Suffrage - A Thematic Collection.

Feedback from the other writers is that this should be on its own page with links to all the other Suffrage issues and stamps. I have decided to quickly do this before everyone gets used to it being with the 2018 Suffrage issue.

Woman's Suffrage in Stamps.
(A small thematic collection.)

Katherine Sheppard / First Country with Women's Suffrage.
1990 Heritage Set 5 - The Achievers.

1995 Farm Animals Booklets

        Finding this booklet was a major find for me. I collect New Zealand stamps connected with farming. It's a thematic collection on a subject I am very knowledgeable about since I am the manager of a large farm. With this booklet, I was able to add another 10 stamps plus two complete booklets to my collection. The stamps are colourful and cover a wide range of animals you might find on a farm. The one that stands as missing is a cat, they are always there, useful for catching mice etc. 

An overlapping set of the 10 45c stamps. (1st issue)

       The export of sheep, wool and dairy products has brought New Zealand billions of dollars and continues to do so today. Back in the 1960s, the majority of New Zealand farms would have been stocked with most of the animals featured in this booklet - horses, pigs, fowls, ducks and turkeys. Advances in technology and transport and a higher standard of living meant that by 1995, more specialised farming practices without the varied range of animals of previous decades. 

       Deer and goat farms were a relatively new phenomenon in 1995. Deer farming for their meat has been a big export earner whilst goats also became an important economic sideline for many farmers who were diversifying. Today, in 2018, this trend of change has continued with a large increase in dairy farming in recent years.

1994 Wild Animals.

        It seemed strange that NZ Post would go off and feature animals from other countries like in this issue but there is a good explanation. Wild animals have always been a source of fascination amongst children and it was this subject that was selected for the 1994 stamp issue that coincided with Stamp Month - a month-long promotion each year that promotes stamp collecting among children,

        The ten animals were carefully selected as being ones that children would recognise most readily. Most of them can also be found in zoos in New Zealand. Each stamp also presents a mini-lesson in geography, with a small map showing where each animal comes from.
        The Polar bear, Siberian tiger and Giant panda are found in three of the most forbidding regions on earth. Each has evolved to cope with harsh climatic extremes. The mountains of central and western China are the panda's only known habitat. Also rare is the magnificent Siberian tiger, the largest member of the cat family.
        Africa means wild animals to many - the animals chosen from the jungles and open, grassy plains were the giraffe, African lion and African elephant along with the Plains zebra, the White rhinoceros and the hippopotamus. The spider monkey is found in the forests between Mexico and the southern part of the Amazon basin.

1900 Boer War Thematic Collection.

1½d - Boer War Commemorative. 

See our post-1898 First Pictorial Issue.

A new penny halfpenny stamp was introduced to cover a change in postage rates for printed matter. It commemorated the departure of the first contingents of New Zealand troops to the Boer War in South Africa and symbolised the prompt response of New Zealand to the call of the Empire for troops. A total of 6,500 New Zealand troops took part. Rather ironically, the stamp was the first to be engraved outside the British Empire, in New York.

A Collection of Postal Cancels on this 1900 stamp.

While Allan was searching for good examples of this stamp for another post, 1900 Boer War, he came across a small collection of 11 used stamps, cancelled in 11 different post offices. Since then we have found more, readable post cancellations so now we have a collection of over 50 items. Now this collection has become so large that the decision has been made to split it onto its own blog page. 

Personal Message & Greeting Stamps.

        Sometime ago Anne did a post on Personalised Stamps. These seemed to have appeared in 2001 and continued on until today. Well recently we found another series of stamps that are close cousins to the Personalised Stamps, these are the Greeting Stamps. There appears to have been four of these issues with another two that appear to be a cross between Greeting and Personalised Stamps.

        This post is intended to cover the first four Greeting Stamp issues and I've also included the other two cross issues that are also found in our Personalised Stamps collection, (See link above.)

         Greeting stamps were usually issued in booklets so could be included in a booklet collection. Their purpose was to provide stamps for special purpose greeting cards and letters. The idea being that when you sent a birthday card you could use a stamp saying 'Happy Birthday' too.

Olympic & Commonwealth Games.

        This post is a collection of stamps, issued by New Zealand, to celebrate Olympic and Commonwealth Games in which men and women from New Zealand have competed in. The stamps don't just celebrate the games, but also tell of many of the success stories New Zealand has had. Note that not every games that New Zealand competed in are represented here because New Zealand Post didn't always issue stamps. 
        I enjoyed this post because I came across many stamps I had never seen before and it also opened my eyes to just how successful New Zealand has been at these games. Amazing for such a small country. I've heard New Zealand-born friends proudly boast what a great little country this is. Now I've discovered another way in which this is true.
       New Zealanders competed in the Olympic Games for the first time in London in 1908 as part of the Australasian team, and New Zealand participated for the first time as a separate nation at the Antwerp Games in 1920. It was there that rower Darcy Hadfield won this country's first medal - a bronze in the single sculls. New Zealand's first gold was for boxing at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.

