1988 Rafter Paintings - Kowhaiwhai

 For an index to all our posts on The Maori People.

        Kowhaiwhai is an art form of the New Zealand Maori, found on the interior rafters of tribal meeting houses.  The rafters are seen as the ribs of the ancestor, whom the house personifies.  All the carving, weaving and artwork embellishing a meeting house relate the legends, history and beliefs of the tribe.

         Three colours dominated traditional designs - red ochre from crushed stone, black from soot, and white-blue grey from clay.  These pigments were mixed with shark oil to produce the paint.  Simple fibre brushes were used.  The Maori people believe their designs symbolise strength, new life, growth in knowledge and the breath of life.
         For a more contemporary view of Kowhaiwhai view our post 2015 Matariki - Kowhaiwhai.

         Four variations of traditional patterns were designed specially for this set of stamps.

1972 - 1973 Scenic Stamps.

1972 Scenic Stamps - Lakes.

See the full collection Scenic Stamps Series - Part One.
The first issue of what was to become the annual Scenic Stamp Issue appeared in 1972. This was a four value set depicting Scenic Lakes. 

                                    

1974 - New Zealand Day

          The Treaty of Waitangi was the climax of a long series of events which finally led the then British Government to establish the sovereignty of the Crown over the islands of New Zealand.  When Captain William Hobson arrived at the Bay of Islands as Lieutenant Governor, the northern chiefs were summoned to Waitangi for the purpose of negotiating a treaty.  After much explanation and discussion, forty-five chiefs signed the Treaty by drawing their moko, the tattooed design on each face, upon the parchment on 6 February 1840.

         In 1932, Governor-General Lord Bledisloe and his wife purchased and presented to the nation the run-down house of James Busby, where the treaty was signed. The Treaty house and grounds were made a public reserve, which was dedicated on 6 February 1934. This event is considered by some to be the first Waitangi Day, although celebrations were not yet held annually. It would not be until the 1940s that any real attempt was made to celebrate it, but even then, it was not considered a holiday. 

         In 1971 the Labour shadow minister of Māori Affairs, Matiu Rata, introduced a private member's bill to make Waitangi Day a national holiday, to be called New Zealand Day. This was unsuccessful and did not pass into law. After the 1972 election of the third Labour government under Norman Kirk, it was announced that from 1974 Waitangi Day would become a national holiday, known as New Zealand Day. The New Zealand Day Act 1973 was passed in 1973.

         For Norman Kirk, the change was simply an acceptance that New Zealand was ready to move forward towards a broader concept of nationhood. Diplomatic posts had for some years marked this day, and so it seemed timely in view of the country's increasing role on the international stage that the national day becomes known as New Zealand Day. At the 1974 celebrations, the Flag of New Zealand was flown for the first time at the top of the flagstaff at Waitangi, rather than the Union Flag, and a replica of the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand was also flown.
          The election of the third National government in 1975 led to New Zealand Day being renamed Waitangi Day, because, the new Prime Minister, Rob Muldoon, did not like the name "New Zealand Day" and many Māori felt the new name debased the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi. Another Waitangi Day Act was passed in 1976 to change the name of the day back to Waitangi Day.

For an index to all our posts concerning The Maori People.

1988 - Centenary of Electricity

         New Zealand's beginning as a nation was marked by the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. A little more than 25 years later, the first hydro-electric power was being generated by crude installations in the goldfields of the South Island.
         In 1888, one of these gold mining centres, now the town of Reefton, became the first community in the Southern Hemisphere to switch on to municipal hydro-electric power.  This was only six years behind similar developments in the United States of America.
        After Reefton, other pockets of private and commercial electricity generation were established throughout the country.  In 1904, a detailed survey of New Zealand's power potential described the country as "the powerhouse of the Orient".

2015 Matariki - Kowhaiwhai

         Typically featured in the whare whakairo (decorated meeting house) on the heke (rafters), kōwhaiwhai is an art form that is distinctively Māori, and unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. Issued to coincide with the dawn of Māori New Year, the Matariki 2015 stamp issue celebrates this ancient art form in a more contemporary setting.
        In this post I have shown the full set below so you an get an over-view of the designs. Further down we will feature each of the six stamps with more detailed notes on each artist. (Current images will be replaced when better ones become available.) Next there is an area of other items of interest, including the usual Miniature Sheet and First Day Covers. At the bottom just above the Technical Information is a 1988 issue that also featured Kowhaiwhai. 

