To mark 250 since Captain Cook discovered New Zealand, Tuia 250 is a commemorative programme of experiences for encouraging honest conversations about the past, the present and how we navigate our shared future together. There are many events, over 50 projects enriching communities and an education programme happening nationwide right now.
The central event is the Tuia 250 Voyage. A flotilla made up of two waka hourua from Aotearoa, three tall ships including the Endeavour replica from Australia, and a va’a tipaerua from Tahiti, sails the coast to engage with communities, iwi and hapū for three months from October to December.
Three of these vessels will use the non-instrument navigation methods Pacific voyagers have used for generations, guided by signs in the environment such as the position of the stars, moon and sun as well as the wind, swells and bird patterns. The opening events for the Tuia 250 Voyage are in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne) from 5–8 October.
(https://mch.govt.nz/tuia250/about-tuia-250)
The central event is the Tuia 250 Voyage. A flotilla made up of two waka hourua from Aotearoa, three tall ships including the Endeavour replica from Australia, and a va’a tipaerua from Tahiti, sails the coast to engage with communities, iwi and hapū for three months from October to December.
Three of these vessels will use the non-instrument navigation methods Pacific voyagers have used for generations, guided by signs in the environment such as the position of the stars, moon and sun as well as the wind, swells and bird patterns. The opening events for the Tuia 250 Voyage are in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne) from 5–8 October.
(https://mch.govt.nz/tuia250/about-tuia-250)
Tupaia (also known as Tupaea or Tupia) (c. 1725 – December 26 1770) was a Tahitian Polynesian navigator and arioi (a kind of priest), originally from the island of Ra'iatea in the Pacific Islands group known to Europeans as the Society Islands. His remarkable navigational skills and Pacific geographical knowledge were to be utilised by Lt. James Cook, R.N. when he took him aboard HMS Endeavour as a guide on its voyage of exploration to Terra Australis Incognita. Tupaia travelled with Cook to New Zealand, acting as the expedition's interpreter to the Polynesian Māori, and Australia. He died on 26th December 1770 from a shipborne illness contracted when Endeavour was docked in Batavia for repairs ahead of its return journey to England.
Michael "Michel" Cliff Tuffery MNZM is a New Zealand artist of Samoan, Tahitian and Cook Islands descent. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known artists and his work is held in many art collections in New Zealand and around the world.
He lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand. Renowned as a printmaker, painter and sculptor, Tuffery has gained national and international recognition and has made a major contribution to New Zealand art.
Through artworks by New Zealand painter Michel Tuffery, this stamp issue illuminates the role of arioi priest and navigator Tupaia in guiding Lieutenant James Cook and the Endeavour from Tahiti to Aotearoa in 1769.
Index - New Zealand Maori - for all our Maori themed posts.
$1.30 - A messenger from Ra’iāte
Here, the white heron/ kōtuku is a messenger of connection looking towards Opoutama, a site of significant exchanges between Tupaia and Ūawa tangata whenua.
$1.30 - Taiato and Young.
Tupaia’s nephew Taiato appears here alongside a fellow 12-year-old boy from the other side of the world. It was Nicholas Young who sighted land from the Endeavour’s masthead on 6 October 1769.
$2.60 - Te Maro and Solander.
Two intellectuals from opposite sides of the world. Te Maro’s descendent Nick Tupara is depicted here in place of his ancestor who was killed at this tragic first meeting of Māori and British at the Tūranganui River.
$3.30 - Parkinson at Opoutama.
White blossoms of Tahitian tiare maori join Aotearoa’s vibrant red ngutukākā/kākābeak in this portrait of natural history artist Sydney Parkinson that celebrates his relationship with Tupaia.
$4.00 - Not another Kuki story.
Here we see Tupaia as migratory tuna, guiding Cook on his voyage and translating between people long separated yet always connected – seeds sown from Ra’iātea.
Special Collector Items.
First Day Cover - 2 October 2019.
The first-day cover features a drawing of the Endeavour, one of a series of sketches drawn by Michel Tuffery over his time travelling and researching the history of this ship’s journey to Aotearoa New Zealand
Miniature Sheet.
The miniature sheet features a detailed section of the Kōtuku painting featured on one of the two $1.30 stamps.
Miniature Sheet First Day Cover - 2 October 2019.
The miniature sheet first-day cover continues the green, koru pattern background of the miniature sheet.
Presentation Pack
Tuffery’s paintings explore the roles played by Tupaia, his arioi acolyte and nephew Taiato, and members of Cook’s crew whose legacies have received little attention. Find out more about the untold history of Tupaia and these first encounters between Europeans and Māori with this presentation pack, written by University of Auckland Senior Research Fellow Dr. Billie Lythberg.
Limited Edition.
One of only 2,000 produced, a uniquely numbered limited edition is the ultimate collector’s item for this issue. Each includes a unique numbered miniature sheet, a unique first-day cover signed by Michel Tuffery, colour separation of the Not another Kuki story stamp, and a booklet on the history of Tupaia and Lieutenant James Cook’s journey from Tahiti to New Zealand.
Limited Edition Miniature Sheet.
Limited Edition Presentation Pack.
Collector Blocks.
Set of Plate Blocks. Set of Value Blocks.
Set of Full Sheets.
Technical information.
Date of issue: 2 October 2019.
The number of stamps: Five gummed stamps.
Denominations: $1.30 x 2, $2.60, $3.30, $4.00.
Stamps, miniature sheet and first day covers designed: Saint Andrew Matautia, New Zealand Post, Wellington, New Zealand.
Printer and process: Southern Colour Print, Dunedin, New Zealand by offset lithography.
The number of colours: Four process colours plus overgloss.
Stamp size and format: 30mm x 48mm (vertical).
Miniature sheet size and format: 115mm x 106mm.
Paper type: Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper.
The number of stamps per sheet: 25.
Perforation gauge: 14 x 14.167.
Period of sale: Unless stocks are exhausted earlier, these stamps will remain on sale until 1 October 2020.
First-day covers will remain on sale until 27 November 2019.
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.
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