPO 628 |
Kuching |
July 1963 - February 1968 |
BFPO 660 |
Labuan |
August 1964 - November 1968 |
BFPO 663 |
Tawau |
August 1964 - 1966 |
BFPO 670 |
Jesselton |
February 1963 - February 1967 |
BFPO 685 |
Sibu |
December 1964 - February 1967 |
Military Mail 1967 - 2005
Once peace had been restored on 11th August 1966 there remained the need for a garrison to be stationed in Brunei to maintain the status quo. This was provided in two elements: a battalion of Gurkha Rifles from the British Army on secondment to the Government of Brunei and the newly formed Royal Brunei Malay Regiment, later to become the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.
Mail from the former continued to be handled by BFPO 605 which had been based at Berakas Camp since 1962 and which also served the Seria Garrison at the oilfield until 1982. In March of that year BFPO 11 was established at Tuker Lines, Seria, to serve the Gurkha battalion which had been transferred there from Berakas. Until it closed in December 2005, FPOs 51 and 109 came under BFPO 605 while BFPO 11 supported FPOs 111, 134, 515 and 635 although only the latter remains operational. The designation 'Urusan Kerajaan Duli Yang Maha Mulia', roughly equivalent to 'On His Majesty's Service' was available to units of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces as it was to other Government offices.
Brunei - Postal Services In The Late 20th Century
The last three decades of the 20th Century saw a rapid expansion of Brunei's postal services with the opening of new post offices, postal agencies and mobile postal facilities. The final seven frames of our display illustrate the plethora of postal markings associated with this expansion.
Until 1956 only six post offices were open in Brunei. The main post office in Brunei Town opened in 1906 and this was joined in 1908 by District Offices in Muara, Tutong, Belait and Temburong. Following the discovery of significant oil reserves in the area an office was opened at Seria in 1933. The Brunei postmark collector in 2000 would have been able to obtain cancellations from some forty post offices and postal agencies.
Belait District
The first postmarks of Belait date from 1910. After World War II cancellations
reading Kuala Belait were introduced and a series of datestamps with
and without index star were issued to the office. In 1985 a series of
30mm datestamps with code figures from 1 to 6 were issued, the code numbers
indicating different usages.
The post office at Seria was opened in 1933 and in 1956 a postal agency was set up at Labi. A datestamp was issued in 1958 and the agency was upgraded to a sub post office under Seria in 1973. A selection of postal markings from both of these offices is shown. Travelling Post Offices were established in the 1960s and examples of their postmarks are shown. Three more postal agencies (Wakil Pos) were appointed in 1980, the Kampong Sungai Liang PA being replaced by a full scale post office in 1987.
Temburong District
A post office was opened at Bangar in the Temburong District in 1909, the
first postmark, reading Temburong, appearing in the following year. Various
cancellations are recorded until the introduction of one reading Bangar
in 1976. Wakil Pos Kampong Selapon was established in 1982 using the
code figure 18 in the date stamp.
Brunei-Muara District
Brunei Town Post Office was opened in 1906. Lack of space precludes the
display of the numerous cancellations reading Brunei and Bandar Seri
Begawan used there. However, there has been a rapid expansion of postal
services within the District, new post offices were built, often to a
standard design, and in 1980 alone no less than twelve postal agencies
were opened in the District. Some of these, such as Gadong, Seri Komplex
and Seng Kurong were soon upgraded to full post office status, although
others did so little business that they eventually closed. Examples of
postmarks from many of these new offices and agencies are displayed.
A post office was established at Muara in 1908 and although closed during the Japanese occupation was re-opened in 1948. Mobile Post Offices operated in the District from 1963 and a postal agency was opened at Lumapas in 1964 although the only examples of the postmark then issued which have been recorded (and dated 1967) were obtained by favour in 1973. The new International Airport was opened in 1974 and various cancellations used there are shown.
Tutong District
The only post office in the District for some sixty years was opened in
Tutong in 1908 although in the first half of the century little business
was done. A Mobile Post Office (the first in the State) operated from
1963 and the following year a postal agency opened at Rambai. Further
agencies were introduced in 1980 and 1983 and full scale post offices
opened at Telasai in 1990 and Lamunin the following year.
Travelling Post Offices
Commencing in the 1960s the Mobile and Riverine Post Offices were a logical
and important development in providing mail services to outlying communities.
Unfortunately information regarding their operation is difficult to obtain
and it would appear that certainly in the first few years of their existence
the services were somewhat spasmodic.
The first TPO opened in 1963 and was based in Brunei Town. It served communities in the vicinity of the main trunk road between Brunei Town and Kuala Belait. A schedule issued in 1974 indicates a four day weekly rota running from Monday to Thursday.
A road vehicle based upon Kuala Belait post office using a datestamp reading PPB (Pejabit Pos Bergerak) Seria commenced operations in 1965 serving kampongs between Seria and Danau. The original datestamp was replaced in about 1978.
Postmarks from three Riverine Post Offices have been recorded. Wakil Pos Bergerak Brunei, an outboard motor boat based on Bandar Seri Bergawan GPO commenced operations in 1964. It served the Brunei Bay area visiting some forty isolated kampongs once or twice a week. The datestamp reads Wakil Pos Bergerak Brunei
The first of the Riverine Post Offices was Wakil Pos Bergerak Kuala Belait,
an outboard motor launch based on Kuala Belait post office. Initiated in
1963, the boat travelled up the Belait River as far as Malilas, serving
remote kampongs. A datestamp appears to have been issued to this service
in 1965, being replaced by one reading Pejabit Pos Laut Kuala Belait in
1977, this in turn being superseded by the 30mm Kuala Belait canceller
with index number 6 in 1985.
Finally, an outboard motorboat based on Tutong post office operated Pejabit
Pos Laut Tutong from 1969 or possibly earlier. The service provided a link
between Tutong post office and the postal agency at Rambai. Although a
canceller was provided for the service it is likely that many items dealt
with by the postal clerk received either Tutong or Rambai markings.
His Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan And Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam
The final frames use more recent stamps and covers to illustrate the development of Brunei's institutions and show the regalia of the monarchy.
Bibliography
A History of Brunei, Graham Saunders, London 2002.
Brunei Days, T.S. Monks, Lewes 1992.
Pictures of the Palace, Simon Francis, Hull 1993.
Jungle Warfare, J.P. Cross.
The Cree Journals, M. Levien, Exeter 1981.
Borneo People, M. MacDonald, London 1956.
From Buckfast to Borneo, Victor King & A. Horton, Hull 1995.
A Study of Brunei Postage Rates & Charges 1895-1985, E. Thorndyke,
Brunei 1986.
The Postal History of British Borneo, Edward Proud, Sussex 1987.
Brunei the 1895 Issue, Robson Lowe, London 1973.
Brunei, Fred. J. Melville, Italy 1980
Brunei: The Definitive Issues & Postal Cancellations to 1974, T. Thorndyke,
Berkshire.
Brunei: Its Postage Stamps & Cancellations, Howard Lee, New York
Sarawak Stamps During & After the Japanese Occupation, Alan Dant, Sarawak
1949.
Japanese Occupation Stamps in Southeast Asia, Masayoshi Tsuchiya, Tokyo
2004.
Publications by the Sarawak Specialists' Society*
The Secret Life of the Brunei Locals, Brian Cave FRPSL
Sarawak Stamps & Postal History, W.R. Forrester- Wood FRPSL, 1957
The Sarawak Journal (also available on CD-ROM)
*Obtainable from Claire Angier FRPSL, 29 Churton Street, London SW1V 2LY
(claire@historystore.ltd.uk)
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