                Total Olympic medals:- Gold - 46; Silver - 28; Bronze - 44; Total - 118. 
       Total Commonwealth Medals:- Gold - 144; Silver - 203; Bronze - 262; Total - 609.

Annual New Zealand Stamp Collections.

Each year New Zealand Post produces 'The New Zealand Collection' - a comprehensive album of all the stamps produced in in the past year. This premium publication features stunning pictorial images and extensive commentary on the year's stamp issues from some of New Zealand’s most well known personalities.

The advert header from the NZ Post Site.

We have decided to feature four years of these collections (2013 - 2016) on this blog since it's part of the New Zealand Stamp Scene. I know it will turn into a free advert for NZ Post but I hope that over time this post will become more of the historic page. Prices are included for interest only and these items will not be sold by this blog. For current price and availability please contact NZ Post via their website  https://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/

 

2013 Collection.                                        2014 Collection.                                           2015 Collection.

                                         
2016 Collection.                                               2017 Collection.

Dunedin Railway Station.

A collection of stamps featuring this iconic building.

         After parliament buildings and the beehive, Dunedin Railway Station must be one of the buildings most featured on stamps. This beautiful building with its attractive light and dark stonework looks nothing like a station from one side and was once one of the busiest stations from the other. It was built at a time when Dunedin was booming with wealth from gold rushes of inland Otago. Now it is quieter, the station only seeing a few tourist trains each day and the building turned to other uses. But it is still the iconic building, the tourist attraction it always was. And it still makes a great subject for a stamp too.

For stamps on other railway subjects see Trains of New Zealand.

1982 Architecture - 30c Dunedin Railway Station.

30c - Dunedin Railway Station.

1982 Architecture.

Provisional - Surcharges - Overprints.

        Here is another one of those types of stamps that are often overlooked or unloved, but it must be remembered that they still played an important role, filling gaps when other stamps were unavailable. Allan has asked me to go through his blog and collect them all together on one page.

        Most of the text here has been copied from his other posts but what is of more importance is to be able to view these stamps together as a thematic collection. I have also arranged these according to the date they were issued rather than include them in their original definitive issue, which in this case, would have left the arms overprints in their wrong positions. 

Personalised Stamps

          Personalised Stamps have been issued in a number of formats since 2001. The basic idea is that you add your own photograph or logo to the one provided by NZ Post. Your personal stamps are then created and sent to you. While there is an extra cost involved you do get a postage stamp the is uniquely you.
          In this post, we intend to show you each issue listed by year on the one page. There is not much description needed and in many cases, the same design appears a number of times with different values. In some cases, the same stamp has appeared twice in the same issue with different values too. While this may not turn out to be the most popular post on this blog we all thought these issues need to be covered as they are genuine stamps able to be used for postage by their purchaser.
          Before Personalised Stamps, there was a series of four issues known as Greeting Stamps. These began in 1988 and went through until Personalised Stamps began in 2001. The first two issues of Personalised Stamps from 2001 and 2005 could also be considered as Greeting Stamps two so we have included them here and in our Greeting Stamp collection.

                

Maori Definitive Stamps

       As Mary and Allan have worked their way through the major issues of pictorial definitive stamps, they have come across many with Maori themes. This page is another of my thematic collections, gathering all these Maori stamps together in one place so they can be linked into our other collections of Maori stamps.
       I do not claim to have any knowledge of things Maori, my task is just to gather these stamps together so they can be viewed and enjoyed. Any information concerning these stamps has been provided by Allan or copied from his other pages in this blog.

Return to New Zealand Maori Index.

1898 Pictorials.

1898 The First Pictorial Issue.

8d - Maori War Canoe.

The 8d stamp contains a graphic eight with a Maori war canoe on the lower circle of the eight and a crown in the upper circle. Tree Ferns are drawn to the left of the eight and Cabbage Trees on the right.

Captain Cook Stamps of New Zealand.

A collection of New Zealand stamps and postmarks associated with Captain Cook. This page should be considered as an ongoing project as new items could be added as we discover them.

1906 Christchurch Exhibition.

1906  Christchurch Exhibition.

3d - Captain Cook's Landing.

The dual colour three penny stamp depicts the landing of Captain Cook. on his first voyage to New Zealand; at Poverty Bay on the east coast of the North Island on the 7th of October 1769. This first meeting led to the deaths of six local Maori during skirmishes with the crew, due to a misinterpretation of the traditional Maori challenge. Cook was unable to gain many of the provisions he and his crew needed at the bay, and for this reason, gave it its name.

1966 - 4th National Scout Jamboree.

        The 4th National Scout Jamboree, held at Trentham near Wellington, was commemorated by the issue of a single stamp. A temporary Post Office was opened at the Jamboree and a special pictorial date stamp was used on opening day when some 26,000 covers were handled.  A plain date stamp without the Scout insignia was used after the first day.

