1995 New Zealand Cities at Night.

        This post has recently had a major rework taking out many of the original stamps to focus on the six stamps of the 1995 Scenic Issue.    (Kim)

       For such a small country, it often surprises visitors that New Zealand offers such a wide range of scenic attractions. Each year, New Zealand Post produces Scenic stamps which are popular both locally and internationally for their charm, beauty and variety.

      The 1995 Scenic Issue features something a bit different to the usual scenic views because this time the scenes were captured at night to bring out the night beauty rather than the day time scene. Six cities were chosen, 4 major cities and 2 tourist cities.

 The Stamps.

45c - Auckland at Night.

Auckland is by far New Zealand's largest city and its most important industrial and commercial centre as well. The heart of the city is set against the edge of the Waitemata Harbour, the port being a key element in the city's make-up. The harbour is ideal for yachting, a huge sport in Auckland that lends its name to the slogan by which Auckland is known - 'City of Sails'. Auckland's downtown centre has the country's greatest number of tall office blocks and this stamp shows them in their night splendour, rising behind the central city waterfront area.

On the stamp above the yellow has been completely omitted on the right-hand stamp.

Below is a similar problem except the yellow is only partly omitted.

80c - Wellington at Night.

The nation's capital, located at the southern tip of the North Island is famed for a windy climate and a spectacular setting. The city's downtown area is clustered on a narrow strip of land, much of it reclaimed from the magnificent bowl-shaped harbour. Houses crowd the steep hills circling the city. Wellington is even more spectacular at night, a panoramic blaze of concentrated light. The scene on this stamp is familiar to all Wellingtonians, being taken from Mount Victoria and looks down on the city and its harbour.  



$1.00 - Christchurch at Night.

The contrast between Wellington and Christchurch is dramatic. While above Wellinton and Auckland are ports, Christchurch lies on the Canterbury Plains on the mid-east coast of the South Island. Its port is on the other side of the hills at the port of Lyttelton. Most of the 'Garden City' is flat and it is recognised as 'the most English' of New Zealand cities, a town of parks and gardens.

In the stamp above we see the city centre was dominated by the Anglican cathedral and its soaring 65-metre spire. The church and the abutting square form was vital heart to the city and a well known icon. The cathedral, floodlit and framed by leafless winter trees is shown in this night scene. Sadly this scene can never be captured again as the cathedral was destroyed in the recent 2011 earthquakes.

 Yellow is pale on the left-hand stamp.



$1.20 - Dunedin at Night.

Dunedin was settled by waves of Scottish migrants from the late 1840s. Today Dunedin is still known as the 'Edinburgh of the South'. It was built at the head of Otago Harbour, a long inlet running from the sea on the southeast coast of the South Island. When gold was discovered in central Otago in the 1860s, Dunedin quickly became the wealthiest city in early New Zealand. There was money for many handsome, made-to-last Victorian buildings and most of them have survived. Together with a carefully laid out city centre in the shape of an octagon, they give Dunedin a charming feel. Today the city is also known for its university, with its famous medical school.  The building featured on this stamp here is the Town Hall, taken with a time exposure at night.

                                  

 Gold has been omitted on the right-hand stamp.



$1.50 - Rotorua at Night.

Rotorua is a tourist town, pure and simple. It grew where it did, in the centre of the North Island's inland thermal and lake area, because of nature's wonders. Few areas in the world have such a concentration of thermal attractions as Rotorua and its environs. The famed pink and white silica terraces on the shores of Lake Rotomahana drew the first overseas tourists but even after the terraces were tragically destroyed by the enormous eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886, visitors continue to flock to Rotorua, lured by spouting geysers, hot springs and pools, boiling mud, steaming vents and coloured terraces.

The famous old bathhouse building shown here was built at the turn of the century. Today it has become the cities museum surrounded by an area of landscaped parks.



$1.80 - Queenstown at Night.

Queenstown is spectacularly sited, nestled on the eastern shore of beautiful Lake Wakatipu in the shadow of The Remarkables mountain range. It is the South Island's major tourist resort, for both New Zealanders and overseas visitors, and has developed rapidly in recent years. It is just as popular with holidaymakers in summer as in winter when ski fields are packed. It is the hub for countless tourist attractions - old gold diggings, tramping, hunting, fishing, daring bungy jumping, jet boating, white water rafting, heli-skiing, scenic flights over the Southern Alps and to Milford Sound, lake excursions and many more. The photograph on this stamp, taken from the top of the famous Queenstown Gondola,  looks over Queenstown toward The Remarkables.

The First Day Cover for this issue was a bit of a disappointment when compared with the stamps. Allan says a lot more could have been done with such an interesting subject.

 World Stamp Exhibition Sheet.

In 1995 New Zealand Post took part in the Jakarta (19-25 August) and Singapore (1-10 September) World Stamp Exhibitions. A special sheets (jumbo miniature) were produced for them. The one for Jakarta featured a map of New Zealand with the six stamps from the 1995 Cities at Night issue that had appeared earlier in the year.

       

Technical information

Date of Issue:	22 February 1995
Designer:	Red Cactus Design, Wellington, New Zealand; Miniature Sheet Designer:New Zealand Post, Stamps Business
Printer:	Southern Colour Print, New Zealand
Stamp Sizes:	40mm x 35mm; Miniature Sheet Size:148mm x 210mm
Sheet Sizes:	50 stamps per sheet; Jumbo Sheet of six stamps
Process:	Lithography
Perforation Gauge:	12
Paper Type:	Coated Papers, red phosphor coated, unwatermarked

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ.

You can visit their web site and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/