2014 Matariki - Papatūānuku and Ranginui.



The Rising of Matariki.        

        For the Māori people, the night skies in June traditionally has huge significance as the dawn of a new Māori year. The annual appearance of the seven stars of ‘Matariki’, also known as the star cluster 'The Pleiades' in the constellation Tauris, or by its common name 'the seven sisters', signals a time for renewal, reflection and celebration! This celebration is something unique to New Zealand.

        Each year New Zealand Post  issues a set of postage stamps to mark this event. These stamps always feature some aspect of Maori culture. The 2014 Matariki issue was about the well known story of Papatūānuku and Ranginui. The set of six stamps show how six famous artists used this story to inspire their art.

See our Matariki Collection.                      See our Index - New Zealand Maori.

2014 Scenic Definitives

  Definitive Tour.

Back to 2012 Scenic Definitives.                                        Forward to 2016 Scenic Definitives.

      May 7th, 2014 saw the release of a set of five definitive stamps to meet planned changes in postal rates. Three of these stamps were produced using the normal gummed format while another two were produced as adhesive stamps. One of these adhesive stamps was also produced in a gummed version as part of a special miniature sheet. Sound confusing? I will explain this further when we begin looking at the individual stamps.

        There have been a lot of these scenic definitives over the years and many have turned out to be terrible looking stamps. The small format of a postage stamp does not show a lot of detail so what I think makes a good scenic stamp is to capture an interesting foreground combined with a not too crowded distant scene. Some of the stamps below achieve this very well while others don't.

         For me the best was $2.00 - Mount Taranaki, with the cows grazing in the foreground and the mountain behind, this makes a great scene of typical New Zealand. $1.60 - Moeraki Boulders is good too as it captures these unusual boulders. On the other hand I believe the $2.50 - Pancake Rocks do not show us the full effect of this amazing place.

2009 Giants of New Zealand.

          I found an interesting collection of abandoned art work that had been prepared for the 2009 Giants of New Zealand issue by the designer Dave Gunson, from Auckland. I thought it would make a great subject for this blog. First we are going to look at the set as issued then we will go through this small collection of art work trials.

          The 2009 Giant Issue featured five creatures from around New Zealand, that were extra large for their kind. They were displayed using a cartoon form of drawings on five extra large postage stamps. Two of the creatures shown have long been extinct while the other three still survive, although they are all on the rare or endangered list.

          These are very colourful stamps with their larger format being used to its full potential. Personally, I would have rather seen the drawings being closer to real life, particularly on the Giant Eagle. It appears the design selection for this issue was partly driven by the need to produce stamps that would stand out, almost shock, in their appearance.

1900 Boer War.

        As I was working on my Military ANZAC - Part One page I found this 1900 stamp, commemorating New Zealand's involvement in the South African, Second Boer War. My usual source of stamp images didn't have a copy so I went in search of a suitable image. Instead of finding just one I discovered a small collection showing a variety of aspects concerning this stamp. 

        I began researching the stamp itself and also the war depicted and when both revealed interesting stories so I have decided to create a full page on just this one stamp. First, I will give you some background information on the stamp as I display a series of examples illustrating my comments. Included in this will be some errors and variations etc, Secondly, I will feature a small collection of stamps also depicting the Bore War. Finally, we will look at the war itself and the caused behind it.

        Several of the 1898 Pictorials were reissued in different colours and size in late 1899 -1900. A new stamp was also issued in December 1900 commemorating the departure of New Zealand troops to the South African War. See our post on the 1898 Pictorial Issue.

        This stamp was designed by James Nairn of Wellington and engraved by H G Thomas of New York, with the printing being done by the Government Printing Office. The stamp had a value of 1½d, which met a change in the postal rate of printed matter. it featured the inscription "The Empires Call" which shows New Zealand's determination to assist the British Empire in this war. The scene shows a contingent of 210 mounted officers and men in South Africa.

The collection of postal cancellations on this stamp has been moved to its own page 1900 Boer War Thematic Collection.

2014 ANZAC WWII Poster Art.

         2014 is the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. – a war in which nearly 200,000 men and 10,000 women served for New Zealand both overseas and at home and nearly one in every 150 New Zealanders lost their lives. It was a big effort for such a small country, that like of which has never been seen before or since.
         World War II was a war that engulfed the globe, with fighting seen in many countries and parts of the would. The conflict was fought on land, in the air and across the oceans. 50 million people lost their lives, millions more were effected by losing loved ones and with many more becoming displaced and homeless as the fighting raged across their towns, cities and countries.
        The 2014 Anzac stamps depict six war effort WWII posters produced during the war.  Between 1939 and 1945 New Zealand produced hundreds of thousands of posters, window stickers and cards in support of its involvement in World War II. The purpose of these posters was to raise funds, recruit New Zealanders and give advice and information about the war. They helped to create a war-like atmosphere at home and keep people focused on the war effort.

