1979 Statesmen of the 19th Century.

Notable 19th Century New Zealand Statesmen were depicted on this se-tenant strip of three stamps. It could be said that these three men were "fathers of the nation" of New Zealand. From Sir George Grey who guided the country through the early Maori wars; to Sir Julius Vogel with his great infrastructure projects; to Richard John Seddon with his social reforms; these three men gave much to New Zealand. 

10c - Sir George Grey.

Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (South Africa), the 11th Premier of New Zealand and a writer.

Sir George took office as Premier in 1877, but his association with New Zealand had started more than 30 years before.  At the age of 33, he was appointed Governor of New Zealand.  By 1848 he had established British rule, roads, schools and hospitals started to appear among the Maori tribes.  In Parliament, Sir George pursued a radical programme advocating such things as a full adult franchise and the subdivision of large estates.  Many of his ideas had to wait many years to become law under other leaders.  Sir George retired from politics in 1894.

10c - Sir Julius Vogel.

Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. 

Sir Julius's term in Parliament spanned 26 years 1863-1889.  Sir Julius was an excellent policymaker, however, the borrowing policies instituted when he was Colonial Treasurer in Fox's government of 1869 were running out of control and his popularity declining when he became Premier in 1873.  Sir Julius had always seen his work in New Zealand as essentially that of colonisation and his efforts were aimed at developing the colony to the utmost.

10c - Richard John Seddon.

Richard John Seddon PC (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) is to date the longest-serving Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is regarded as one of New Zealand's greatest political leaders.

Elected to Parliament in 1879, Richard Seddon soon showed an astonishing natural aptitude and amazing stamina in his work as a parliamentarian.  With his huge capacity for work, he was the right man for the parliamentary rough and tumble of the 1890s.  Seddon's attitude was that "it is better to wear out than rust".  In 1893 Seddon was installed as Premier.  In all, Seddon led the Liberal Party to victory in five successive elections, becoming popularly known as "King Dick".  The achievement for which Seddon is perhaps best remembered today was his introduction of old age pensions in 1898.

First Day Cover - 7th February 1979.

Some stamps issues just get on with things and are well behaved. This is one where very few errors exist. I could only find this one error below that could be easily overlooked.

 1979 10c Statesmen strip of three with selvedge showing clear double print over all of the design.

It is best seen in the larger text of "10c" and "New Zealand."

Technical information

Date of Issue:	7 February 1979
Designers:	A G Mitchell, Wellington
Printers:	Waddington Security Print, England
Stamp Size:	25.73mm x 35.96mm
Sheet Size:	100 stamps per sheet
Process:	Lithography
Perforation Gauge:	13.25
Paper Type:	Unwatermarked

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of Stamps NZ

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

Some Information or images for this post came from.

New Zealand Post (Stamps)