Series 4 new zealand philatelic bulletin no 9 1973 february

ProducedJJ_'>Uhehst Office PbiJatelicJJul'eau, Private Bag, Wellington.

February, 1973

No. 9

1.1. STAMPS flATURllI IXHIBITIOIS OYIRSIAS RECENT AND future promotion of New Zealand stamps at overseas exhibitions in the coming year confirm the high regard in which our stamps are held by collectors throughout the world.

I n November last year, for instance,

a six-panel display of recent New Zea. land stamps - including the Vintage Car. Ross Dependency. 1972 Commemorative, Government Life and New Zealand Definitive series - attracted popular attention at the Stamp Expo '72 North in San Francisco, America.

This marked New Zealand's debut at this exposition, and packs of New Zealand stamps were sold there. New Zea· land will also exhibit at the Stamp Expo '73 South, to be held at Los Angeles in March.

Also to be held in March in America

Mo KtIt'Inlth Fnmzhtlim ('~ r/y ArrJIJr;c6fI Ambassador to NWI ZtNI/andJ at bBck and M, P. V1II'Idivlere of thfl EmlMSlY mff preview the "Smithson· '-n" p.MWlt in the NWi Z..· _nd L~isJati~ Charn/wl.

is the International Philatelic Exhibition

Int....-pax '7.3 at New York, and fifteen panels of New Zealand stamps are to be displayed.

Int er pex is one of the largest stamp "showcases" in America and New Zea· tand has won a number of major stamp

awards at the exhibition: a gold medal last year, a silver medal in each of the two preceding years, and a special gold medal in 1970 for the philatelic film "The Early Days".

Packs of New Zealand stamps will be available for sale to collectors at this, the fifteenth Interpax exhibition to be held.

The third, and perhaps the most sig· nificant display of New Zealand stamps to be held in America, is the exhibition for the Smithsonian I nstitution in Washington.

Previewed in the Legislative Chamber

of Parliament on October 16, the display consists of 16 panels which portray the history of New Zealand with a deep feeling for the legends of the land.

A comprehensive selection of New Zealand stamps issued over the years, is displayed on backgrounds which depict aspects of the nation's history and development.

Preparation of the display panels has meant a lot of work for the display studios of Post Office Headquarters and the standard of the exhibition is high, in accordance with the distinct honour made us by the Smithsonian Institution.

The stamp exhibition will remain on

display at the Smithsonian Institution for about three months, after which it will be sent to other centres in America.

Apart from these American stamp exhibitions, New Zealand has also accepted invitations to display New Zealand stamps at other exhibitions in a number of overseas countries.

Recently ended were displays in Australia including Anpex'72 at Adelaide in August (this same display had previ· ously been exhibited at the Townsville Pacific Festival in June) and Wapex '72 at Perth in October. Both displays are pres· ently being used by the New Zealand Government Trade Commission in Aust·

ralia for display in business and cultural areas.

Also ended during October-November last year was New Zealand's participation

in Rocpex '72 at Taipei, Taiwan.

Coming up are displays at Ibra '73 at Munich in May, Polska '73 at POlnan in Poland during August·September, and Indipex '73 at New Delhi in November.

These and other displays to be held during this year ensure the international

status of New Zealand stamps.

Current Stamps STAMP ISSUES currently available by rmil order from the Philatelic Bureau, Wellington, or over the counter from

Philatelic Sales positions.

NZ Fiscal. (set $28.00) $4. S6. $8. $10.

1970n1 Definitive. (set $5.37%) %c, 1c.

2c. 2%c, 3c. 4c, 5c, Gc. 7c. 7%c, 8c. 10c, lSe, 18c, 20c, 23c, 2Se,30c. 50c, $1, $2,

4c Overprint Niue Definitive. (set 82c) %c, 1c, 2c.

2%c, 3c, Se, 8c, 10c, 20c, 30c.

NZ Fiscals overprinted Niue (set $3.50) SOc, $1, $2.

Tokelau Definitive. (set 81 c) 1c. 2c, 3c, 5c, 1Qc, 15c, 2Qc, 25c.

Government Life Insurance (set 25c) %c.

2%c, 3c, 4c, 15c.

Ross Dependency (set 48c) 3c. 4c, 5c.

Bc, 10c, lBc.