1977 Definitive 10c QE II

       This post is something a bit different. Instead of featuring a set or series of stamps I am going to be looking at only one stamp and an overprint added two years later. So first, lets me introduce you to our stamp. There she is to the right - the '1977 10c QE II.' 
        Intended as an addition to the 1975 Definitives, the 10c depicting Queen Elizabeth II, was issued in 1977 to meet a demand cause by a change in postal rates. Valued at the new letter postage rate of 10c meant this was a very common and well used stamp.
       In 1979 another change in postal rates meant the 10c value was no longer used for ordinary letters so the stamp was overprint with two solid bars over the old value and a new value of "14c." This type of stamp is commonly known as a Provisional.
       So that is the basic story of the stamp. One design and value overprint two years later. Since both these stamps were commonly used, large numbers printed and further reprints required. What makes this stamp so interesting is the large number of printing errors which can be found in both the original stamp and in its provisional sister.

The Design.

               The design was a simple portrait taken from the 1977 Silver Jubilee Issue which can be seen above. The second photo from the left was used which shows the Queen's facing towards the right, wearing a crown. When you compare this stamp below with the definitive versions you will notice that the Queen's shoulders has been trimmed off, making the picture more square than rectangle.

2014 Royal Visit.



          For the first time the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge go on an official Royal Tour as a married couple. They will be accompanied by their young son Prince George. Part of their time on tour will be spent in various parts of New Zealand.
         Prince William will be acting on behalf of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, as her representative so New Zealand will consider him in the same official capacity as they would the Queen. It will be Catherine's first visit to this country.

        To mark this important royal event, NZ Post will be issuing two values on the 7th of April. This issue will also include a First Day Cover a special cancel strike. The designs showed two lovely photos of the royal couple with their baby. (You may wish to visit my post '2013  Prince George of Cambridge.')

2014 Construction of a Nation

       On the 5th of March, NZ Post will issue this set of five values depicting early New Zealand residential architectural beginnings. I am unsure if this will be a one off issue or part of a series. The NZ Post we site doesn't mention much about the reason why these houses were chosen or if it will be the beginning of a series on New Zealand architecture.

70c - Colonial Cottage.

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.

Stamp Configurations Saved by Collectors

        "Stamp configurations saved by collectors", what does that mean? Basely this post is going to take all the items and various packs on sale by NZ Post, for the 2014 New Zealand Native Seaweed Issue, and see how they would be added to a collection. A lot of the comments in this post is my personal opinion and I realise that many stamp collectors will disagree with my likes and dislikes.

          The 2014 NZ Seaweed Issue consisted of five values each featuring a seaweed found in New Zealand waters. They were, of course, sold as single stamps and so many collectors will purchase individual stamps for storage in a stock book or for mounting in an album or other display.

2010 Shanghai World Expo.

        This must be one of the more unique issues New Zealand has ever done. They are almost like two stamps from two different countries which have somehow found themselves joined, grafted together, making one stamp.

        These stamps were issued to coincide with the opening of ‘Expo 2010 Shanghai China’. The theme of the Expo was ‘Better City, Better Life’ and New Zealand's pavilion follows this with the theme ‘Cities of Nature, Living between Land and Sky’.
        The issue draws on five parallels between New Zealand and Chinese culture and geography, and features illustrations inspired by some of the items in the New Zealand Pavilion. The stamps are double length and designed to be folded over the edge of special first day covers with two fronts and no back. See this cover further down.

2014 Native Seaweed.

On the 7th February, 2014, New Zealand Post issued this set of five value featuring species of native seaweed unique to the waters around New Zealand. Seaweeds are an essential part of the marine ecosystem, providing food, habitats and shelter to a wide variety of marine life. They come in many different shapes and colours as can be seen on the five stamps below.

2002 / 2014 The Year of the Horse.

      2002 and 2014 celebrated The New Year under the Chinese lunar sign The Year of the Horse. In both years New Zealand issued stamps and a miniature sheet to mark this event. Following on with my series of Chinese New Year issues I will be looking at both these issues in this post. When we reach the Year of the Horse for a third time I hope to include that issue here as well.

      See my complete collection of Chinese New Year Issues.

2014   The Year of the Horse.

        In 2014 NZ Post, followed what has be an annual issue, by issuing a set for four stamps and a miniature sheet for Chinese New Year. This time the theme was the horse since the year is the Year of the Horse.

