In 1849 Vancouver Island became a British crown colony with Fort Victoria as its capital. More settlers arrived, and a small village arose near the fort. By the early 1850s the village site had been formally surveyed, and in 1852 the settlement was named Victoria. Victoria’s first postage stamps appeared on 9 January 1850. They were engraved locally by Thomas Ham of Melbourne, and featured a half-length portrait of Queen Victoria seated, holding orb and scepter. There were three values: 1d in orange-vermilion, 2d in lilac-mauve, and 3d in blue.. The dyes were altered several times during printing, yielding dozens of minor variations. Todays stamp (3 pence) is from 1850 showing Queen Victoria seated, holding orb and scepter.