The story of tin can mail begins in 1882 on Niuafo’ou, the northernmost island in the kingdom of Tonga, in the southern Pacific Ocean.

Due to the island’s steep geography, ships could not dock in its harbour. Postal communications with the outside world were extremely limited until William Travers, a plantation manager working for Osterman, Dervy & Co., came up with a unique idea. He suggested that passing ships could deliver mail destined for Niuafo’ou by placing the letters into tin cans and throwing them overboard into the ocean. Swimmers would then make the treacherous one-mile journey to retrieve the floating cans from the water and deliver the mail to the island.

Photo of Niuafo’ou Island taken by the Internation Space Station on March 19, 2005.
Image: https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=ISS006&roll=E&frame=39913

Travers proposed his idea to the Tongan Postal Authorities … and they accepted!

Tin can used to deliver mail.
Image: https://richterstamps.co.za/tin-can-mail-system

Ships began making deliveries around the clock. Mail was placed in 40lb biscuit tins or kerosene cans and tossed into the water by the ships’ crews, all to be brought back to shore by Niuafo’ou’s postal workers. When deliveries were made at night, swimmers would venture out with a lantern in tow, while another group built a bonfire on shore to guide them back safely.

In 1921, Charles Ramsey, another plantation manager on Niuafo’ou, started making the swim to retrieve mail himself. He was the first westerner to make the treacherous swim, venturing out over 112 times in all weather and sometimes at night.

Photo postcard c. 1930 of Tongan swimming postal workers delivering the mail.
Image: https://angelasavage.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/tin-can-mail/

In the late 1920s, news of tin can mail spread. The delivery method became a tourist attraction as cruise ships began to help deliver the mail. Passengers would gather on deck to watch as the ship’s crew threw the cans overboard and postal workers made their daring retrieval.

In 1928, Walter George Quensell, an employee of the Burns Phillip Trading Company, arrived on the island and capitalized on tin can mail’s growing popularity. He made a rubber stamp with the words “Tin Can Mail” and used it to stamp all outgoing mail from a hut on the beach.

Walter Quensell’s sister-in-law, Pauline Hoeft, was the only woman to make the swim to retrieve mail. She was a champion swimmer who, in 1922, set records for fastest 100-yard swim in New Zealand.

Pauline Hoeft, 1922. Archives New Zealand ACGV 8840 W1514 Box 13/22 collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search#/?q=R22534604

In 1931, swimming was officially banned when a Tongan swimmer was killed by a shark. From then on, mail could only be retrieved by canoe.

A volcanic eruption in 1946 put a stop to tin can mail as the entire island was evacuated. The mail system was revived 12 years later and lasted until 1983, when an airport was finally built on the island.

Below are two examples of tin can mail with a connection to Canada. The first was mailed from Brantford, ON to Niuafo’ou, Tonga and the second is outgoing mail from Niuafo’ou, Tonga to Vancouver, BC. Hover over the images to read their descriptions.

Tin Can Mail sent from Brantford, ON to Niuafo’ou on January 5, 1939

It is addressed to Mr. W. G. Quensell, paying the correct 5 cent non-UPU rate with a blue 5 cent King George VI Mufti stamp. It has numerous cancels and markings all over and is signed on the back as original tin can mail by Mr. Quensell. There is a large oval with the Latitude listed as 15˚ 33’ South and Longitude as 175˚ 39’ West, slightly off 15.6098˚ South by 175.6332˚ West from a modern google search.