To be withdrawn February 28, 1973.

Niue South Pacific Arts Festival (set 43c) 30, 5c, 1Oc, 25c.

To be withdrawn March 31, 1973. World Rose Convention (set 15C) 2c, Se, Bc. lord Rutherford Iset 8c) 1c, 7c. Vintage

Cars (set 36c) 3c. 4c. 5c, 6c, 8c, 10c.

1972 Commemorative (set 30cl 3c, 4c.

5c, 8c. 10c. Alpine Plants (set 28C) 40, Gc. 8c, 10c. Niue 1972 Christmas. 3c, To be withdrawn June 30. 1973, 1972 Health (set 9c) 4c, Se. 1972 NZ Christmas (set 18C) 3c. 5c, 10c. Niue 25th Anniversary of the South P&cific Com-

mission (set 33c) 4c, 5c, 6c, 18c. TokeIau Islands 25th Anniversary of the South Pacific Commission (set SOC) 5c, 10c, 15c, 2Qc. To be withdrawn March 31,1974. Lake Scenes (set 55c) Gc. 8c. 18c, 23c. 1973 Commemorative (set 36c) 3c. 4c, 5c, 6c.

Bc. 1 Qc.

Post Offices Opened and Closed OPENED Pukehina

Tauranga

Omarumutu

Rotorua

Hexton Waikiekie

Gisborne

December 11 , 1972

CLOSED

Papakaio Hukarere

Turakina South Mangatoki Omanaia Elsthorpe Hinakura Otipua Fairfax

Whangarei Oamaru

Greymouth Wanganui New Plymouth Whangarei

Napier

Masterton Timaru

Invereargill

June 30. 1972 JUly 14. 1972 August 21, 1972 JUly 28, 1972 August 24. 1972 September 8, 1972 August 25. 1972 August 18, 1972 July 31. 1972 October 3. 1972 September 29. 1972 August 25, 1972

Sorry about the errors that occurred in the Post Offices Opening and Closing list in our last issue. An amended list is given below: OPENED Camero n Road

Hamilton

Maunu

Whangarei Auckland

Kingsford Hutt Hospital Mangere

Wellington

Auckland

December 13. 1971 January 10. 1972 February 14. 1972 February 21, 1972 May 8. 1972

CLOSED Te Ahuahu Aratapu

West End Glenhope Rapaura

Whangarei Whangarei Palmerston North

Nelson Blenheim

Ferry Landing

Auckland New Plymouth Thames

Mareretu

Whangarei

Whakaki Ngawhatu

Napier

Mangatawhiri Kaupokonui

Nelson

December 17, 1971 January 7. 1972 January 28. 1972 January 31, 1972 February 8, 1972 March 30. 1972 April 14. 1972 April 20, 1972 April 21, 1972 May ID, 1972 May 31. 1972

----:..

Tranquil Lake Scene Conceals Night of Terror

by Cameron J. Scott, Post Office Reporter

peaceful and tranquil scene depicting thermal activity on Lake Rotomahana, near Rotorua, features on the 23c stamp in the New Zealand Post Office's latest pictorial stamp issue.

The scene contrasts sharply with tragic and disastrous.ave"'ts-on-June 10,1886, when the famous Pink and White Terraces, linking Lake Rotomahana and Lake Tarawera, were destroyed forever.

On that cold, cloudless, moonlit night, just 86 years ago, Mt Tarawera, in the thermal region of the North Island, burst open in volcanic fury, belching red-hot rocks, fireballs and deadly ash over 600 square miles of fertile farmland and native bush.

Almost without warning, fire, mud and boiling lava rained down on the tiny lakeside villages of Te Wairoa, Te Ariki and Moura, claiming the lives of 153 people.

Tarawera, with its three age-old craters, had been long believed to be extinct and any stories of its latent danger regarded as superstitious myth.

To local Maoris, however, the eruption came as little surprise.

Eleven days previously, the eerie outline of a war canoe, with a double row of ghostly occupants, had been sighted on the lake by a mixed company of European sightseers and Maori guides.

To the Maoris, an omen of inevitable disaster.

Tarawera's explosion totally changed the nature of the surrounding countryside.