4d - Official Jamboree Badge.

2015 All Blacks.

There’s a certain mana and prestige that comes with being part of the All Blacks - it’s an honour reserved only for New Zealand’s very best rugby players. The ultimate symbol of the All Blacks is their iconic jersey, to which we pay tribute in this official All Blacks stamp and coin issue. Worn with pride for generations, the jersey has been some variation of a black uniform with a silver fern since 1893, and in 1905 the team became habitually referred to as the ‘All Blacks’. Although the jersey has changed many times over the years to keep up with the intense pace of our national game, the mana of the jersey continues to this day.

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.

Mitre Peak, Milford Sound.

Hi! My name is Asami.
        You may not have noticed but I have been doing a lot of work on this blog. I maintain the Health Stamp pages above because they contain internal links that can get rewritten by BlogSpot. I have also created that large index system that many of you are now using. Now I have been asked to do some thematic collections, collections of stamps with a similar theme.

        Recently Allan wrote that he thought there were five stamps showing that famous landmark, Mitre Peak, Milford Sound. I actually found 10 stamps so today I will be putting them into this collection for you.

First the subject of this post - Mitre Peak.
       Part of the reason for its being so famous is its location. Sitting across from the main Milford Sound tourist centres, it is a stunning sight rising near vertically to 5,560 feet (1,690 m), i.e. just over a mile, from the water of the sound. It is said to extend further under the water making the mountain much higher than its officially recorded height. The peak is actually a closely grouped set of five peaks, although from most easily accessible viewpoints it appears as a single point.
       The distinctive shape of the peak gives the mountain its name, after the mitre headwear of Christian bishops. It was named by Captain John Lort Stokes of the HMS Acheron. The Māori name for the peak is Rahotu. 

An Official Post.

    

        The first 'OFFICIAL' stamps, stamps designed for use by Government Departments, was issued in 1882. In January 1907, the New Zealand government decided that all public service mail should use these special stamps overprinted with the word Official. It was not until 1913 that mint official stamps could be sold to the public.
         As this post will only show Official Stamps, that appeared in a number issues, particularly definitive issues, we have provided links to take you to full, more detailed posts on each issue.
                                                                            

Express Delivery & Air Mail 1903 - 1939.

   
        Originally our plan was for Anne to tidy up these few issue so Allan and I could work on other projects. Then Anne was given the Chinese New Year posts to do so, since I was between projects, I decided to do this small collection of special issues myself.

       In 1903 and 1939 New Zealand issued a special stamp for a express delivery service. Between 1931 and 1935 a series of stamps were issues for air mail services. These issues standout from other New Zealand stamps in that they were only used for a single purpose.

        Normally these two groups would be considered as different sets, in the Campbell Patterson Catalogue they are even assigned separate sections, but since they are both stamps produced for special, faster services, we will be featuring them here as one post.

The Round Kiwis

 
       When I published my post on the 2014 Antarctica Penguins, Allan wrote a comment on the round design of the stamps. I objected to his comment and wanted it removed. He replaced it with a better-worded comment. During the course of discussing it, he mentioned that New Zealand had issued other round stamps. He even said there had been a series of Round Kiwis that looked like coins. So I went looking for them.

       In 1988 a stamp design appeared that was rather unique. It was New Zealand's first round stamp, featuring a kiwi in its design. The Maori motif around the border represents the kowhai tree flower, symbolising the continuous cycle of life. Like Allan said above, it actually appears more like a coin than a stamp. The stamp was engraved by G T Prosser of the British American Banknote Inc. Canada from a design completed by Allan Mitchell.
       This stamp was initially produced in a green colour (1988), in booklets of six stamps, later printings in sheet format were in red (1991), blue (1993) and purple (1997). The first three printings of this stamp were by Leigh-Mardon by intaglio with the red and blue printings in sheets of 24 stamps. The purple printing was produced by Southern Colour Print by lithography in sheets of 36 stamps.
        Kiwi are flightless, nocturnal birds endemic to Aotearoa. They emerge from their burrows after dark to forage noisily along the forest floor and sniff out worms and insects. Their nostrils are at the base of their bill and give the kiwi a superior sense of smell that makes up for its poor eyesight. Kiwi have been described as ‘honorary mammals’ because of their hair-like feathers, long tactile whiskers at the base of their bill, and their marrow-filled bones. Kiwi are also sometimes called ‘te manu huna a Tāne’ - the hidden bird of Tāne, the god of the forest.

Trains of New Zealand.

      

   Another of my interests besides Stamps is Trains. I like any trains anywhere but since this blog is about New Zealand stamps I suppose, I should display New Zealand trains.

Over the years New Zealand has issued four sets of train stamps plus quite a few others depicting trains or train related subjects. Let's have a look at them.