The Journal of the Rhodesia Study Circle - Issue No. 71

The squared circle postmarks of Northern Rhodesia,  
Part 3
v. 20, no. 3 (71), p.41–2;

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In Part 2 I discussed the abandoned Bomas and I now turn to the second group which is that of Bomas which are still known by the same names but where the sites have been moved from where they were originally.  This group has four Bomas, Mkushi, Ndola, Petauke and Serenje.

7) MKUSHI There have been four Mkushis.  The first was founded in 1900 by J.E. (Chirupula) Stephenson a few miles east of the present bridge over the Mkushi River on the Great North road.  It was closed in 1905 as a Boma (Government office, including post office) and used as a Mission station by the Universities Mission to Central Africa.  The second station was opened by J. Moffat Thomson (later Secretary for Native Affairs) on the Kamimbya stream in the Chifukunyu Mountains.  This Mkushi 2 was closed in 1909 when E. Knowles Jordan opened Mkushi 3 on the Mkushi River about fifty miles south of the present Mkushi 4.  It was closed in 1954 and the present Mkushi was built by S. A. Symon, a New Zealander. I have not seen a squared circle postmark from Mkushi but it can be worked out from the above facts that a postmark between date of issue about 1903 and 1905 would have been used at Mkushi 1, between 1905 and 1909 at Mkushi 2, and thereafter at Mkushi 3.  My 1904 staff list shows that P.E. Hall was Native Commissioner then. As he was alone it seems the station was a one-man station and postmarks would be very rare.

8) NDOLA  The first Ndola was opened in 1904 by Chirupula Stephenson and was on the south bank of the Kafubu River.  It was opposite the present Twapia township near the Nakupata Hills.  In 1905 it was transferred from North-Eastern to North-Western Rhodesia, and in 1911 it was closed and the township was moved to its present site on the railway line.  The first Ndola was not opened when the 1904 staff list was printed.  It seems that the square circle postmark can only have been used from 1904 (and not from the beginning of that year) until 1905 when the transfer North-Western Rhodesia took place and the D.C. postmark with N.W.Rhodesia replaced it.  It must therefore be one of the rarest square-circle postmarks.

9) PETAUKE (pronounced Peta-ukay).  This Boma was established in 1901 by Jimmy Nisbet, on the Petauke stream in the foothills of the Luangwa valley and about 15 miles from the Luangwa River and 20 miles north west of the present Petauke.  It was mid-way between Fort Hargreaves, a trading post and the Sasare Mine and was on the mail path from Broken Hill to Fort Jameson.  The move to the new site took place in 1944.  The old site was one of the hottest in the country.  In the 1904 staff list the Native Commissioner was J.C. Coxhead and his assistant was H.I.Thornicroft.  The latter was D.C. there for very many years and was succeeded by E.H. Lane Poole who also had many years there.  I have two of these postmarks dated 1911 and     1915.

10)SERENJE  This station was on the east side of the Great North Road on top of the Muchinga escarpment overlooking the Luangwa valley.  It was moved in 1953 as it had become isolated from the native villages.  It was a truly magnificent site.  There is no record who opened it, but in 1904 H. Croad was the Civil and Native Commissioner.  Nodder regarded the postmark as only scarce.

The squared circle postmarks of Northern Rhodesia, 

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