- £1550.00
1897 envelope to Coolgardie, Western Australia, from England with the stamp washed off, posted at Redruth FE 11 97. A violet two line handstamp 'Damaged through / stranding of “Oratava” ' is on the front of the cover. The 5857 ton SS Orotava, (not Oratava as in the cachet) grounded on the Scilla Shoal near Perim island in the Red Sea on the morning of 23rd February 1897. The mail, which had been damaged by sea water was taken off a few days later and taken to Aden by the P & O 'Ganges' and the telegraph ship 'Amber'. From Aden it went to Australia on the P & O steamer 'Ballarat' arriving at Albany on March 27 where this letter was taken off and the cachet applied. One of only six covers recorded from this incident and one of very few covers from ship wrecks going to western Australia.