For years, thousands of visitors from all over the world had travelled to Rotomahana, braving primitive bush roads and rugged conditions to visit what had been acclaimed as the "eighth wonder of the world" - the Pink and White Terraces.

Covering more than seven acres. this volcanic forma¡ tion took the shape of a fanlike terrace, glittering in delicate shades of pink, white and turquoise.

The Terraces were totally destroyed, buried beneath an entirely transformed landscape.

The village of Te Wairoa was covered under feet of volcanic ash and mud. For many years it lay, forgotten.

Now excavated, "The Buried Village" provides a unique link with the disastrous events of 10 June.

A

Of the Rotomahana Hotel, once a favourite stop for visitors to the area, little more than a crumbling chimney remains with the excavated outline of its former rooms.

The Maori dwellings, low-slung and soundly constructed of raupo, fared better - many were preserved by the volcanic mud which covered them. One of these whares - the home of the 101-year-old tohunga (priest), Tohutu Ariki, who fore' told of the great disaster to come can still be seen, complete with its own pataka, or food storage house.

The 1886 eruption caused Lake Rotomahana to disappear entirely.

Shallow and covering about 284 acres, the lake was drained to a boiling mass of geysers and spluttering and fuming mud holes.

But unlike the Pink and White Terraces, Lake Rotomahana was not lost forever.

Volcanic activity continued on its bed and gradually, over seven years following the eruption, the water returned, forming a new lake 20 times the area of the old one and almost 10 times as deep.

Typical of lakes in the thermal region of the North Island, Rotomahana completes a composite picture of the lakes of New Zealand portrayed in the issue - the bush-covered hills around the inlets of Lake Waikaremoana, the snow of the Remarkables behind Lake Wakatipu and Lake Hayes' placid autumn.

The Buried Village and surround ing area can be seen at best advantage on the Government Tourist Department, Waimangu Round Trip which incorporates a guided visit to the Waimangu Thermal Valley, a 10 mile fissure created by the 1886 eruption, and includes launch trips across Lake Rotomahana and Lake Tarawera, as well as a visit to the Buried Village and the Blue and Green Lakes.

To the tourist making the scenic launch trip across Rotomahana ("The Warm Lake"), the beauty of the lake and the surrounding hills makes the night of June 10, 1886, seem incomprehensively remote. But large areas of tepid and steaming, boiling water on Rotomahana today remain as a reminder of the uncertainty of nature.

Remembering the Days when Steam was King

by Gillian E. M. Shadbolt, Post Office Reporter

W

hen the last main line steam locomotives were withdrawn from regular service with New Zea· land Railways on October 26, 1971, it brought to an end an era in New Zealand transportation.

This year, however, New Zealand Railways will run permanent steam locomotive Christmas to Easter tourist services between Lumsden and Kingston on the southern shores of Lake Wakatipu in the South Island.

So it seemed a ppropriate for the Post Office to issue a set of commemorative stamps to acknowledge the contribution of these great iron horses to the progress of New Zealand as a nation.

The four locomotive classes represented in the special issue are "W" (3c stamp), "X" (4cl. "Ab" (5c) and "Ja" (lOc). All have, in some way, laid the foundations for the development of the giant diesel·electric engines which ride the 3,000 miles of 3'6" gauge railway tracks in New Zealand today.

The four stamps were designed by Christchurch designer Maurice Conly to show the glowing colour of the locomotives' original livery and minute technical details. They are set against vignetted green, red, blue and raw sienna in pastel tones.

New Zealand is a land of contrasts, flat hot coastal plains, high mountains, deep valleys and canyons, fiords, bush, sand and snow. It was a special challenge to early surveyors planning routes for the "Pakeha horse" as the Maori dubbed the steam locomotive.

Native ingenuity was often called on to fashion locomotives from local resources but resu Its were not always successful.

A converted portable engine built in 1865 for a provincial wooden railway in Southland was a white elephant and a 10 h.p. locomotive built in 1872 for the Foxton Railway, in the south of the North Island, was "tried on the line but did not answer".

Other locally built locomotives - such as a class known as Mi lis "A's" - proved better despite the fact that a general manager of New Zealand Railways later said of them that they "could scarcely be termed rail· way locomotives".

Locomotives of the "W" class, featured on the 3c stamp, were the first to be built by the New Zealand Government Railways in their own workshops at Add· ington, Christchurch, in 1889 and proved to be of first· rate design and excellent construction.

