Source: Universal Postal Union
Messengers
The first known postal document, found in Egypt,
dates from 255 BC. But even before that time postal services existed on
nearly every continent in the form of messengers serving kings and
emperors. Over time, religious orders and universities added their own
message delivery systems to exchange news and information. Relay
stations were set up along the messengers’ routes to speed delivery over
long distances. Eventually, private individuals were allowed to use the
messengers to communicate with one another.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the exchange
of mail between countries was largely governed by bilateral postal
agreements. But by the 19th century, the web of bilateral agreements had
become so complex that it began to impede the rapidly developing trade
and commercial sectors. Order and simplification were needed in the
international postal services.
Sir Rowland Hill
The process was started by national postal
reforms. The most noteworthy reform occurred in England in 1840, when
Sir Rowland Hill introduced a system whereby postage on letters had to
be prepaid. Furthermore, uniform rates were charged for all letters of a
certain weight in the domestic service, regardless of the distance
travelled. Sir Rowland Hill was also credited with introducing the
world’s first postage stamp.
In 1863, United States Postmaster General
Montgomery Blair called a conference in Paris. Delegates from 15
European and American countries met and succeeded in laying down a
number of general principles for mutual agreements. But the scope of
their decisions was limited and they were not able to settle on an
international postal agreement.
Heinrich von Stephan
This task was left to Heinrich von Stephan, a
senior postal official from the North German Confederation. He drew up a
plan for an international postal union, and at his suggestion, the
Swiss Government convened an international conference in Bern on 15
September 1874. The conference was attended by representatives from 22
nations.
9 October
On 9 October of the same year – a day now
celebrated throughout the world as World Post Day – the Treaty of Bern,
establishing the General Postal Union, was signed. Membership in the
Union grew so quickly during the following three years that its name was
changed to the Universal Postal Union in 1878.
The 1874 Treaty of Bern succeeded in unifying a
confusing international maze of postal services and regulations into a
single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of letters. The
barriers and frontiers that had impeded the free flow and growth of
international mail had finally been pulled down.
World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9
October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal
Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss capital, Berne. It was declared World
Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969.
The purpose of World Post Day is to create
awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’
everyday lives and its contribution to the social and economic
development of countries. The celebration encourages member countries to
undertake programme activities aimed at generating a broader awareness
of their Post’s role and activities among the public and media on a
national scale.
4 comments:
Dah lama rupanya sistem pos ni.
marilah kita menyambut hari surat-menyurat.. hehehe...
Suka dulu2 pos kad raya.. memang seronok.. sekarang nie amalan pos mengepos ni dah tak de..
Harap2 Pos Malaysia akan keluarkan Special Edition sempena Hari Pos Sedunia ni :D
tu lah.. sekarang kalau pos surat pun, surat rasmi atau pos barang.. kalau surat-surat peribadi ni dah tak ada kot..
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