What Does "Cma" Stand For?

Quite a few entries on the Phoenix Auctions website, including their auction listings, contain the abbreviation "CMA" without explanation as to what it stands for.

Does anyone know?

Example:

Nope,
Not the first time I have encountered an unknown acronym at Phoenix

Not in Philas Glossary
https://auction.philas.org.au/abbreviation.php

Those look like provenance references. Could it possibly be a reference to CMA Auctions? IOW, that item was last sold at CMA Auctions on 31 Dec 1982?

It seems to be a reference to the history of that particular post office. This one opened in 1959, but its status changed in 1982 to a CMA, whatever that is. Usually in this space you are told that the office closed or became an LPO (Licensed Post Office). If the office is still open, nothing is written in this space.

Rod, it's not even listed in the catalogue list of abbreviations.

Community Mail Agent?

From a random Google hit:

There we go! Thanks, PostmasterGS!

(I can't say I've ever seen a listing for a CPA, though.)

Some trivia for you. According to this website, there are 629 uses of the acronym CMA.

https://www.acronymfinder.com/Commu...)-(CMA).html

As the title implies, a CMA is simply one person. I can't find any information out about where they work, but if they're not working from a post office they must be working from home.

Kate Cable became a CMA in 1986:

'Kate Cable was the longest serving postmistress in Australia. On 1 July 1927 she was appointed postmistress at Macrossan, on the Flinders Highway, west of Townsville, earning 15/- per week. Kate outlived the official history records of the postal service of Queensland. Her 59 years service at the Macrossan post office officially ended when the exchange went automatic on 31 March 1986; however Kate continued to maintain her links with Australia Post and the district, acting as Community Mail Agent for the collection and distribution of mail. Her duties as a postmistress involved sorting incoming and outgoing mail, banking, money orders and operating the old cordless pyramid switchboard.'

https://henrykable-susannahholmes.c...e-1896-1966/

Well done PostmasterGS and JimJam
Had me stumped
I emailed Phoenix, but no replies yet

Time to put this in the acronym database.

Agent or Agency?

Agent

Exciting find today - a cover sent to me in April 2022 with three strikes of COMMUNITY POSTAL AGENT / BAWLEY POINT / NSW / 2539 cds. The image shows the two most legible strikes.

I can thus now confirm the existence of the CPAs!

However, I still have not found a strike from a CMA.

CPA = Community Postal agent.

Have you ever seen datestamps from CPAs or CMAs, Rod?

Anyone?

Never JimJam,
I checked my database for CMA and CPA and "Agent" nary a Pmk.


I personally see it as a "Collective noun" that would not appear on a Pmk

For example "Fred's River" may be a CPA or a CMA , but Fred's River would be on the hammer.

The collective noun, is the preserve of Australia Post for their internal Hierarchy structures.

Your example is the very first I have seen !

Premier Auctions #69
2007
Boxed Community Postal Agent CPA