They were in service on the west coast of the South Island until the late 1950's.

The "W" class began life on the drawing board as a proposal to build two 2-6-2 tank locomotives from spare parts imported for the "J" class 2-6-0 engines.

Six "J" class engines, designed for freight service in Canterbury, gave New Zealand Railways their first tender locomotives. They were built by the Avonside Engine Company, Bristol, England.

Eventually, however, the proposal resulted in a com· pletely new design.

Two "W" class locomotives were built at Addington and sent to Wellington for service on the 1 in 35 grade between Upper Hutt and the summit of the Rimutaka Ranges, northern backdrop to Wellington Harbour.

In 1901 one "W" was transferred to Westland in the South Island. And the second followed in 1904 to take over the task of hauling coal trains on two branch lines.

J~W~'-';

Except for electric headlamps and air brakes the "W" locomotives changed little in their appearance during their 70 years of service.

Repainted in its original livery, the first to be built at Addington (192) stands ready for eventual display at an appropriate place.

Once New Zealand's most powerful locomotives, the "X" class, featured on the 4c stamp, were designed for freight and passenger service between Ta iha pe and Tau· marunui, in the heart of the North Island, where the Raurimu Spiral, with its 1 in 50 grade and 7)1,·chain curves, was a taxing challenge for steam locomotives.

The "X" locomotive heralded the era of the big engine and was probably the first 4-8-2 or "Mountain" type locomotive in the world.

With the stipulated axle~loacLof 11)1, tons it had a boiler pressure of 250 Ib sq. in. It produced a tractive effort of 29,840 Ib - at this time the highest carried in New Zealand by a locomotive with an orthodox boiler.

Eight of the "X" locomotives were built at Addington Workshops during 1907·08 and ten more in 1914·15.

The first was ready early in 1909 for the inauguration of "through" train services on the Main Trunk Line through the North Island between Auckland and Well· ington, where it was used over the mountain section between Taihape and Taumarunui.

On the Raurimu Spiral an "X" could haul a 260·ton passenger train-80 tons more than its passenger counterpart, the high·wheeled "A" class locomotive. On level country the rated goods-train load reached 900 tons.

In 1940 some of the aging "X" class four-cylinder compound engines were rejuvenated by converting them to simple-expansion engines. Although a big improvement on their original compound form, the simple "X" engines were not popular with engine crews and during the 1950's saw less and less service.

Today the "X" is but a memory, the last having been written off in 1957.

"Ab" class locomotives, illustrated on the 5c stamp, , were sQ closely associated with the development of New Zealand Railways over about 40 years that their full contribution would fill volumes.

They were introduced in 1915 for work on the heaviest duties.

The engine was a simple superheated "Pacific" of novel appearance, a feature being the cylindrical Vanderbilt tender which had impressed the designer during a visit to America. It was adopted because of its light weight and economy of construction.

At the height of their service the "Ab" engines handled all principal express services and were also standard main·line freight locomotives. When outmoded on the heaviest main-line passenger and freight services the "Ab's" were used for freight haulage on secondary and branch lines and were listed to haul 700-750 tons on easy grades. Every district had a quota of "Ab's".

The "Ab" was always remarkable for its relatively modest size, and is believed to have been the first engine

in the world capable of developing one horse-power for every 100lb of engine weight.

Some performances were outstanding. On trials in 1916 "Ab" 608 - named "Passchendale" in memory of railwaymen lost in World War 1 and now stored awaiting preservation at the Ferrymead Museum of Science and Industry, Christchurch - hauled a 423·ton passenger train of 20 wooden coaches from Timaru to Christ· church, 99.5 miles in 147 minutes running time. Maxi· mum speed was 60 m.p.h.

Originally 141 "Ab's" were built. Most have been written off, or sold as scrap but two still haul the King' ston Flyer - New Zealand Railways' only remaining steam service.

Steam locomotive design in New Zealand reached its zenith with the sleek and handsome "Ja" class 4-8-2.

Thirty five of these very versatile locomotives were produced at Hillside Workshops in Dunedin. They were the last steam locomotives to be built for the New Zealand Railways. Oil-fired "Ja's" were imported from Scotland for use in the North Island.

