Fine

1892 foolscap size legal cover franked 6d and sent from Rockhampton to Plymouth England. Fine condition.

The initial QLD postmark on reverse is too faint to read, though it is dated 26 July and the other one for Brisbane is 29 July so it took 3 days to reach the state capital. However the decisive clue is in the red handwritten note on the front: ‘Wm Eastlake died.’

Rockhampton type 3c Code C (3R) and I defer to him on this.

Some digging reveals quite a tale.

William Eastlake was a Devon born solicitor and great nephew of the famous artist Sir Charles Eastlake. He emigrated to Barcaldine in 1886, with his wife - the daughter of a Swiss colonel serving in Ceylon. He died aged just 37 in 1892. The official diagnosis was a congenital heart condition. But it may have been a broken heart.

He and his wife were at the centre of a scandal that made headlines in Australia and beyond. The details are in the link below and WELL worth a read. It’s straight out of Hollywood

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1426165474077420/permalink/23917198457880801/