       As has happened for the last few years, four stamps were issued, each showing a different aspect of Chinese culture. First is the pictogram on the lower value. The second value again shows the paper-cut horse.   

                                                 

    70c - Pictogram.                                                             $1.40 - Paper-cut Horse.

                   

     $1.90 - Equestrian.                           $2.40 - Rotorua Museum.

2013 Ross Dependency Definitives.

          On the 20 November, 2013, The Ross Dependency issues its annual definitive issue. This issue contains five values for use on mail posted at Scott Base and the surrounding area. Of course many of these stamps are never used for mail, instead being sold to collectors all over the world.
          I always look forward to the annual Ross Dependency definitive issue because they are usually colourful, interesting stamps. I have touched on these Ross Dependency stamps a number of times in this blog but one day I plan to put them all together into one big collection.
          The theme for this issue was the Antarctic food web. The five stamps featured five very different creatures who depended on each other in someway for their survival. New Zealand has done and is continuing to study the life in Antarctica and in the Ross Sea. This work highlights just how finely balanced the food chain in this environments is. It is hoped this research will lead to a greater understanding of the Ross Dependency and Ross Sea but also a greater appreciation of the natural balance of the world we live in. 

2013 The Hobbet II

The Desolation of Smaug.

See my complete collection of Lord of the Ring / The Hobbit stamps.

For a collection of all the miniature sheets released with this issue,

view our post 2016 A Journey Through Middle-earth.



         In Dec 2013 the long awaited second movie of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy was released. Created by New Zealand's famous director, Peter Jackson this movie was one of a series of three based on J.R.R. Tolkien's book 'The Hobbit.'
        Set in the same Middle Earth as the Lord of the Rings but some 40 years before, this story tells of the adventures of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.
        In the first movie they survived the beginning of their unexpected journey. This second movie pick up the story as the Company continues East, encountering along the way the skin-changer Beorn and a swarm of giant Spiders in the treacherous Mirkwood Forest. After escaping capture by the dangerous Woodland Elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself. Here they must face the greatest danger of all – a creature more terrifying than any before, which will test not only the depth of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself – the Dragon Smaug.

2003 Lord of the Rings III

The Return of the King.

See my complete collection of Lord of the Ring / The Hobbit stamps.

For a collection of all the miniature sheets released with this issue,

view our post: - 2016 A Journey Through Middle-earth.



         The third and final movie was released in December 2003. It had been a massive effort filming and producing three great movies like that. Peter Jackson, with his team, had done an amazing job. He was looked upon as a hero in this small country of New Zealand.       
          The films showed the world what New Zealand was capable of doing. They also promoted the country by displaying some of our beautiful scenery and attracting tourists to come here. In 2017, the movie set Hobbiton, is still a major tourist attraction.

2002 Lord of the Rings II

The Two Towers.

See my complete collection of Lord of the Ring / The Hobbit stamps.

For a collection of all the miniature sheets released with this issue,

view our post: - 2016 A Journey Through Middle-earth.

       

        Almost exactly one year after the release of Fellowship of the Ring, the first Lord of the Rings movie, Peter Jackson released the second of J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, The Two Towers. NZ Post marked the release of this movie with the second issue of six stamps along with six miniature sheets. I have included both the stamps and the sheets in this post. It is too much to write about the whole movie so I will just give some background on the scenes shown on the stamps. Want to know more, go watch the movie.

2001 Lord of the Rings I

The Fellowship of the Ring.

See my complete collection of Lord of the Ring / The Hobbit stamps.

For a collection of all the miniature sheets released with this issue,

view our post: - 2016 A Journey Through Middle-earth.

         When New Zealand producer Peter Jackson took on making a movie of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings many in the film industry were amazed. It had always been considered that a film of this story would be impossible to make. What Peter Jackson proposed to do was to create three movies, one of each book of the trilogy, all filmed at the same time, then made into movies over three years. Truly a massive and impossible task but it was done. Making full use of camera tricks, special effects and advanced computer animation, the series of three movies began to come together. Finally, at the end of 2001 the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring was ready for release.   

2010 ANZAC III - Remembrance

        The theme of the 2010 ANZAC issue took on a more modern theme by looking at some of the activities of the modern ANZAC Day to see how New Zealanders today remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. This was done by looking at six ANZAC Day scenes from 1932 to 2010. Especially featured are services which have taken place overseas. 

                                         

Great Barrier Pigeon Post.

        Great Barrier Island is the largest island in the Hauraki Gulf, laying only 65 miles (105Km) from Auckland City. The island can be seen from Auckland on a clear day, it is that close, but back in the 1800s, it was isolated with no communication other than by sea with an irregular ship service. When in 1894, the Northern Steamship Company's ship SS Wairarapa hit the northern end of the island with the loss of 121 lives, the news took several days to reach Auckland. It highlighted the need for better communication between the island and the mainland. See our post Wreck of the Wairarapa.

