1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part Two

Definitive Tour.
Back to Elizabeth II Definitives.                                          Forward to 1967 Decimal Pictorials.

1960 - 1967 Designs in Detail.

This second part will show each of the stamps again but now arranged by their value rather than as in Part One by their issue date. Our purpose here is to consider the design and subject of each stamp.

              1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part One.

                    A summary and overview of this issue with the stamps arranged issued order.

          1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part Two.
                    This second part shows each of the stamps again but now arranged by their value.
          1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part Three.                   

                    Flaws and errors of the 1960 definitive - low values.
          1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part Four.
                    Flaws and errors of the 1960 definitive - high values.

          1960 -1966 Pictorials Part Five.

                    Postal history items.

Lower Values.
These stamps are more often than not arranged by their value. First comes the Low Values, the little ones in value and size, each displaying a native flower. They begin with the humble ½d going up to the 8d. Why wasn't the 9d included as one too? Back in the world of Sterling Currency 1/- (1 shilling) was equal to 12 pence. Stamps over 8d were not normally issued as mail charges of 10d or 11d could be made up using lesser values. 

                 

1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part One.

Definitive Tour.
Back to Elizabeth II Definitives.                                          Forward to 1967 Decimal Pictorials.

Overview of the 1st Series (Sterling).
This is the first of a series of posts on the large definitive issues of the 1960s.

          1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part One.

                    A summary and overview of this issue with the stamps arranged issued order.

          1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part Two.
                    This second part shows each of the stamps again but now arranged by their value.
          1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part Three.                   

                    Flaws and errors of the 1960 definitive - low values.
          1960 - 1966 Pictorials Part Four.
                    Flaws and errors of the 1960 definitive - high values.

          1960 -1966 Pictorials Part Five.

                    Postal history items.

 

After the Queen Elizabeth II definitives of the 1950s by 1958 New Zealand was looking for a new definitive issue. In November 1958 the Postmaster-General announced that a new set of pictorial stamps would be issued progressively from July 1960.

A public competition was held to obtain designs and 1,072 entries were received from 268 competitors.  

The first stamps of this new definitive issue appeared in July, 1960. Two months later, on the 2nd September, another six values were added. Over the next few years, changes in postal rates would lead to another three values being added and two values were reissued with more colourful designs. Finally on the 10th July 1967, the entire issue would be replaced with decimal stamps using the old designs with new decimal values. 

1964 Road Safety Campaign

3d - Road Safety.

 This special stamp issue was made in support of National Accident Free Day as part of a road safety campaign. The stamp depicts a map of New Zealand with a road, divided by a dotted white line, from Bluff to the North Cape, symbolic of State Highway 1. On the left of the stamp a driver's hand firmly grasps a steering wheel.

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.

1962 - 1963 Communication Centenaries.

1962 Telegraph Centenary.

          This stamp issue celebrated the centenary of the introduction of the first telegraph service in New Zealand.

             

     3d - Hand Operating Morse Key.                                8d - 1960s Teleprinter & Teleprinter Tape.

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.)

1976 - 1977 Scenic Stamps

1976 - Scenic Stamps - Waterfalls.
See the full collection Scenic Stamps Series - Part One. 

          Four of New Zealand's most beautiful waterfalls are featured in this series of stamps. As depicted on the stamps, each is different in character, sinuous delicate tiers of Purakaunui in the far South Island, contrast with Marakopa in the North Island - a crashing curtain of water.

                   

               10c - Purakaunui Falls.                             14c - Marakopa (Marokopa) Waterfall.

2015 - UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

         New Zealand is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand, Tongariro National Park, and the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands. Tongariro National Park is located in the central North Island, Te Wahipounamu is located in the south-west of the South Island and the Sub-Antarctic Islands are found south of the South Island.

         This special stamp issue showcases these scenic locations in all their glory. Six colourful stamps, two of each area combine to make this one of the better stamp issues New Zealand has released.

         I have chosen to use extra large images to display the full beauty of these stamps then lower down smaller images accompany more detailed captions on the views shown. I know our blog owner Allan, is against using such large images but I feel they are needed here.

Thematic Collections

       One of the types of stamp collecting that has not been covered well with this blog is Thematic Stamp Collecting. Well, we actually do have some Thematic collections in this blog and more are planned by our team. This index will help you find them.
        The larger ones are shown at the top of our blog. These include the Health Stamps, Christmas Stamps and the New Year collections. Other collections, that are smaller and only occupy one page, you will find listed below.        (Asami & Kim)

1976 Anniversaries

Five anniversaries were commemorated by way of stamps in 1976. This issue continued what had become an annual issue of stamps marking anniversaries and other important events. Some issues, such as the set below were designed in a cartoon or graphic style. Some, such as Allan, the owner of this blog, have a strong opinion about this saying it does nothing for the message of the stamp. Since we have completed all the other 1976 stamp issues and no one else in our writing team seems interested, I have decided to create a post on this issue.  

"The stamp designs were what NZ Post called graphic representations of the various subjects and organisations they commemorated. This style seemed to be used over many issues from around this period. In some cases they worked well but in many cases they were a low point in New Zealand postage design."  Allan. 

2000 - Tales of Two Taniwha

For an index to all our posts on New Zealand Maori.

                               
Araiteuru.                                                               Tuhirangi

These two stamps come from the 2000 Spirits and Guardians issue. You will find the complete set of this issue in our Chinese New Year collection and in our post 2000/2012 The Year of the Dragon.. These two stamps show two famous Taniwha, guardians of the seas around Aotearoa (New Zealand).

1974 - 1975 Scenic Stamps

1974 - Scenic Stamps - Offshore Islands.

See the full collection - Scenic Stamps Series - Part One. 

Following on with the scenic theme of this series, in 1974 four offshore islands were featured. Once again I good variety were selected from the larger Great Barrier Island and Stewart Island to the active volcano White Island. The final stamp was the tiny Brothers Islands from Cook Strait.  

Notes on this page were based on notes from the NZ Post Web Site.

                  

2003 Military Uniforms

 

        2003 Military Uniforms was only issued as the miniature sheet format seen below. It featured 20 stamps showing figures in military uniform from the 1860s through to the modern uniforms of today.

       Some details and items, wore or used, are included on each stamp along the service medal likely to have been received. More details regarding each uniform were printed on the back of each stamp so beside each stamp we have also shown its reverse side.

        The top First Day Covers plus the full reverse sheet can be found at the bottom of this page.

        If you are interested in military stamps, you might discover more about New Zealand in our ANZAC Military collection. Links can be found in the navigation bar at the top of the page. 

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.