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.

Colour Trials.

      First, let's look at some colour trials as they decided which colour would be used for this issue.

 

1900 Boer War                                                                                      1900 Boer War

    Colour Trial - Brown.                                                                      Colour Trial - Emerald Green.

These two colour trails that were printed but cut out using scissors rather than the usual perforating used for production runs of printed stamps. 

 

1900 Boer War - Colour Trial - Violet.

Violet was the third colour tried. Notice there is a rip in the top stamp. This was not a printing error so therefore must be considered as damage that will devalue the stamp.

1900 Boer War - Colour Trial - Khaki.

This was the colour that was finally chosen.

 

1½d 'Boer War (issued on 7 December 1900)' mind and used copies.

Following the outbreak of the South African War, New Zealand assembled its first Expeditionary Force. Richard John Seddon who was Premier (Prime Minister) at the time requested Parliament to ask the British Government to accept a contingent of 210 mounted officers and men. Each of the volunteers had to provide his own horse. During the war, a total of ten contingents were raised and in total 6,500 troops were sent to South Africa. The design was completed by James Nairn of Wellington and engraved by H G Thomas of New York.

The stamps were issued in sheets of 120.

Printing Colour Variations and Perf Variations.

Once the colour of Khaki had been selected it seems the printer had trouble maintaining this colour. Many colour variations have been found ranging from yellow through to brown. Below is a set of six stamps, each with a different colour variation.

The six top examples all have a perf of 11 while the single stamp below has a perf of 14.

(For those new to stamp collecting - perfs are usually stated in holes per inch.)

 Major Re-entry.

I don't usually identify varieties and retouches in older stamps, so especially in varieties I'm no expert, but I believe this is a good example of the variety found on Plate 2 - Row 2/Stamp 12. If anyone can offer advice, please contact me.

I quote from Campbell Patterson's Catalogue:-
"R2/12 This stamp is generally agreed to be the best re-entry in New Zealand stamps. Nearly the whole design is doubled - points for quick identification are a generally blurred appearance and the outlines of the tents and the bayonet of the rifle on the right side of the stamp."

  

         Doubling on the tents.                 Doubling on the Rifle Bayonet.

This must be one of the best examples of a major re-entry in the earlier issues. The stamp found in Row 2 No. 12 had almost half its image retouched. The illustration below shows the work which was done. I am unsure why this particular stamp needed so much work while others around it needed none. This points to damage done to the printing plate, for example, an object dropped on it, rather than plate wear that would have appeared more evenly over the plate, on more than one stamp.

 Special Cancellations.

During preparations and training for service in South Africa, soldiers were given free postage so they could write to their families. These letters were identified by special postmarks from the various training camps. I am still looking for real examples of these used on postage but meanwhile here are three examples of the postmarks.

  

Trentham.                                                      Forbury.                                                    Newtown.



Boer War Addington Military Post Office Free Franking used on a Camp cover.

While the cover and the cancel look good it bothers me that there is no address. Obviously not sent through the mail system.

Other NZ Boer War Stamps and Covers.

To finish this Boer War collection I want to include some New Zealand stamps from other issues that feature the Boer War as their subjects. The date and name of each issue will be shown on each stamp.

This cover shows Captain Davies from First Contingent New Zealand sent to the Boer War.

1984 New Zealand Army History.

Due to the type of country and way this war was fought, much of it involved horse riding. All the soldiers sent from New Zealand took their horses with them. One account said they even needed to provide their own horses.

                    

2003 Military Uniforms.

Two stamps from a sheet of 20 showing a history of New Zealand military uniforms.  (You can see the full sheet in my Military ANZAC - Page One. 

I am not sure if the officer on the first stamp would have served in South Africa but he comes from that time period. The mounted trooper on the second stamp certainly did. The medal shown is the Queen's South Africa Medal for service during the Second Boer War. 

2011 The Victoria Cross.

A special sheet showing all 21 people who have won the Victory Cross while fighting for New Zealand.

Sargent Major William James Hardham was the first New Zealand born recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was an officer in the 4th New Zealand Contingent, New Zealand Military Forces during the Second Boer War.  On 28 January 1901, Major Hardham was involved in an action near Naauwpoort which earned him the Victoria Cross. 

This sheet can be viewed on my Military ANZAC Page Two or on my post on this issue:- 2011 - The Victoria Cross.

The Cause of the Second Boer War.
                (An extract from Wikipedia)
       The Boer War resulted from more than a century of conflict between the Boers and the British Empire, but of particular importance was the question as to which white nation would control the very lucrative Witwatersrand gold mines.
         During the Napoleonic Wars, a British military expedition had landed in the Cape Colony and defeated the defending Dutch forces at the Battle of Blaauwberg (1806). After the war, the British formally acquired the colony (1814) and encouraged more immigration by British settlers. Many Boers who were dissatisfied with the British administration, in particular with Britain's abolition of slavery, so on 1 December 1834, elected to migrate away from British rule in what became known as the Great Trek.
         The Trekkers initially followed the eastern coast towards Natal and then, after Britain annexed the Natal in 1843, journeyed northwards towards the interior. There they established two independent Boer republics: the South African Republic (1852; also known as the Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State (1854). The British recognised the two Boer republics in 1852 and 1854 but attempted British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 led to the First Boer War in 1880–81. After the British suffered defeats, particularly at the Battle of Majuba Hill (1881), the independence of the two republics was restored subject to certain conditions; relations, however, remained uneasy.

          With the discovery of gold and diamonds near or within the republic's territories, there was an increase of uitlanders (foreigners), moving in until there was a danger uitlanders would outnumber Boers. Since so many of her citizens were involved Britain pressed for more direct control of the mining which indirectly meant more control of the republics and mining profits. The only outcome of this policy could be a war that finally came in 1899.

         When the Second Boer War seemed imminent, New Zealand offered its support. On 28 September 1899, Prime Minister Richard Seddon asked Parliament to approve the offer to the imperial government of a contingent of mounted rifles, thus becoming the first British Colony to send troops to the Boer War. The British position in the dispute with the Transvaal was "moderate and righteous," he maintained. He stressed the "crimson tie" of Empire that bound New Zealand to the mother-country and the importance of a strong British Empire for the colony's security.
By the time peace was concluded two and a half years later, 10 contingents of volunteers, totalling nearly 6,500 men from New Zealand, with 8,000 horses had fought in the conflict, along with doctors, nurses, veterinary surgeons and a small number of school teachers. Some 70 New Zealanders died from enemy action, with another 158 killed accidentally or by disease.
                                             The New Zealanders in South Africa 1899–1902   D.O.W.
Hall.

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ.

You can visit their website and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/