Hillside "Ja's" built between 1946 and 1956 became the mainstay of the South Island railway system and were a familiar sight between Christchurch and Invercargill in the far south. They also operated on the "Mid· land" line as far west as Arthur's Pass, and northward as far as Kaikoura.

The "Ja's" were fitted with cross-compound air compressors, and most were equipped with roller bear· ings on all except one pair of crank pins. This use of roller bearings enabled very high mileages to be run between major overhauls.

In regular service these general-purpose locomotives were rated to haul l,OOO-ton freight and 400-ton passen· ger trains on easy grades. On occasions they produced some remarkable performances. "Ja" 1267, hauling 10 cars weighing 300 tons, covered 41.9 miles at an average speed of 59.4 m.p.h. including 5.5 miles in 5 min 18 secs, or 62.7 m.p.h.

The "Ja's" were the last locomotives seen on New Zealand's main trunk railway. They hauled passenger trains between Invercargill and Christchurch until the advent of today's diesel-hauled "Southerner" in 1971.

The thundering, puffing gods of New Zealand's silver tracks are now a thing of the past. Some still proudly chuff on the tracks of transport museums, or are displayed or preserved by New Zealand's Railway Societies.

Others are at historical rail·heads like Taumarunui and Christchurch; the rest have been melted down for scrap or lie rusting in long grass.

The age when steam was king is over but, in New Zealand, memorials can still be found at picnic excur· sions for railway enthusiasts, in the transport museums and in the places where th~ gods of steam were born.

Forest and Bird Stamp Honou rsStruggle to Save Unique Environment

by Gillian E. M. Shadbolt, Post Office Reporter

Sanderson, a keen hunter, who had become concerned with the destruction and killing of the shooting seasons and particularly disturbed at the diminishing native bird population, weJco/TlEld the idea.

On March 28, 1923, the Native Bird Protection Society held its inaugural meeting and from that time until his death 'in 1945 Captain Sanderson devoted himself to the Society and its aims of rejuvenating the native bird population and halting the disappearance of New Zealand forests.

Soon after he was appointed Honorary Secretary of the Native Bird Protection Society, Captain Sanderson gave up his job in a thriving motor business to live on his war pension and work in an honorary capacity, for the Society and the community in an effort to preserve New Zealand's natural beauty.

The Society early realised the necessity for a link between headquarters in the country's capital, Wellington, and its membership scattered throughout the length and breadth of the land. Thus its quarterly bulletin was born in the form of-a cyclostyted newsletter.

A year later the bulletin took the form of a 10·page booklet called "Birds" and in October 1933 the title was changed to "Forest & Bird", anticipating the change of the society's name to "Forest & Bird Protection Society" by about 15 months.

fter the separation of Rangi, the sky and male parent, and Papa the earth mother, in the old Maori legend, the demillod Tane Mahuta fashioned man out of the clay of the earth. Then, out of the same clay, he created woman.

His next task was to clothe mother earth with trees and shrubs and to populate them with birds and all other living creatures.

ThlJs the early Maori inhabitants of Ao·te·a-roa, the Land of the Long White Cloud, or New Zealand as it is now known, recognised the trees of the forests and the birds that inhabited them, as kinsmen.

Maoris today may no longer regard the trees of the forest and the birds as their kinsmen but, like Matiu Rata, the Minister of Maori Affairs and Lands, many play an active part in New Zealand's 12,000 strong Forest and Bird Protection Society which this year com· memorates its 50th anniversary.

To mark this achievement the New Zealand Post In February 1936 the bulletin adopted its current Office has included a 6c Royal Forest and Bird Protec. . tion Society stamp in its latest commemorative issue to format.

From its inception the bulletin was distributed widely be released' on February 6, 1973.

The issue features a 10c stamp commemorating the and, despite the society's' initially pathetically small 25th anniversary of ECAFE, stamps commemorating the membership, several thousand bulletins were distributed centenaries of the Thames Borough Council (3c), the quarterly as a means of dispersing information to moti· West port Borough Council (4c), the University of Canter· vate public opinion against acts of destructi~to-the bury (5c) and the achievements of New Zealand's rowing environment. teams at the XX Olympics in Munict) (Se).

