Postage stamps and postal history of New Zealand

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Chalon design and the 1874 sideface replacement

Postal services in New Zealand have existed since at least 1831, when the Postmaster-General of New South Wales deputed a Bay of Islands merchant to receive and return mail.[1] Governor William Hobson issued an ordinance covering postal matters, although the British government retained control until 1848.

In these initial years, only a small number of post offices were established. Postal services expanded greatly from the mid-1850s, with the Local Posts Act of 1856[2] allowing Provincial Governments to establish post offices, and the Post Office Act of 1858,[3] which re-organized postal services under a Postmaster-General.

The

New Zealand Post
, a state-owned enterprise.

lithographed
sideface stamps in various designs replaced them.

History

Universal one penny postage

Stamp marking Universal postage, 1901, featuring Zealandia

On 1 January 1901, New Zealand introduced one penny universal postage from New Zealand to any country in the world willing to deliver them. Australia, the United States, France and Germany would not accept such letters, fearful of having to reduce their own postal charges to match. This also halved the cost of mailing letters within New Zealand.

While concern was expressed that Post Office revenues would fall, mail volumes increased sharply and by 1902 any losses had been recovered.

First stamp vending machine

New Zealand was the first country in the world to prototype and install

stamp vending machines; one was installed in the General Post Office, Wellington in 1905.[4]

Postal stationery

1940 airmail censored first-flight cover from Auckland to Papua

The first items of

newspaper wrappers on 1 April 1878.[5] Lettercards were first issued on 1 January 1895, registered envelopes on 21 June 1898, envelopes on 4 June 1899 and air letter sheets or aerogrammes on 17 November 1941.[5]

Deregulation

The postal system in New Zealand was

deregulated on 1 April 1998, meaning several different independent mail companies now exist. But in practice the state-owned NZ Post
still delivers nearly all letters. While this is generally true, there are a number Posts that stand Independent and have their own delivery systems. They operate in the same manner with paid printed envelopes. A few print their own postage stamps and cancel with an identifier - postmark. Their stamps are also made available to collectors.

Independent New Zealand post companies which issue their own stamps include. DX Mail, Fastway Post, New Zealand Mail, Universal Mail, and Petes Post.

NFTs

In 2023,

NFT stamps, which sold out in 24 hours.[6]

Individual stamps

Rare stamps

1904 postage stamp with an invert error, featuring Lake Taupō

Arguably, New Zealand's rarest postage stamp is the 1949 HMS Vanguard threepence stamp, intended for issue as part of a set of four stamps (2d, 3d, 5d, and 6d) commemorating a royal visit. When the visit was cancelled, all copies of the stamps were ordered to be destroyed, but a small number — possibly as few as seven — of the 3d value survived.

$NZ 67,850.[8]

Another of the country's rarest stamps is the 1904 Pictorial 4d Lake Taupo invert, an invert error made in 1904. It sold in 1998 for $NZ 66,500. There is only one of these in existence.[9]

A third highly valuable New Zealand stamp is the 1906 Christchurch Exhibition 1d claret. While almost all of the penny stamps in this set were printed in bright vermilion red, one sheet was accidentally printed in a dark claret colour. Individual 1d claret stamps have sold at auction for over $NZ 20,000.[10]

Series

Since the 1990s a number of series of stamps have portrayed Kiwiana, showing the quirkier and more off-kilter side of New Zealand culture. [11] One such series was the Town Icon set of 1998, including some of the big things in New Zealand such as the Big Lemon & Paeroa bottle, Napier's Pania, the giant carrot of Ohakune, and the shearer statue of Te Kūiti.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand
  2. ^ Local Posts Act 1856
  3. ^ New Zealand Post Office Act 1858
  4. ^ Robinson, p. 179.
  5. ^ a b c Startup, R. M. (1966) Postal Stationery of New Zealand.
  6. ^ "NZ Post's First-ever Digital Stamps Sell Out Within Two Hours". www.scoop.co.nz. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  7. ^ "New Zealand’s 1949 Royal Visit & 3d HMS Vanguard Stamps," Mowbray Collectibles. Retrieved 8 September 2023
  8. ^ "This Kiwi stamp is worth more than what most Kiwis earn in a year," Newshub, 16 March 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2023
  9. ^ "Glen Stephens Monthly "Super Dooper Discount" Specials Page!". www.glenstephens.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ^ Walrond, C., "John Mowbray with claret stamp," Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 20 June 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2023
  11. ^ https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/98650723/are-kiwiana-icons-a-true-representation-of-the-new-zealand-identity
  12. ^ ROTHWELL, K. (2004). Message in a bottle. Dominion Post, The, C2.

Sources

External links