Abbreviation "H.M.C" in Sands Directory What does "H.M.C." stand for in the following entry in the Sands Directory Street Index for Balmain, New South Wales, in 1890? ![Scan of entry with text Gill Henry, H.M.C.]( Henry Gill was about 64 at that time. He had owned and run a carting business in Grafton, NSW, but retired from that and moved to Balmain. I thought he was probably retired at the time of the directory. He was somewhat well off, having owned several properties in Grafton.

I suspect that in 1890 H.M. may be Her Majesty's but C. might be Customs, Commissioner, Cutter or something else.

The asker commented:

> I found Sands dir's in Ancestry. Found no list of abbr'ns there. I searched Trove newspapers for Henry Gill. Found other names in Sands with "HMC" and searched Trove for their names hoping to see what HMC means. Looked in Govt gazettes on Trove for Customs Dept staff appointments. I found there a Henry Gill on Customs Dept staff around the same time, though no guarantee it's same person. There wasn't much alignment of Customs apptmts to Sands HMC entries.

I looked for lists of abbreviations for Sands directories without success too.

I think the asker finding a Henry Gill amongst Customs Department staff around the same time as the Sands directory entry makes a good case for H.M.C. being an abbreviation for Her Majesty's Customs.