In 1925, 20,000 posters were distributed throughout The Royal Forest and Bird stamp was designed by the country and possibly more than anything else, these Brian Langford, an honours student at the Canterbury publicised the society in its formative years.

Fine Arts School. It shows native trees and birds caught Ca pta in Sanderson was adamant that if the Native in the first light of dawn silhouetted against pale blue Bird Protection Society could inform the school pupil of sky, dark hills and vivid hike. The scene evokes peace, his heritage of birds and forests then, for the future, security and a primal calm - the highest ideals of the half the battle for protection could be won.

So the one shilling subscription for school pupils was founders of the Society.

Early in the century, thinking man, troubled with the introduced and a Bird Chart supplied to schools free of threatened extinction of native' birds, called for a strong charge.

A special lottery in 1930 provided a permanent trust organisation to save them.

But it was not till 1922 that a businessman, a former fund of $27,000 and enabled the society to begin planPrime Minister and member of the Royal Geographical . ning ahead.

One result was the first Bird Album in August 1933.

Society, Sir Thomas MacKenzie, perhaps influenced by By 1946 branches of the F.orest and Bird Protection earlier appeals, discussed the possibi'lity of setting up a Native Bird Protection Society with ex-Boer War Captain Society were being formed in different parts of the. country and today 20 active branches or sections take E.V. (Val) Sanderson.

A -

full advantage of local or national means of publicity to advance the Society's views. .

In the early days the Society waged constant war against pigeon shooting and against the discharge of oil by ships in harbours and coastal waters.

It also established private bush reserves and native bird habitat areas an.d fought against the collectors of skins for museum and private collections.

Campaigns were held to check the major' menace to forest-inhabiting birds - deer, opossum,.wild goats, pigs,' _asels and stoats - and against the use of bird lime.

This was finally prohibited by law.

Nothing disturbed Captain Sanderson more than the shooting of godwits and, in the early years of the Society he worked incessantly for their protection unti I, finally, in 1941 the godwit was declared to be absolutely pro· *~.

.

In the 1920's Sanderson was attracted by the writings of H.H. Bennett. He was concerned that everything Bennett said about soil erosion and deforestation in Ame.rica was also' ha' pening in New Zealand""'-''-'-'''=--_ _ So with the society Sanderson worked for the Soil Q>nservation and Rivers Control Act of 1941.

When Sanderson died in 1945 he had laid a pattern which the Society still follows in its work of moulding public opinion today.

His achievement is honoured by the Society in the Sanderson Memorial Address.

In last year's address, at the annual meeting of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, naturalist Professor J. T. Salmon called New Zealand's environment a heritage priceless in both cultural and econ· omicterms.

"New Zealand has been fortunate to have been endowed with an environment that is not only naturally beautiful but also unique; in fact we have, in world terms, a special New.Zealand environment".

Professor Salmon said New Zealand's environmental heritage was culturally priceless because of the isolating conditions under which its flora had survived and priceless in economic terms because the more New Zealand maintained its environment the more the rest of the world would pay to see it.

"Nature and a million yearsYVitboutJ>rowsing animals ve given us our bush in- a hundred-g£e.tns;--a score of yel 0 , ith_touches of blues and reds and pinks and browns".

And Professor Salmon challenged the Society and the nation to continue to fight for the survival of this unique environment. .

"It is the duty of all of us alive today to hand on to posterity unharmed those environmental things we value".

In New Zealand the challenge is being answered. Captain Sanderson's painstaking work with children is result· ing in a fast growing membership for the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and activities it initiates are assured of a strong following.

The Post Office's stamp, giving official recognition to the society's work in its early years, will add to present day efforts to provide an even stronger base for the work of the Royal Forest aOO Bird Protection Society in the years.ahead.

PICTORIAL DATESTAMPS FOR THREE EVENTS SPECIAL pictorial datestamps were issued recently to mark three different events.

A pictorial datestamp vwas provided for use at the Chief Post Office. Dunedin on December 26. 1972. to cancel a special philatelic mail carried on one of the original Cobb & Co. stage

roaches over the Dunstan Track

from

Dunedin to

Alexandra.

The first journey by a Cobb & Co. stage coach to the Central Otago goldfields t 10 years ago was re· enacted by the Pitcairn Ventura

Scout

Unit

of

Dunedin. The trip took a week to complete.

