1996 Coastal Wildlife

New Zealand's coastline is one of the longest in the world in proportion to the landmass it encompasses. Birds and mammals are able to take advantage of a rich plant life along this coastline and coastal waters which are rich in marine food. The abundant wildlife found along the coast is reflected in this stamp issue which features different aquatic birds and marine mammals.

Se-tenant Block of six stamps.
The six stamps in this issue were also released in a block of six format - incorporating two selvedges, at the top right and bottom left, to 'square-off' each block. The one in the top right corner completed the white heron illustration on the $1.00 stamp. The other, bottom left, featured Hector's dolphin.
Lower down this page you will find two examples of this block formed into a miniature sheet for sale at two international stamp exhibitions that NZ Post attended.


The Six Stamps.

40c - Yellow Eyed Penguin.

The yellow-eyed penguin (or hoiho in Maori) is perhaps the rarest penguin in the world, and one of the most interesting, with its eerie yellow eyes set in a band of yellow encircling its head. Designed mainly for diving swiftly through the water, they are very agile at crossing rough rocky beaches and climbing steep coastal slopes. Probably fewer than 5,000 of these solitary birds inhabit the coastal waters of southern New Zealand and outlying sub-antarctic islands. Their traditional nesting site is in dense native bush and efforts have been made to set up reserves for this purpose, especially on Otago Peninsula.

80c - Royal Albatross.

These magnificent, graceful birds with a giant wingspan of over three metres, are true monarchs of the sub-antarctic oceans. Their elegant sailing flights are legendary - they can sail in the air for an hour at a time without the slightest movement. With a distinctive white head and neck, the royal albatross spend their lives mostly at sea - often for years at a time - although they come ashore to breed.

The breeding season is long - almost a year. Taiaroa Head, on Otago Harbour, has the distinction of being the world's only breeding colony near to a city and is a major tourist attraction.

$1.00 - White Heron.

A most elegant snow-white plumed bird which has been described as proverbially rare in this country, and is regarded as something very special. There are perhaps no more than two hundred in total in New Zealand. A sighting is therefore uncommon, mostly occurring in lagoons and along the banks of tidal streams. The sole New Zealand breeding colony is in a remote river in South Westland, where the birds have good protection, nesting in the trees and ferns of the kahikatea swamp. They eat fish and their long legs are ideal for wading in shallow water. Stunning white plumage, yellow bill and black legs give the white heron a romantic appeal which is enhanced by their rarity. They were fittingly adopted by the Wildlife Service as a symbol for wildlife conservation.

$1.20 - Sperm Whale.

The largest toothed whale in the world, the male can reach a massive twenty metres in length. With its huge box-like head, underslung jaw and up to sixty teeth, it presents an impressive sight. These whales can be seen daily as close as eight hundred metres from the coast of Kaikoura - which allows whale watchers to view them with great ease.

Purplish brown to dark grey in colour, they travel either in schools of up to fifty, or singly (older males), and are known sometimes to become stranded on our beaches.

They are regarded as the ultimate diving mammal, reaching depths of over 1,000 metres, and staying under for more than 75 minutes, feeding mainly on squid, octopus and other fish.

$1.50 - New Zealand Fur Seal.

Indigenous to this country, this dark grey-brown seal - which grows to about two metres long - is now protected and is a common sight around the coastline. They are easily observed and reasonably tolerant of visitors, especially at favourite viewing spots such as Kaikoura, Otago Peninsular and Cape Foulwind.

The only species of seal to breed on the main islands of New Zealand, their population is estimated to be growing by about 5% per year.

Killed originally by the Maori for food and clothing, and later commercially exploited by the early European colonists, they led directly to the first wave of settlers to New Zealand. They were hunted solely for their skin, as the waters around the shores were too warm for any build-up of blubber.

$1.80 - Bottlenose Dolphin.
Among the largest of the dolphins, up to four metres long, the bottlenose has a short thick beak, hooked dorsal fin and a mouthline which curves up in a permanent "grin". Probably the most friendly sea mammal to humans, and immortalised by "Opo" in Hokianga Harbour during the summer of 1955-56, this variety enjoys playing with boats and swimmers. Dark, light grey or brown in colour, these mammals have remarkable intelligence and a strong social sense, feeding co-operatively and exploring as a team. Their vocal behaviour is also very complex, with whistles, squeaks and clicks used to communicate with each other.
They are found in the sheltered bays, harbours and fiords of New Zealand, such as the Bay of Islands and the Marlborough Sounds.

First Day Cover - 1 May 1996.

1996 China Exhibition.

9th Asian Philatelic Exhibition. (18-24 May 1996.)

Coastal Wildlife Exhibition Miniature Sheet with one $1 and one $1.50 stamp with the China '96 logo. Where the original had featured all six stamps from this issue, the exhibition showed all six examples of wildlife but with only two of them as stamps.

1996 Taipei Exhibition.

10th Asian Philatelic Exhibition. (21-27 October 1996.)

1996 Coastal Wildlife Exhibition Miniature Sheet with two stamps, one 80c Royal Albatross and one $1.80 Bottlenose Dolphin. Notice that this time the same miniature sheet but two different stamps were used than the one for the 1996 China Exhibition.

1996 Coastal Wildlife - Technical information.

Date of issue: 1 May 1996.

Designer: Sea Sky Design, Paraparaumu, New Zealand.

Printers: Southern Colour Print, New Zealand.

Stamp size: 30mm x 40mm; Block of six stamps: 129mm x 69mm; Miniature Sheet Size: 140mm x 90mm.

Sheet size: 100 stamps per sheet; Blocks of six stamps; Miniature Sheet of two stamps.

Process: Lithography.

Perforation gauge: 14.

Paper type: Stamps: Harrison and Sons. 

Paper Type: Miniature Sheets: Coated Papers, red phosphor coated, unwatermarked.

Period of sale: These stamps remained on sale until 1 May 1997.

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

You can visit their website and Online Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/

Information & images for this post came from.

New Zealand Post (Stamps)