The Millennium Series - The Complete Series.


 First Heritage Series.                    Second Heritage Series.                    Third Heritage Series.



       There were three Heritage Series through the late 1980s and 1990s The First Heritage Series was a set of six issues lead up to the celebrations of New Zealand's 150th Anniversary in 1990. The Second Heritage Series looked at the four decades, the 1920s - 1950s, where New Zealand gained its own identity and emerged as the nation we know today. This is The Third Heritage Series, six issues leading up to the Year 2000. I am going to include the seventh issue in this series as it seems to fit with the basic theme of this heritage series marking the beginning of the century. 
Put together on a page like this they make a great record of New Zealand's Heritage. You can view the entire series on one page, then follow the links to learn more about each issue and the individual stamps. 

1997 - Millennium Series I - Discoverers.
If we make a list of explorers of New Zealand, the first on our list must be Captain James Cook. There he is on the first stamp, the 40c value. The next two stamps are about the Maori explorers and discoverers of New Zealand, Maui and Kupe. The final three stamps show the three other famous explorers from this early period. They are two Frenchmen, Jean de Surville, Dumont d'Urville and a Dutchman, Abel Tasman. 
Six famous explorers, six great stamps!
          
40c - James Cook.                                                               80c - Kupe.

          
            $1.00 - Maui.                                $1.20 - Jean de Surville.

          
$1.50 - Dumont d'Urville.                                                 $1.80 - Abel Tasman.


1998 - Millennium Series II - A New Beginning.
To view our post on this issue, follow this link.
When we look at the history of immigration to this country, we see groups of people arriving in New Zealand in waves. This has continued from the arrival of the Maori, right up until today. This issue looks at these various groups and how they came together to shape New Zealand into the country it is today.
                         
     40c - The Maori /The First Settlers.          80c - British / European Settlers (1840-1914).

                         
$1.00 - Fortune Seekers (1800-1920).         
$1.20 - Post War British / European Migrants (1945-1970).

                        
$1.50 - Pacific Islanders (1960-).                     $1.80 - Asian Arrivals (1980-).


1998 - Millennium Series III - Urban Transformation.
This issue is about changing, the changing and growth of cities in New Zealand. The stamps show an old view of a New Zealand city which has peeled back to reveal a modern (1998) view of the city taken from about the same angle. A rather different design that in this case proves to be quite effective in getting its message across.
         
40c - Wellington.                                                  80c - Auckland.

           
$1.00 - Christchurch.                                               $1.20 - Westport.

         
$1.50 - Tauranga.                                                 $1.80 - Dunedin.

1999 - Millennium Series IV - Nostalgia.
In the fourth issue of this series, we see collections of items, mainly from around the 30s and 40s. This issue is about memories, memories of the things that were once common, part of everyday life, but are now gone. For older people, this issue is a chance to remember things from when they were growing up. For younger people, it is a chance to see how our parents and grand-parents lived in years gone by.
        
           40c - 'Fun Ho!' Sandpit Toys.                               80c - Creamoata Breakfast Cereal / Food.

          
$1.00 - Electric Trams / Transport.         
$1.20 - Radio and The New Zealand Woman's Weekly / Household.

        
$1.50 - Stamps, Coins and Postcards / Collecting.         
$1.80 - Arthur Yates Seeds and the Mason & Porter Hand Push Mower / Gardening.


1999 - Millennium Series V - Leading the Way.
New Zealand has been a leader in many fields, its people have stepped out and made a difference, done something great, often something world-changing. This post looks at six of these people and what they did that made a difference. There is also an idea of New Zealand leading the world into a new century. See the final issue of this series below.
          
              40c - Women's Suffrage - Kate Sheppard.              
80c - First Powered Flight - Richard Pearse.

          
$1.10 - Splitting the Atom - Ernest Rutherford.        
$1.20 - Jet Boat - Bill Hamilton.

          
$1.50 - Conquest of Mount Everest - Edmund Hillary.
$1.80 - Nuclear Free New Zealand.


1999 - Millennium Series VI - The Last Sunset.
This stamp, issued on the 31st December 1999, marks the last sunset of the old century by an overprint on the selvage of the purple round kiwi, a stamp that had originally been issued in 1997. This overprint, printed in gold ink, is intended to give the impression of a setting sun.

 2x $1.00 - The Last Sunset & Purple Kiwi.

2000 - Millennium Series VI - A New Dawn.
The following day, 1st January 2000, New Zealand issued another stamp to mark the dawn, the first sunrise of a new century. The stamp shows the sun rising out of the ocean with a map of the world showing New Zealand close to the International Date Line, with the theme of New Zealand leading the world into the new century.

40c - A New Dawn.
The first sunrise of a new century.


 First Heritage Series.                    Second Heritage Series.                    Third Heritage Series.


 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/