110 copies of a Special Limited Edition of Not a Poor Man’s Field have been produced, of which 100 are for sale. Most copies have now been sold; however, a few copies are still available.
Each copy contains four Bulolo stamps, showing a Junkers G31 flying over the goldfields flanked by a Spanish galleon and a white miner panning for gold, with a New Guinea villager looking over his shoulder. Included are one £1 Bulolo stamp, two 2/- stamps and one 1/- stamp.
The stamps are mounted in a panel on the front of the book, which is bound in maroon reconstituted leather, with headbands and marker ribbon, decorated and lettered on the spine and decorated on the front, all in gilt. The book is provided in a matching buckram slipcase.
These stamps were used by Bulolo Gold Dredging to post gold bars back to Australia between 1939 and 1941, and are therefore genuine artefacts from the pre-war New Guinea goldfields.
The Special Edition also includes a brief statement by the Acting Chief Post Master at Rabaul in 1935 on the cost of posting gold bars, together with a first hand account by one of the pilots of the unusual way the gold was transported.
As the gold was carried in all sorts of conditions by plane from Bulolo to Port Moresby and then by ship to Australia, some of the stamps have minor perforation damage or slight staining. In selecting the stamps, preference has been given to those whose image is largely unobscured by the post office cancellation.
The cost of each copy is $A375, including p&h within Australia. Payment should be by cheque or direct credit. The account details for the latter are as follows:
BSB: 732 102
Account no: 54 5339
Account name: Michael Waterhouse
Please include a payment reference with your transaction (a name and/or six digit number of your choice) so we can confirm your payment.
If you are interested in a copy, please email the author at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or write to him at 14 Moore Park Road, Paddington, NSW 2021 Australia.