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

2015 Kiwi Kitchen.

          Brought to life by New Zealand artist Jason Kelly, this kitschy stamp issue combines well known Kiwi dishes with Kelly’s signature humour. Each stamp was originally painted on a wooden panel, and together they make a unique sheet of 18 stamps. The stamps were only available on this special sheet or on a set of three First Day Covers.

          As it is with many countries around the world, the pride of many Kiwi homes is the kitchen, and the easiest way to a Kiwi’s heart is through their stomach. New Zealand is home to loads of weird and wonderful recipes that combine simple, but flavoursome ingredients to create home and party staples that can only be described as quintessentially Kiwi.

          Who would’ve thought that an afternoon tea favourite would be asparagus wrapped in buttered bread? Or that kids’ parties would be incomplete without fairy bread? Every good Southlander is practically raised on Southland cheese rolls, and we all know that the pavlova is definitely a Kiwi invention (just don’t ask any Aussies in the room for fear of restarting the ‘Great Pavlova Debate’).

          Whether they’re from the iconic Edmonds Cookery Book or passed down through families there’s bound to be a dish on this quirky stamp sheet that every Kiwi can relate to.

2012 - A Tiki Tour of New Zealand No 2

      
         The Second Tiki Tour of New Zealand showed a lot more colour than the original Tiki Tour in 2009. (2009 - A Tiki Tour of New Zealand) 

         It was a similar format featuring various places around New Zealand in stylised/cartoon type illustrations on a map of New Zealand. Some of the places and scenes had been seen in the first series, but here many were completely new. 

         We have laid out this post with a brief summary of the series taken from the NZ Post web site.  Then we show the actual sheet as it was issued. Below this you will find a set of three First Day Covers. Finally we have laid out all 20 stamps separately with some information about places shown.

1959 Anniversaries.

       The 1959 Anniversaries are actually three separate issues that appeared during the first part of the year. We have decided to combine them into one post including the issue date under the title of each issue.

       First is the 1959 Boy Scouts Pan-Pacific Jamboree, a one stamp issue marking the large jamboree held in Auckland. The second issue is a three stamp set celebrating the Marlborough Centennial. Finally we have another one stamp issue marking 100 years from the idea for the establishing of the Red Cross.

       We have also included covers and First Day Covers, printing and perforation flaws as well.

1962 Covers to Switzerland

   

    While searching for other items for this blog, we can upon these three interesting covers that were sent during 1962, from Berhampore, a suburb of Wellington, to Zurich, Switzerland. They were sent via airmail, each cover clearly displaying a printed 'By Air Mail' label, and red/white/blue edging. They each contained a different variety of postage stamps. If you add the values you will discover the totals differ greatly so it appears that these selections were chosen more for their stamp collecting interest, than exact postal rates.

Kurangaituku - The Bird Woman.

For an index to all our posts on The Maori People.

        As I explore the legends and myths of the New Zealand Maori people one story seems to connect to the next. When Mary was doing her post on the 1958 Anniversaries she came across the stamps issued for the Hawke's Bay Centennial. Among these was a stamp showing the statue Pania of the Reef which led me to do a post telling this story. In the comments below that post, the story of Hinemoa was mentioned.

        Recently I added the love-story of Hinemoa to my growing collection of posts on Maori stories. While researching this story I discovered Hinemoa swum to the Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua. This led me to discover another story connected to this island, Hatupatu and Kurangaituku - The Bird Woman, the subject of this post.   

Kurangaituku - 80c
The giant bird-women who stalked prey in the forest, standing tall as a tree

and spearing birds and lizards with her fingernails.

Stamp from 2000 Spirits and Guardians.

1960 Westland

        Following the example of many other provinces of New Zealand this commemorative set of three stamps was issued to mark the Centenary of Westland. The stamps recognised the first explorers, miners and women of the region.

          The first Europeans to visit the West Coast were Brunner and Heaphy, whose exploration began in 1846.  Until 1856 the only European visitors to the Coast seem to have been sealers from Foveaux Strait and shore whalers operating from the Jackson Bay area.

1980 Anniversaries



 The 1980 Anniversaries Issue consisted of six stamps. Three were celebrating the 125th anniversary of stamps in New Zealand and the rest celebrated three other anniversaries. There was also a miniature sheet issued at the same time, featuring the three Chalon Stamps. The first stamp issue, the Full-faced Queens is also know as Chalon Stamps.

