South West Africa Post Shipwrecks of Skeleton Coast

SOUTHWEST AFRICA (NAMIBIA) POST on 15 October 1987 issued a set of four First Day Cover stamps commemorating famous shipwrecks found along the Skeleton Coast - 500 miles (800 km) of raging surf on hot desert approximately 400 miles (640 km) north of Walvis Bay.

This issue was dedicated to ships that have been wrecked in these waters. The British brig Hope (16c) sank in 1804. The sailing ship Tilly (30c) was delivering cargo and goods, mail and items destined for missionary stations. The ship was wrecked on 1 February 1895 near Luderitz. The German transport steamer Eduard Bohlen (40c) was on a voyage from Swakopmund to Table Bay in September 1909 with equipment for diamond deposits. On 5 September 1909, it ran aground on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. The British refrigerator ship Dunedin Star (50c) sailed from Liverpool to Cape Town in early November 1942. At 10:30 on 29 November 1942, it suffered an underwater hole. Due to the risk of sinking, the ship was washed up on the Skeleton Coast.

Stamps included on maxi cards:

- 16c Hope (Dutch Whaling Scooner), 1804

- 30c Tilly (brig), 1885

- 40c Eduard Bohlen (Steamer), 1909

- 50c Dunedin Star, 1942 (Liner)