2017 Royalpex National Stamp Exhibition

         Royalpex 2017, (24th - 26th November) was held in Hamilton this year and attracted stamp collectors and dealers from around the country. The national stamp exhibition showed works and collections from around the country. Sometimes known as a ‘half national’ due to it having less classes available than a typical national exhibition.

        The event was ran by the Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand and was proudly sponsored by New Zealand Post. As an official sponsor, New Zealand Post had a central stand at the exhibition for those wishing to purchase stamps and coins, or arrange for the special daily cancellations to be applied to mail items.

       It was an impressive event, well worth the trip down from Auckland. It was the first time all five writers of this blog attended a stamp exhibition together. We stayed at a farm near Cambridge, driving up to the exhibition each day.

Special Exhibition Collectables.
In honour of the city this year’s show was held on Hamilton. New Zealand Post created two unique products featuring imagery of Hamilton in the background. The miniature sheet features the idyllic Waikato river and three stamps from the popular 2017 Recovering Native Birds issue. The First day cover shows an aerial shot of the city as it stretches away in the distance.

1982 Architecture

The next issue of New Zealand Architecture appeared in 1982

with a four stamp issue featuring two houses and two public buildings.

20c - Alberton, Auckland.

1980 Architecture

        The second Architecture issue featured buildings of a slightly more modern design. They include two houses, a courthouse and a grand Government building. This has been said to have been the second largest wooden structure in the world.

14c - Ewelme Cottage, Parnell.

The cottage was built in 1863-64 for the Rev Vicesimus Lush the first vicar of Howick and his family.  The kauri cottage was eventually purchased by the Auckland City Council and leased to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.  Restored to its former glory and richly endowed by many of the Lush family possessions, the cottage is open to the public.

1979 Architecture

        This is the first of three New Zealand Architecture issues, the others appearing in 1980 and 1982. New Zealand Architecture is an interesting subject that has appeared on many stamps. At first most of the buildings were copies from styles found in England but as these styles were adapted for New Zealand conditions, new and distinctly New Zealand styles began to emerge.        

        

         Buildings from the 1800s were the subject of the first issue on early New Zealand architecture. Notice the purpose of each of these buildings, one a private house, two mission buildings and one Government building.

10c - Riverlands Cottage, Blenheim.

Built about 1865 for Charles Redwood, son of a pioneering family.  Redwood arrived in New Zealand in 1842 and purchased the land in 1865.  The present cob cottage could date earlier than this since "squatting" was still a common practice in the 1860s.  Lack of suitable timber in Wairau forced the construction of the cob style house.  The cob walls were constructed from a mud and tussock mixture while the roof was made from wooden shingles.   Administered by the Marlborough Historical Society, interest in the restoration of the cottage from its badly dilapidated state began in 1959.  It was opened to the public in 1965.

1977 Anniversaries

         Most of the stamps featured in this blog are mint (unused) so this time I've decided to do something different. Everything on this page except some of the errors are used stamps. So we can still enjoy the designs on the stamp themselves I have purposely selected examples with lighter cancels.

          In 1977 the annual Anniversary Issue featured 5 stamps. In this case the coat of arms of each organisation took centre place in the designs. In the case of the AA (10c value) I'm not sure that could be called a coat of arms as it is rather more like an emblem.  
         The 3 x 8c stamps were printed se tenant on one sheet while the 2 x 10c stamps were printed together on a second sheet. This gave us the two strips as seen above and on the First Day Cover further down.

1971 Three City Centennaries.

         Three city centenaries were commemorated in this 1971 commemorative stamp issue: Palmerston North - centenary of its founding; Auckland - centenary as a city; and Invercargill - centenary of local government.

Centenary of Palmerston North - 3c
The design incorporates the city's coat of arms.  Palmerston North, NZ's second largest provincial city, with about 84 000 people, is situated alongside the Manawatu River 140 kilometres north of Wellington. The site of the town was part of a block bought by the Government from the Maori owners in 1864.  The town was laid out the following year, and settlement began in 1866. 

Today (2015) Palmerston North is the major commercial centre for the south/central region of the North Island, servicing a large, highly productive farming area. It is home to more than 70 major educational and research institutions, including New Zealand's fastest expanding university, Massey University. 

1974 Anniversaries

The next Anniversaries Issue features three vertical format stamps. I've mentioned before that this is one aspect that I like about these issues is that each year the stamps seem to have a similar appearance although they celebrate widely different events/organisations. 

In 1974, one stamp celebrated the Centenary of Napier

and two stamps celebrated the Centenary of the Universal Postal Union.

1979 - 1980 Scenic Stamps.

1979 Scenic Stamps - Small Harbours.

 See the full collection Scenic Stamps Series - Part One.

                      

15c - Whangaroa Harbour, Northland.                   20c - Bon Accord Harbour, Kawau Island.

2009 - 2010 Scenic Definitives.

Definitive Tour.

   Back to 2007 Scenic Definitives.                                           Forward to 2012 Scenic Definitives.  

   

   New Zealand Post continued with its Scenic Definitive Series with two issues in 2009 & 2010. Again the scenes were spread widely across New Zealand. While I like these stamps and have enjoyed featuring them in this series of posts I can't help wondering if this definitive series doesn't get mixed up with issues from the longer running scenic series that appears each year.   

1950 Canterbury Centennial

        On 17 August 1840 French settlers landed at Akaroa and founded the first town.  A few years later farms at Purau, Riccarton, and Pigeon Bay were established and it was from here the establishment and extension of the province grew. The first settlers chosen by the Canterbury Association (formed in England) disembarked from the first four immigrant ships - 'Charlotte Jane', 'Sir John Seymour', 'Cressy' and 'Randolph', at Lyttelton in December 1850 and this date is recognised as that of the official founding of Canterbury.  John Robert Godley had been placed in charge of the first colonists.  These pioneers who chose to settle at Christchurch had to make a laborious trek over the hills separating Lyttelton and Christchurch by way of a rough track, which became known as the Bridle Path.
         This five value stamp issue by three well-known stamp designers sets out to remember those early times and the people who made Canterbury and Christchurch what they are today. 

