1860 Scott 61 6p black "Victoria" Quick History Victoria, the British colony, existed from 1851-1901, when it became part of Australia. Prior to 1851, it was part of New South Wales. The colony was named, of course, for the Queen, and naturally all of stamps depict the monarch with images attractive and unattractive (but realistic!). A gold rush during the 1850s led to a population increase from 76,000 to 540,000. About one-third of the world's output of gold for 1851-1860 came out of Victoria. 1916 map of Victoria Because of gold, Melbourne became the financial center of Australia. Between 1901-1927, while Canberra was under construction, Melbourne was the capital of Australia. It was, in fact, the second largest city (445,000 in 1889) during this period in the British Empire next to London. (Melbourne is absolutely my favorite city in Australia. The sidewalk cafe scene is so civilized. The Royal Botanical Gardens are astonishing.) Stamps were introduced on January 3, 1850, with the production of the "Half Length" Queen Victoria by Thomas Ham of Melbourne. In fact, local printers were used for most of the stamps produced up to 1859. Naturally, these stamps are rather expensive today, and a fertile field for the specialist. After 1860, all stamps were printed by the Stamp Printing Branch of the Post Office. In 1885, the Stamp Printing Branch became part of the Victoria Government Printing Office. From 1909-1918, the Commonwealth Stamp Printing Office produced stamps for both the states and commonwealth. Although Victoria joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, stamp production continued for Victoria through 1912. The Australian 'roos were issued in 1913. 1863 Scott 80 1 sh blue/blue Into the Deep Blue The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Victoria 1850-1912, 260 major number descriptions. (This does not include the 65 "Postal-Fiscal" stamps listed in the catalogue.) Of the 260 descriptions, only 27 are CV