1996 MMP Elections

This special 40c stamp was released to commemorate New Zealand's first Mixed Member Proportional representation election that occurred in 1996. Part of the purpose of this issue was to promote the election and generate public interest.

40c - Beehive Ballot Box.

The stamp was a simple design, showing a cartoon view of what has become the symbol of New Zealand's government, Wellington's 'Beehive'. Also featured was the 'two ticks' logo signifying that, under MMP, each voter has two votes.

For more on this building, see our thematic collect - Parliament Buildings.

1995 Anniversaries and Events.

Three stamp issues during 1995 celebrating important events.

 

 1995 Conferences.                                                                         1995 United Nations.

1995 Commonwealth Heads.

1993 Women's Vote

Women being allowed the right to vote was a monumental change in New Zealand’s history. It was a change that was controversial at the time but went on to lead New Zealand into a much brighter future. What is also important to recognise is that New Zealand was a world leader in social change, one of the first countries to give women the right to vote.
This issue marked 100 years since women received voting rights in New Zealand.
NZ Suffrage on Stamps - A Thematic Collection. 

45c - The First Vote - 1893.

In 1893 nearly one in every four New Zealand women signed a petition urging Parliament to recognise their right to vote. In September that year, New Zealand women became the first in the world to be granted voting rights in general elections.

2017 He Tohu

      He Tohu is a remarkable new permanent exhibition in the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa in Wellington, that opened on 20 May 2017. It sheds new light on three iconic constitutional documents that shape our nation: 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni - Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand, 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi - Treaty of Waitangi and the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition - Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine.

    ( It came as a surprise when reading the March Campbell Paterson Newsletter, I discovered that NZ Post listed this issue as their 2017 Matariki Issue on a list of issues for that year. After the many great issues in that series, I'd certainly see these three stamps as a step backwards. Since NZ Post do not mention Matariki in their website notes on this issue, I have not decided if it should be included in my Matariki collection.    Allan )

Matariki - Maori New Year.

See our index New Zealand Maori.  

1983 Commonwealth Day

New Zealand, along with a number of other Commonwealth countries, issued stamps to mark Commonwealth Day in 1983. Consisting of four denominations, the issue reflects New Zealand's cultural, geographic and economic diversity. Each stamp features the Commonwealth symbol.

1979 Other Events.

1979 United Nations Year Of The Child.

10c - Children At Playschool.

1979 was designated the International Year of the Child by the United Nations in order to focus the attention of all countries on the special needs of children, and to stimulate the sharing of international experience and resources to promote the well being of children everywhere.

1969 New Zealand Law Society Centenary

         The Society has an established reputation as one of the leading societies of lawyers in the Commonwealth.  It is fully represented on the Council of the International Bar Association and played a substantial part in the formation of the Law Association for Asia and the Western Pacific.

         This stamp issue commemorated the centenary of the New Zealand Law Society which held an International Conference at Rotorua between 8 - 11 April 1969. Above are the three values in very fine used condition. Postal cancellations can be seen on each stamp.

1968 Universal Suffrage / Human Rights

For the first time the Post Office issued two commemorative stamps on the same day that marked different subjects. This was an important turning point in New Zealand commemorative stamp which led to a annual issue of a set of anniversary/commemorative stamps. This was the first occasion that New Zealand stamps were printed by the Japanese Government Printing Bureau. 

               

One stamp, the 3c value, commemorated the 75th anniversary of Universal Suffrage in New Zealand: In 1893 women for the first time were permitted to vote in the country's parliamentary elections, making New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to introduce Women's Suffrage.
The second stamp, the 10c value, marked the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

1965 Parliamentary Conference.

 1965 11th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference

 in Wellington.



The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association was established to promote the ideals of parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. The Association has held conferences annually since 1961. In 1965 the conference was held in Wellington and to mark the occasion a set of three commemorative stamps was issued.  On each stamp the emblem of the Association, a Mace and Black Rod crossed, was incorporated into the design. 

