2004 Historic Farm Equipment

Historic Farm Equipment - Used set.

         Agricultural economies the world over have been transformed with the advent of new technology - from the basic wheel to the sophisticated machinery that today turns products of the land into commercial commodities.
        New Zealand is no exception. One hundred years ago, a Christchurch-based company imported the country's first farm tractor: an American Kinnard Haines Flour City machine, capable of speeds up to five miles per hour. However, the new-fangled contraption was initially treated with some suspicion, with many farmers remaining unconverted until Henry Ford's mass-produced and more affordable Fordson arrived on the scene in 1918.
         Since then our agriculture industry has continued to invent and adopt increasingly advanced machinery - a characteristic we celebrated with our Historic Farm Equipment stamp issue which marked a centenary since the arrival of the tractor to New Zealand – an event that signalled a permanent change to our landscape and our place in the global agricultural industry.

The Stamps.      

The five stamps in this issue each depicted a farm equipment icon against stylish renditions of our rural landscape, a reminder of New Zealand's foundations as an agricultural nation.

45c - 'Kinnard Haines Tractor.'

The first farm tractor imported to New Zealand, the 12-horsepower ‘Kinnard Haines Flour City’ was capable of speeds up to five miles an hour. Its arrival in 1904 was heralded as a demonstration by Christchurch firm Booth Macdonald & Co.

90c - 'Fordson F Tractor with Plough.'

The ‘Fordson’ was the first mass-produced farm tractor – and the first available at an affordable price for many farmers. Produced by the assembly-line giant Henry Ford, it played a key role in converting farmers to tractors instead of horses.

$1.35 - 'Burrell Traction Engine.'

With the end of the 19th century came the era of steam, with traction engines such as the Burrell proving popular with contractors in large growing areas such as Canterbury and Southland.

$1.50 - 'Threshing Mill.'

Threshing machines were used in New Zealand for more than 100 years, finally declining in use in the mid-1940s. Forerunners of the combine harvesters, they were used to separate the grain from plants such as corn and oats.

$2.00 - 'Duncan’s Seed Drill.'

P & D Duncan has a long history in agricultural implement manufacturing. Established in 1866, the name still features on farm machinery today. Indeed the seed drill, introduced in 1884, is still manufactured to the same principles of design.

First Day Cover - 5 April 2004.

Set of First Day Cancels - 5 April 2004.

Prestige Booklet of 6 Miniature Sheets.

Technical information.

Date of issue: 5 April 2004.

The number of stamps: Five.

Denominations and designs: 45c Kinnard Haines Tractor, 90c Fordson F Tractor with Plough, $1.35 Burrell Traction Engine, $1.50 Threshing Mill, $2.00 Duncan's Seed Drill.

Stamps designed: Ross Jones, Watermark, Wellington

Printer and process: Southern Colour Print Dunedin, by offset lithography.

Miniature sheet booklet printer: Wyatt & Wilson Print, Christchurch.

The number of colours: Four process colours.

Stamp size and format: Sheet stamps: 40mm x 30mm (horizontal); Miniature sheet booklet stamps: 42.27mm x 30.23mm (horizontal).

Paper type: Sheet stamps: Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor; Miniature sheet booklet stamp sheets: Chancellor Litho.

The number of stamps per sheet: 50.

Perforation gauge: Sheet stamps: 14; Miniature sheet booklet stamps: 13.25.

Period of sale: These stamps remained on sale until 4 April 2005.

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)