Tasmania, 1855 (Van Diemen’s Land)
A young queen facing forward, wearing a crown, printed in green.
Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
VAN DIEMENS LAND, the old name of Tasmania, arches over the Queen.
- 1VAN DIEMENS LAND
- 2POSTAGE · TWO PENCE
- Inscription
- VAN DIEMENS LAND · POSTAGE · TWO PENCE
- Meaning
- Van Diemen’s Land was the name of Tasmania until 1856.
- Issued by
- Van Diemen’s Land (British colony, renamed Tasmania in 1856)
- Today
- Australia (the state of Tasmania) Flag of Australia
- Year
- 1855. Issued 1855.
- Made by
- Alfred Edward Chalon (source portrait artist); W. Humphrys (engraver); Perkins Bacon, London (engraving and printing company)
One fact
This full-face portrait of the young Queen Victoria is after a painting by Alfred Edward Chalon; collectors call the design a “Chalon head”.
Source and public-domain rule
Australia, Crown copyright, more than 50 years. A government (Crown) stamp of 1855: Crown copyright in Australia lasts 50 years, so it ended long ago. Copyright in a work made or first published by or under the direction or control of the Commonwealth or a State (the Crown), such as a government postage stamp, lasts 50 years (Copyright Act 1968, ss. 176, 177 and 180). The colonial issues of Tasmania and New South Wales are older still. Applies to issuers au, ts and nw, published before 1976. Legal sources: Copyright Act 1968 (Australia), compilation of 2 April 2026, ss. 176–180.
Scan: 1855 TasmanieSG16.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1164825241), licence templates {{PD-Australia}}, {{PD-old-100}}. Downloaded 2026-10-21, sha256 3cc738a3f91d…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-22 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a second check of these rights by a person is planned, and a stamp that turns out not to be free to use will be removed. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
