Page 81 - South Georgia

Postal History of South Shetlands, 1913 - 1931
INTRODUCTION

Whale processing was started in South Shetlands, but only one land station was built, by A/s Hektor, opened in
1912. Most processing of flensed blubber into oil took place, at Deception Island, on floating factory ships,
ranging from 4 to 12 in number, all anchored close inshore exploiting adequate fresh water supplies nearby.
Each ship was supported by 2 to 4 catchers. Whale processing ceased in April 1931.
Deception Bay Post Office, South Shetlands was established late in the 1912~13 season, and believed to have
been open from 6 to 24 March 1913. The South Shetlands whaling season is recorded as November 1912 to
5 April 1913.
Postmaster Edward Beveridge Binnie is reputed to have taken approximately £5 worth of low value
Falkland Islands definitives comprising mainly King George V ½d and some King Edward ½d and 1d
stamps and a straight line Port Foster handstamp to be used to identify the source post office, a UPU rule.
At the end of the season, Binnie departed Port Foster to return to Stanley arriving on 27 March 1913.
The Deception Island Post Office provided a basic service, only open during the whaling season, typically
November through to April, but shorter periods did apply owing to adverse weather. The Postmaster was
appointed for one season at a time.

PORT FOSTER
The Post Office operated as a sub Post Office of Stanley, the same rates applied with the same key issues of
despatching mail, courtesy of the Master of ‘ships of opportunity’, preferably British flagged, with either
Grytviken or Stanley as their first port of call. There, mails were date or transit stamped, and if appropriate,
registration was completed.

Commercial pieces from the first season of the South Shetlands ‘Port Foster’ Post Office
are known datestamped ‘FALKLAND ISLANDS’,

by either type F.4E or F.6 between 19 and 31 March 1913
This is one of the largest pieces, datestamped by F.4E, MR 19 13, cut from a commercial cover to Norway

No complete surviving covers are known

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