Daniel Kurz, Adjunct Professor, from Middlesex County College joins the American Philatelic Society‘s Stamp Chats discussing “Sydney’s Post Office & British Imperial Postal Culture”.
This compelling presentation about the history of Victorian letter writing and postal culture in Australia is a rich, dynamic exploration into the history of communication. Kurz explains the meaning behind the massive Neo-Classical post offices built throughout Australia and how these structures impacted the development of the country and positioned it for sustainability and connection to the outside world despite being so distant from the United Kingdom. This cultural framework, instigated by the Victorian expectation to communicate so as to avoid a person’s “civic death”, shaped Australia’s infrastructure and concept of time and space.
For those who love a good story, Professor Kurz is an adroit storyteller able to weave multiple narratives into a seamless tale that transports the listener back in time and generates intellectual connections that only someone with an enthusiasm and confident grasp of the subject can pull off. Anyone interested in history, communication, postal history, airmail, the British Empire, and of course, the making of modern day Australia is encouraged to join us on Stamp Chat.