Christchurch Cathedral - 1d.

1948 Otago Centennial

          In 1948, the settlement of the Otago Province and the founding of the city of Dunedin on 23 March 1848 were commemorated by four stamps depicting the arrival of the immigrant ships, the town of Cromwell, the First Dunedin Church and the University of Otago. The stamps are classic James Berry designs, being full of fine detail. The 1d is famous for its colour shifts of the blue centre, examples of which can been seen below.

1925 Dunedin Exhibition

          Early in 1925 the organisers of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, which was to open in Dunedin in November of that year, approached the Postmaster-General with a request that a set of commemorative stamps be produced for the event. Mr H Linley Richardson was asked to prepare a suitable stamp design which was then printed at the Government Printing Office, New Zealand.
          The Dunedin Exhibition stamps are unusual in that they were relief printed from line etched zinc plates on paper that had been toned using lithographic plates. Like the Christchurch Exhibition, the stamps were only sold at the exhibition and the numbers sold were quite small.

         The stamps show a view of the 400 meter Grand Court with the dome of the Festival Hall in the background. The top and side borders feature a traditional Maori Taniko weaving pattern.

1998 Town Icons

       A few months ago I completed a post on town icons around New Zealand called 2014 Legendary Landmarks. This post looked at 18 famous town icons - landmarks that defined what the town was famous for. I enjoyed doing that post and learnt a lot about various parts of New Zealand in the process.
       Now when Allan began researching for his Heritage Series he found that in 1998 there had been another stamp issue featuring town icons. In this case only 10 town landmarks had been shown in what are big colourful stamps. Actually I think these 10 stamps are better than the 18 from 2014.

1913 Auckland Exhibition Overprint.

          Encouraged by the success of the Christchurch Exhibition seven years earlier, the 'Auckland Industrial, Agricultural and Mining Exhibition' was held between the 1st of December 1913 and the 18th of April 1914. Unlike the Christchurch Exhibition, however, the issue of commemorative stamps was an afterthought.

          On the 29th of October 1913, the Auckland Philatelic Society wrote to the Postmaster-General suggesting the overprints. This was hastily approved and on the 11th of November the Government Printer was instructed to overprint 'AUCKLAND EXHIBITION, 1913' on four of the Edward VII definitives. There was insufficient time to inform the Universal Postal Union of the issue, and so the stamps were only valid for postage within New Zealand.

          Few stamps were printed and even then, a large number were left unsold at the end of the exhibition and destroyed. Since higher values were usually used for overseas postage, the set being restricted to New Zealand has made the 3d and 6d the scarcest New Zealand commemoratives.

1906 Christchurch Exhibition.

         This issue commemorated the New Zealand International Exhibition of Arts and Industries which was held in North Hagley Park, Christchurch, between November 1906 and April 1907. It was the first set with large stamps to be designed, engraved and printed entirely within New Zealand.
        This was also the first commemorative stamp set issued in New Zealand. The stamps were only on sale for the duration of the exhibition and could only be bought from the post office at the exhibition. One-third of the revenue from stamp sale went to the organisers.

 

½d - Arrival of the Arawa Canoe.                                       1d - Maori Canoe Carving.

2014 Legendary Landmarks.

          When I discovered that Allan had missed this 2014 stamp issue from early July, I asked him why. He said he had not intention of putting it on this blog as it 'wasn't a real stamp issue.' This issue came out as a sheet rather than as single stamps so Allan thinks it is aimed at collectors and not many will end up on common letters, therefore he does not consider it a postage stamp. I said "I'll do it." He replied, "Be my guest." So here it is.      
          Many towns and cities throughout this country have their special unique icons that reflect their character. The NZ Post Legendary Landmarks stamp issue takes a look at just 18 of these. From the well-known landmarks like the Lemon & Paeroa bottle and the Ohakune carrot, to the lesser-known Mossburn deer and the truly kiwi Taihape gumboot, these landmarks can tell you about the local history and the town’s identity without saying a word.

For those who are interested - 1998 Town Icons.

1995 New Zealand Cities at Night.

        This post has recently had a major rework taking out many of the original stamps to focus on the six stamps of the 1995 Scenic Issue.    (Kim)

       For such a small country, it often surprises visitors that New Zealand offers such a wide range of scenic attractions. Each year, New Zealand Post produces Scenic stamps which are popular both locally and internationally for their charm, beauty and variety.

      The 1995 Scenic Issue features something a bit different to the usual scenic views because this time the scenes were captured at night to bring out the night beauty rather than the day time scene. Six cities were chosen, 4 major cities and 2 tourist cities.

2006 Hawke's Bay Earthquake

75th Anniversary of the Hawke's Bay Earthquake.

          The 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake, also known as the Napier Earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on Tuesday 3 February 1931, killing 256 and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. It remains New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster. Centred 15 km north of Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and measured magnitude 7.8 M_s (magnitude 7.9 M_w). There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks. The main shock could be felt through much of the southern half of the North Island.
         In 2006, 75 years after the main earthquake, NZ Post issued this set of stamps remembering this event in New Zealand's History. The stamps appeared in their own sheet of 20 stamps, each depicting some aspect of the earthquake and its effects on the people of the region. What I like about this set is that when put the stamps together they tell the story of this event.
         That is what I intend to do with this post. First, we will view the whole sheet of 20 stamps then I will display each stamp separately and show you the part it plays in the story.