       The Great Barrier Pigeongram Agency was created in early 1897 with a purpose of providing a mail service using pigeons. The letters carried, known as flimsies, were written on extremely lightweight paper. A few months later, on 14th May 1897, a rival pigeon mail service was established under the name of The Original Great Barrier Pigeongram Service. The two companies, commonly known as the 'Agency' and the 'Service', would continue competing with each other until 1908 when a telephone cable was laid between the island and the mainland. 

2009 ANZAC II - Comrades in Arms.

        
        2009 saw the issue of the second yearly ANZAC issue by New Zealand Post. This issue showed scenes from each of the major wars New Zealand has been involved in. The theme of Comrades in Arms was shown in pictures of men facing and hardships and dangers of war together.

        The first stamp shows a typical ANZAC Day scene where soldiers carry the coffin of the Unknown Warrior so those who died, but whose bodies were never recovered or identified, are remembered. To many whose loved one was never found this is one of the few links they have.

       The format followed the 2008 issue by showing a sepia photo with the silver writing and red poppy. The words "Lest we forget" were also included too. I actually like this design better because the words "Lest we forget" were very hard to see in the 2009 ANZAC issue.

2008 ANZAC I Stories of Nationhood.

         In 2008 New Zealand began what has become a regular issue on a military theme for ANZAC Day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the combined army group which had hastily be put together by the two countries and sent to join the fighting in World War I. The first action was the ill-fated landing at what is now known as ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli.

        Both countries now remember this landing, in which many brave young men lost their lives, by putting aside the 25th of April each year to hold special parades and services. The day is also remembered by the wearing of a red poppy, as can be scene on each the stamps below.

        There have been other military sets issued before this one for ANZAC and for special military anniversaries but this issue is different in that it was to become the start of a yearly issue for ANZAC. Over the years younger people, people who had been born many years after the two world wars, have begun attending these services in ever greater numbers. So as the ranks of a veterans have thinned with the now old men passing away the crowds of young people have increased. New Zealand Post now recognises this with a regular ANZAC issue.

        The stamps are a simple, yet effective design, with a background picture in sepia, a red poppy and writing and the silver fern in silver. Each stamp also carries that famous slogan of ANZAC Day "Lest we forget."     

(To see my entire Military / Anzac collection, click on either link in the page bar above.)

50th Post - 1991 Feel Good Stamps.

         For sometime now I have been wondering what I could do for my 50th post in this blog. I have covered some interesting issues over a wide range of topics so I though I needed something a bit different. Then I found these two issues.
         In 1991 NZ Post issued two sets which I am calling "Feel Good Stamps." One was for birthday cards and greetings and carried the words "Happy Birthday" on each stamp. The other for more general greetings carried the words "Thinking of You." They were issued in booklets holding five different 40c stamps.
         So lets have a party!!!

Happy Birthday!

15th May, 1991  Happy Birthday - 40c

1970s Vintage Transport Series.

       During the mid-1970s New Zealand issued a yearly set of stamps featuring vintage transport. I think it might be better if we view these sets in one group rather than individual issues.  I have combined these issues to make an interesting series of 30 stamps depicting the development of early transport in New Zealand. Maybe one day I might return to view each issue in greater detail.

   

See the 1984 - 1986 Vintage Transport Issues.

1855 Full Faced Queens - Part Four.

Definitives Tour.  

Forward to 1973 Newspaper Stamp.

Links:- Full-Faced Queens.
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part One.
                    A basic introduction to the Full Faced Queens issues. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Two.
                    Looking at factors effecting the condition and value of Classic Stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Three.
                    A collection of covers from before and using Full Faced Queen stamps. 
          1855 Full-Faced Queens - Part Four.
                    Modern use of the Full Faced Queen design.

        This is the last post in my series on Full-Faced Queens, New Zealand's first postal stamp issue.
        Over the years the Full-Face Queen design has been reused a number of times as New Zealand has marked various anniversaries since their first issue. They have appeared, either as copies of the original stamps or with the design updated with more modern content.

1955 Centennial of Postage Stamps in New Zealand.
        There were three stamps in this issue but we are only interested in the 4d value in this post.  In this case the original design was updated with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II instead of Queen Victoria. Since New Zealand was still using the old Sterling currency the value could still be written as "THREE PENCE" rather than the more common 3d.

Queen Elizabeth II - 3d

For the other stamps in this issue see my posts

1955 Stamp Centenary. 

2005 - 150 Years of New Zealand Stamps.