Rishon Le Zion was founded on July 31, 1882 by ten Hovevei Zion pioneers from Kharkov, Ukraine headed by Zalman David Levontin and Reuven Yudalevich. The pioneers purchased 835 acres of land southeast of present-day Tel Aviv, part of the town on land of the Arab village of Ayun Kara (literally fountain of the crier). The population grew to 266 persons by 1890. In 1898, excluding administrative employees and part-time workers, the population had increased to 900 Jewish residents and the colony had expanded to cover an area of 2,275 acres. Postal connections were daily, to and from the Austrian post office in Jaffa. For registered mail, handled for transmission to the Austrian post office in Jaffa, the manager of the messenger service collected 10 para. Provisional registration forms for such registered mail bear the signature of Jacob Medalia. Several types of such provisional registration receipt forms are known. A Turkish post office opened in 1904, and a temporary private postal forwarding connection to the German post office in Jaffa. The Austrian and the German post granted free mail between the Jewish colonies in the postal district of Jaffa. Ayun Kara was the scene of a bloody battle between Turkish and New Zealand troops on November 14, 1917.