            

4d - Arms and Queen Elizabeth II.                                 9d - Parliament Buildings, Wellington.

1965 Commemorative Issues.

It was my original intention to make this a small post featuring the four stamps from the Commemorative Issues of 1965 but other members of our blog team kept sending me interesting items which I wanted to include. Now it has grown to become quite a large post. But isn't that what the blog is about, finding something new or interesting in these often overlooked and unloved stamps.     ( Anne)

1965 International Telecommunications Union Centenary.

 New Zealand, in common with other members of the International Telecommunication Union, issued a special stamp in 1965 to commemorate the centenary of the organisation. The Union, which has its headquarters in Geneva, was formed in 1865 and is the oldest of the international organisations which are now specialised agencies under the United Nations. The purpose of the Union is to maintain and extend international co-operation in the use of telecommunications of all kinds.

9d - International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
The design shows a telegraph wire held by a post from 1865 on the left-hand side, while modern telecommunications from 1965 is shown on the right-hand side. In the centre is a globe show ITU as a global organisation.

Parliament Buildings

        This post can be looked at, as a thematic collection of Parliament Building stamps, or as a history of Parliament in New Zealand. Below is the miniature sheet of the 2004 - 150 Years of Parliament issue. Rather than grouping the stamps by their issue date, I'm going to arrange them according to the time period of the buildings they show. The 2004 issue will be our guide through this interesting subject, with the five stamps acting as headings to the various sections/time periods.

 2004 - 150 Years of Parliament.
Stamps were issued 3rd March, 2004. 45c issued 5th May, 2004.

Singapore 2015 World Stamp Exhibition

Singapore 2015 was the third World Stamp Exhibition to be held in Singapore. It was held in conjunction with Singapore's 50th year of independence, with the full support and patronage of the Federation lnternationale de Philatelie (FIP) and under the auspices of the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately.

To mark this exhibition, New Zealand Post issued one stamp of a joint issue between Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. This stamp shows a great view of the New Zealand Houses of Parliament in Wellington. The other two stamps also included the Houses of Parliament in their respective countries. (See the miniature sheet below.)

1988 Australian Bicentenary

100 Posts in this Blog!!! 

        Hi Anne here. Since I am throwing the party on Saturday night, I've also been given the 100th post for this blog. We will publish this that morning and the blog's milestone will be celebrationed that evening.

         Now in 1988 Australia celebrated its Bicentenary, bi meaning two. One of the ways this was marked was with a joint stamp issue between Australia and New Zealand. This consisted of a single stamp, a First Day Cover, and a special post cancel, issued by each country.

         New Zealand and Australia have shared a long history together. Captain Cook explored New Zealand and the Australian East Coast at about the same time. European settlement was established in Australia in 1788 and not long afterwards Europeans where found in New Zealand too. At first New Zealand was administrated from New South Wales until 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi established it as a separate colony.
        Over the years the two countries have been close. A friendship has grown between the two nations, almost like brothers, which has remained strong and unbroken.  That friendship was cemented in World War I on the blood-soaked hills of Gallipoli, soldiers relying on each other even unto death.
        New Zealand's gift to Australia to commemorate the bicentenary was a restored 12 metre gaff-rigged cutter, originally built in Auckland to represent New Zealand in the 1888 centennial regatta in Sydney.

1920 Victory & 1946 Peace

        I have been interested in the two sets of stamps issued at the end of the first and second World Wars. The first one in 1920 is called the Victory Issue while the second one in 1946 is known as the Peace Issue. Why the difference? This post is going to compare these two issues and try to find why they are so different considering they both mark the end a major war.

1920  Victory

For more see military /ANZAC - Part One.
First, the Victory Issue which marked the end of World War I, a war which was said to have been the war to end all wars. No one would have believed that 20 years later an even bigger war would be raging.

       
             Green - ½d                                                                                              Red - 1d
Both of these stamps carry a similar theme of the British Lion representing the British Empire, with the allegorical figure of Peace.