General News
28 October, 2025
Fair gets stamp of approval
Local stamp enthusiasts gathered in search of rarities for their collections as the Maryborough Stamp Fair made its return to Mill House on Saturday morning
Dealers from as far as Gippsland, Warrnambool, Drouin, Frankston, and inner Melbourne brought vast collections of stamps, showcasing decades worth of buying, dealing and swapping.
Dealers displayed folders and boxes holding hundreds of designs each, both Australian and international, in the event organised and catered for by Maryborough Stamp Club.
Maryborough Stamp Club’s Paul Bussey said the event was as busy as stamp fairs in regional centres.
“We’ve had an average amount of people through that bigger clubs like Bendigo and Ballarat shows would expect,” he said.
Nearly 50 visitors toured the display of collections, observing and searching through thousands of items for the chance to expand their own collections.
Not only was the event for stamp lovers, various currency was traded, much of it Australian money no longer in circulation.
Notable displays included a set of rare forged Queen Victoria stamps from the 1850s worth thousands of dollars, international “cinderella” stamps, and old sets of Australian bank notes still in pristine condition.
“There are stamps that weren’t government issued, they were like christmas stickers. In the collecting world, we call them cinderellas,” Mr Bussey said.
Rare limited edition coins still in circulation were also on display, worth more than their actual value.
Some stamps, coins and collections were sold and exchanged for hundreds and thousands of dollars.
“You’ll find a lot of the dealers here have a niche they specialise in,” Mr Bussey said.
“Stamp collecting isn’t just the things you see on the envelope that you tear off, there are a whole range of things people can study and collect, and it’s just finding the niche.”
Mr Bussey believes events like these show stamp collecting is fully alive and continuing, as the best chance for visitors to obtain rare collectable items.
“People now are collecting new things, like newly minted coins. It’s just now, [stamps] have a lot of value and are for money making, not post,” he said.
“But I don’t collect for value, I collect for my interest in the stamps.”