The three stamps commemorating the 125th anniversary of the first New Zealand stamp issue were designed by D A Hatcher, these stamps were also incorporated into a special miniature sheet which he also designed.  The remaining three stamps, designed by R M Conly, commemorated the Centenary of Rotorua and the International Orchid Conference and the World Ploughing Championships which were both held in New Zealand in 1980.

Further down we have included a small collection of flaws and printing errors from these stamps.

2012 - Great Voyages of New Zealand

As a small nation surrounded by water, New Zealand has relied on ships and vessels as a means of transport for as long as it's been inhabited. The 'Great Voyages of New Zealand' stamp issue features five vessels that have played a part in shaping New Zealand.

New Zealand Maori

New Zealand Maori.

         Asami here: - Allan has requested a special index page for posts about or relating to the Maori people of New Zealand. This is a very vast and complex area of study so I've decided to lay the page out in a series of sub-indexes with a table of context at the top.

Index / Contents

                 Maori - Traditional History.

                              Creation Stories.

                              Coming of Maori to Aotearoa (New Zealand.)

                              First Meetings with Europeans.
                              The Treaty of Waitangi.

                 Maori - Heritage.

                              Maori Cultural Heritage.

                              Matariki - Maori New Year.

                              Maori Legends.

                 Famous Maori on Stamps.   (On separate page.)

                              Famous Maori on Stamps.

                              Maori Artists - Artwork on Stamps.
                              Maori Writer/Designers on Stamps.

                       Definitive Stamps with Maori Themes.   (On separate page.)

                 A Complete Index of Maori Themed Stamps.
                                                 (A future project still to be published.)

                The Moriori People.

                              Moriori History & Culture.

The Legend of Hinemoa,

For an index to all our posts on The Maori People.

Rotorua’s famous romance, based on a true story of forbidden love between a high ranking young maiden and Tutanekai - illegitimately born of an illicit affair.  Mokoia Island is historical location of their union and is still cherished and celebrated today.



Hinemoa and Tutanekai beside the pool of warm water Waikimhia, 

now also known as Hinemoa's Pool.  

                    
             40c - Hinemoa.                                          The Original Promotional Image.       

                                             

2009 - A Tiki Tour of New Zealand. No. 1.

        A Tiki Tour - "In other countries they might call it the ‘roundabout way’ to get somewhere. Or the ‘scenic route’. But in New Zealand it’s a ‘Tiki tour’, and it’s the only way to go. It involves getting from A to B via L&P®." Getting off the beaten track, visiting places, seeing things that would normally be overlooked.

        This stamp issue sets out to show the different sights and activities that can be enjoyed in New Zealand. For such a small country there is much to see; from majestic mountains to flat open plains; from a bustle of modern cities to small country towns; from the roar of an ocean beach to the stillness deep in a forest glade. No matter what interests you, New Zealand has something to offer.

        New Zealand is a sporting nation with rugby being the national sport but many other sports are popular too. You can swim in the ocean then a few hours later ski down a mountain. Fishing, sailing, horse riding and mountain climbing are among the activities shown here. Go whale watching or watch an air show of vintage aircraft. Activities are almost endless but when you have finished what better way to end your day than to relax in the natural hot water of springs such as those found at Hamner Springs or many other hot pools found throughout both main islands. Enjoy some of the best wine in the world with a meal of roast lamb or fish, freshly caught from the sea. The choices are limited only by your imagination. 

       While being a young country, New Zealand still has a rich history. There are the Maori myths and legends such as Maui capturing the sun or the tragic love-story of Pania of the Reef. Timber milling, gold mining and breaking in the land for farming, stories of courage and determination remain of those first Europeans. Almost every town has it own little museum telling the stories of the local area.  

2012 - Tiki Tour of New Zealand No. 2

       So come with me and enjoy out Tiki Tour through New Zealand.

2011 - Ross Dependency - Race to the Pole.

 This issue marks the Centenary of the first successful attempt to reach the South Pole. Over the summer season of 1911/12 two men were attempting to be the first to reach the pole.  One was an Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, and the other a British explorer, Robert Scott.  The stamps of this issue, remember and celebrate both men and their teams. 

The miniature sheet titled "The Race to the Pole" including the five stamps of this issue.

Happy Birthday! Penny Black!

             The world's first adhesive postage stamp was introduced 175 years ago, on May 1st 1840, as part of Sir Rowland Hill's postal reforms which paved the way to the modern postal system.
            This was the stamp that started it all so when I saw the date I decided we had to do something about it in this blog. Asami suggested getting the fireworks out but I don't think we need go that far. Just to acknowledge the occasion will be enough. 

