On the Wallaby [postcard, circa 1905-1907]

[Editor: This postcard, which incorporates a painting of two swagmen, was made circa 1906-1907. The postcard is undated.]

[Front of postcard]

J. Hutchings       Australian Series

On the Wallaby.

[Description: A painting of two swagmen beside a road.]

[Reverse of postcard]

Post Card.

For Postage in Australia and New Zealand only
This Space may be used for Communication.

(For Address Only).

Only the address on this side if sent abroad.
Printed in Australia

The Breath of the Bush.

In the city, as daylight’s a-dying,
And wearily homeward I push,
My heart is for ever a-sighing
For the wonderful breath of the Bush.

[Handwritten text, in italics]

Dear Fanny

I received your letter & do not send any poultry yet as the chicken are 1/6 up to 3/ pr & turkeys weighing 10 lb each are only bringing 6/- per pr.

The market is glutted with poultry.

Yours with love
M. Phill

Art Series. — Copyright.

[No identifying information about the manufacturer was included on the postcard.]

Source:
Original document

Editor’s notes:
Dimensions (approximate): 94 mm. (width), 140 mm. (height).

This postcard includes three monetary references: 1/6 (one shilling and six pence), 3/ (three shillings), and 6/- (six shillings).

The instruction to only use the reverse side of this postcard for the recipient’s address (“Only the address on this side if sent abroad”) indicates that it was made prior to 1 October 1907 (the date for the international implementation of postal policies accepting the practice of “divided back” postcards, following the sixth Universal Postal Union congress held in Rome in 1906). The usage of a “divided back” on this Australian postcard indicates that it was made from December 1904 onwards (when the Australian postal authorities agreed to the usage of “divided back” postcards).
See: “1905 postal regulations for postcards (divided and undivided backs)”, The Institute of Australian Culture, 18 December 2023

bush = bushland (areas in the country which have lots of bushes and trees; an area which is predominantly untamed wilderness)

J. Hutchings = James Robert Hutchings (1872-1962), artist; he was born on the Isle of Wight (England) in 1872, came to Australia in 1883, and died in North Sydney in 1962
See: John Furphy, “James Robert Hutchings: Australia, New Zealand, 1872-1962”, Australian and New Zealand Art Sales Digest

lb = (also: lb.) pound (a unit of measurement); the abbreviation of “pound” is “lb.” (plural: lbs.), derived from the Latin “libra pondo” (meaning “a pound by weight”), being an ancient Roman unit of measurement (a “libra” was a balance or scales, with which items were weighed)

on the wallaby = on the wallaby track; tramping rural roads as a swagman; in “The Swagman” (published in The Old Bush Songs, 1905), Banjo Paterson explains the term as “A nomad following the track of the wallaby, i.e., loafing aimlessly”

pr = (abbreviation) pair

[Editor: For ease of reading, the original text has been separated into paragraphs, and punctuation has been inserted as deemed appropriate.]