11/06/2026
Not many people are aware that, similar to the 1938 Trek Centenary covers that were posted from every village, town and city en-route to Pretoria, there was a similar event held to commemorate the 1952 Van Riebeeck Festival, where specially prepared envelopes were dispatched from numerous places across the country, and carried on Wild West type stagecoaches, which were arranged to arrive in time for the festivities in Cape Town.
The 1952 Van Riebeeck stamp issue had not yet been released, but the illustrated envelope (both English & Afrikaans versions) that were prepared for it were available. These were stamped with a special UNION MAIL COACH cachet in red, again available in either language. Ordinary stamps, in some cases Official issues, were used to pay postage and were cancelled at various places en-route.
However, it seems that the event was not as widely publicised, known or supported as the Trek Centenary, and covers carried by the postal coaches are far scarcer than expected.
This special event was not listed at all by Reisener and it was only subsequent to his passing that the full story was published in the SA Philatelist.
Here is a pair of covers (both languages) from the UNION MAIL COACH tour (cachets in matching languages), one posted at ZEERUST/ 7.II.52 and the other posted at CARNAVON/ 2 MAY 52. I also show some photos from the event.
These covers are well-worth looking for.