2012 Fifty Years of Friendship - New Zealand and Samoa

         New Zealand and Samoa share a special relationship that is underpinned by the 1962 Treaty of Friendship. 2012 marks 50 years of this important partnership, and New Zealand Post celebrated this with very a unique stamp issue. At about the same time these stamps were issued Samoa celebrated 50 years of independence. The stamps issued by Samoa to mark this event can also be seen at the bottom of this post.

An interesting set of five stamps that stand out as being very different to stamps usually issued by New Zealand. Each of the five stamps features a contemporary view of a selu tuiga – a head comb that takes the shape of a traditional tuiga. A tuiga is a Samoan headdress that is worn at important events by the mānaia (son) or the taupou (daughter) of the high chief of the village. The tuiga is a unique symbol of the chiefly nature of Samoan society, and a significant number of tuiga were worn when Samoa gained independence.

2012 Scenic Definitives.

Definitive Tour.

Back to 2009/2010 Scenic Definitives.                                       Forward to 2014 Scenic Definitives.

        Since the 2014 Scenic Definitive Issue has already been covered in this blog, this post will be the last in our Scenic Definitive Series until a new issue appears. We are planning to link them or list them n some way so readers can navigate through them.

        In 2012 three new denominations were added to the current Scenic Definitive Series to cover upcoming changes in postal rates. This stunning new stamp issue showcased three of New Zealand’s most picturesque locations – Cape Reinga, Stewart Island and Lake Matheson.

  

  Also included in this issue were two of the gummed stamps appearing in an adhesive format as well. Earlier in February, another adhesive, $2.40 Lake Rotorua had already been issued, making the six stamps shown here.

1958 & 1998 - Pania of the Reef.

For an index to all our posts on The Maori People.

This post was inspired by something in the post Mary has just completed 1958 Anniversaries. In the Hawke's Bay Centennial issue is a stamp 2d - Pania of the Reef. This statue caught my interest as I remembered seeing it in the 1998 Town Icons issue too. (Both stamps are shown below). So in looking deeper I discovered the story of Pania of the Reef; a Maori legend or myth, a romantic yet tragic love-story, and a beautiful bronze statue.  

The Stamps.

                                 

1958 Hawke's Bay Centennial.                                       1998 Town Icons - Napier, NZ.

Pania can be found on other New Zealand stamps but in the two shown

above she take centre place as the main subject of the stamp.
For more about the heitiki she is wearing see story below or visit our post Heitiki

1958 Anniversaries.

1958 First Trans-Tasman Flight 30th Anniversary

- Kingsford Smith.

                                 

6d New Zealand.                                                            8d Australia.

 This stamp was issued to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's first Trans-Tasman flight with Charles T.P. Ulm as co pilot. The stamp was issued jointly by Australia and New Zealand (both shown here). The stamp featured the Southern Cross with the portrait of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his aircraft, also called Southern Cross.

Simpson and his Donkey.

This post was inspired by one of the stamps from 2015 - The Spirit of ANZAC - 1915.

         On the 25th of April, 1915, Australian and New Zealand troops saw action for the first time in World War I.  The aim of the campaign was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul) and eliminated both of Germany's Balkan allies (Turkey and Bulgaria) from the war. 

         This poorly planned landing went wrong from the start. Instead of landing on the chosen beach the Australian and New Zealanders landed further north on a narrow beach surrounded by steep hills. For six months they held this beach, making little headway inland against fierce resistance from the Turkish soldiers. Finally the decision had to be made to pull the troops back off the beach.

2015 New Zealand Native Shells

New Zealand’s diversity of seashell fauna can be attributed to our isolation and geological history, allowing for over 2000 native seashell species to thrive in our waters. I was amazed to learn that there were as many as that. In this issue we see five of these species found only in New Zealand, ranging from the common silver paua to the prized deep-water golden volute.

                             

    80c - Silver Paua.                                    $1.40 - Scott’s Murex.                              $2.00 - Golden volute.

                

    $2.50 - Fan shell.                                 $3.00 - Opal top shell.

1894 The Wreck of the SS Wairarapa.

         In the third worst shipwreck ever in New Zealand waters, 121 lives were lost when the Union Steam Ship Company steamer SS Wairarapa struck Miners Head, on the northern tip of Great Barrier Island, 90 km north-east of Auckland. As the island’s only contact with the outside world was via a weekly steamer, news of the shipwreck took three days to reach Auckland. This highlighted the need for better communication between the island and the mainland. A need that would eventually lead to the Great Barrier Pigeongram Services.