Description

Simple roll-and-move Board game with penalty and bonus spaces, set in the bushranging days (1840s-1850s) of the Australian colonies of Victoria and New South Wales. The board depicts the pre-railway horseback mail route route either from Melbourne Post Office westward to the Town of Ararat, or from the Sydney Post Office westward over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst. Hazards include broken bridges, bushrangers and bushfires.

At least three versions appear to have been published.
The first, apparently from the 1890s, is set in Victoria. The Melbourne Post Office is depicted anachronistically as is was after the completion of its clock tower in 1887, and the race route is via Melton, Moorabool, Bacchus Marsh, Mt. Egerton, Lal Lal Creek, Mt. Buninyong, Lake Burrumbeet, and Mount Cole to Ararat, with an alternative route via Laverton, Werribee, Little River, North Shore and Geelong. Ararat asylum is shown as two small single-storied cottages. Hazards include bushrangers and bushfires. This version was specified as being for 2 to 4 players.

A second version, published c.1900, also depicts the Melbourne-Ararat route, but without the alternative route via Geelong. The quality of artwork and printing is improved, and the Ararat asylum is depicted as three large two-storied buildings. It was also billed on the back of the board as being for 2 to 4 players.

A third version of unknown publication date features the Sydney to Bathurst route and is subtitled "a great entertainment". This version came with at least 5 playing pieces, so presumably was for 2-5 players. The rules-sheet includes an adventure story of a mailman's adventures along the route, intended to be read before playing the game, and which included footnotes relating the events of the story to the various penalty and reward spaces.