The Otto Peetoom Philatelic Legacy Website
Our original website contained such a wealth of information we decided to keep it as an exhibit in its own right, a reminder to tech savvy stamp collectors of the pioneering days of early philatelic websites. It was developed by the late, great South African philatelist, Otto Peetoom. He was a ship captain who taught himself to program in HTML in order to promote his beloved South African philately, postal history and the South African Collectors’ Society online. This website is his legacy.
Click here to visit it.
You can search Otto’s website here.
Many of the articles on Otto’s website are linked to here.
The above block of four labels from the Seventh Philatelic Congress of SA, Cape Town, is from his personal collection. It is thought to have been designed by A. A. Jurgens, RDPSA.
Otto was born to Dutch parents and spoke Dutch at home. He was educated in Afrikaans at Helpmekaar Boys High School in Johannesburg, matriculating in 1963. In 1964, as Sea Cadet No. 2248 he joined the General Botha Nautical College in Gordon’s Bay. From 1965 – 1967, he was a Safmarine cadet aboard the SA van der Stel and a deck officer in 1968 when it controversially bought Buccaneer aircraft from Hull to South Africa. In 1971, he joined the British Merchant Navy and served on the Atlantic Conveyor which would later be sunk in the Falklands War in 1982. He left her in Newcastle in 1973 and enrolled for his Masters Certificate at Liverpool Polytechnic which he passed in SA in 1974.
In 2016, Otto very deservedly and proudly received the Manfred Weinstein Medallion “for his huge role in the development of the current interest in Southern African Philately”. The prestigious Manfred Weinstein Medallion is “Awarded for Excellence in Philately Research and the sharing of Knowledge”. Otto was a man of considerable talent and intellect and unbelievable energy. At the November Conferences, he could be relied upon to produce professionally crafted PowerPoint displays that were interesting and somewhat removed from the well-trodden paths of conventional philately. His displays on SWA artwork for new stamp designs and on the Victoria Waterfall, incorporating stunning Rhodesian rarities, were especially memorable.
Like all achievers, Otto could be abrasive, difficult and opinionated. At times, many of us failed to see eye-to-eye with him but, in the final analysis, he was a man who got things done, very largely by himself, working unbelievably hard for the hobby we all love. Otto’s support for SACS and The Springbok were constant and of a high standard and his creation of the Society website was quite remarkable. We lament the passing of his brooding presence, knowing it will be impossible to replace him with someone half as knowledgeable, hard-working and dedicated to the Society.
Otto was always willing to talk about Southern African Philately. Often the conversation began with “your subscription is due”!
Click here for details on how to join and pay your subscription!!!