A special datestamp was

INTERNATIONAL GIRLS BRIGADE

~

DATE

WORLD CONFERENCE & FONQMARAe

1,)Al)CKLAND~

~NZ.~

A distinctive pictorial datestamp was provided on the first day of the 14th National Scout Regatta.

This was held from Decem· ber 30 to January 8 at Mana.

used to cancel mail posted at the I nternationa I Girls' Brigade World Conference and "Fonomarae" held in

Auckland from January 2 to 17.

"Fonomarae" is a corn· bination of Samoan and Maori and means "an im· portant meeting place,"

&

14th. NATIONAL

SCOUT REGATTA

:~

~

30 DEC 1912-MANA N.Z.

1973 COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE The Post Office offers their sincere apologies to designers Miss V. Jepsen and Mr B. Langford for trans· posing their names on the selvedge of the sheets of 3c and 4c stamps in this issue. As stated in the order forml pamphlet the 3c "Thames" stamp was, in fact, designed by Miss Jepsen while the 4c "Westport" stamp was designed

by Mr Langford.

197) Stamp Issues

Promotion

7 February: 1973 Commemoratives (6 stamps) 4 April: Steam Locomotives (4 stamps) 6 June: Paintings of Frances Hodgkins (4 stamps) 1 August: 1973 Health (2 stamps) 3 October: 1973 Christmas (3 stamps) 5 December: New Zealand Mountains (4 stamps)

Island Stamps TWO STAMP issues will be released by Niue during 1973.

The first issue of four stamps will feature fish commonly caught in the waters around Niue. The other will be a

Christmas issue of three stamps.

The Tokelau Islands will release one issue of four stamps depicting local types of coral.

BEGINNING with the 1973 Commemor· ative stamp issue, unless clients especially request otherWise, only orders for mint

stamPs amounting to $4 or more will be sent by registered mail.

Plate Numbers NIUE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC COMMISSION, 4c,lA1A1A1A; 5c,lA1A1A1A1A; 6c,lA1A1A1A1A; 18c,lA1A1A1A.

Overprint MUCH INTER EST has been shown in the 2jSc definitive stamp overprinted 4c.

The original 2lSc stamp order placed with Harrison & Sons was only partly ful· filled when the last postage rate change made the 2lSc stamp redundant. On the other hand, the demand for 4c stamps increased considerably.

A WE LL·KNOWN name to philate· lists is that of Bob Cleary, Manager of the Post Office Philatelic Bureau.

We are sorry to lose him, but atthe same time wish to congratulate Bob on his promotion to Area Postmaster, Dunedin. As yet, no successor has been named for Manager of the bureau.

2~c

stamps.

50, lA1A1A1A1A; 10c,lA1A1A1A; 15c,lA1A1A1A1A; 20c,lA1A1A1A1A 1972 NEW ZEALAND CHRISTMAS; 3c,lllll; 50,11111; 10c,llll.

1972 NIUE CHRISTMAS; 3c,lllll.

At that stage, the printers were hold· ing large quantities of both perforate and imperforate

TOKELAU ISLANDS 25TH ANNIVER· SARY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC COMMISSION:

NEW ZEALAND LAKE SCENES;

Rather than

have these destroyed, it was decided to have them overprinted 4c to avoid wast· age and to meet the increased demand for the higher denomination.

Harrison & Sons overprinted the

im~

perforate stamps by photogravure after which they were perforated and cut into sheets. These have all been issued to post offices.

The sheets that had already been per· forated proved too difficult to overprint by photogravure since the gripping edge had been trimmed off. These stamps were therefore printed by the letterpress

method, and are now being supplied to post offices.

The remaining bulk stock of 2lSc stamps held in Wellington, were over-

printed by letterpress at the Government

Printing Office. These will not be releas· ed until all the overprints produced by Harrison & Sons have been issued.

Further information on the overprint-

ing will be released in our next publi· cation.

Collectors' Pack THE 1972 Collectors Pack - the third to be issued - was the most successful yet.

Such was the demand that it was only seven weeks from the day of their release on October 4 until alinost all of the 26,500 packs were sold.

The pack, which featured a colourful montage on the cover, contained all spe· cial issues released from November 3, 1971, until October 4, 1972.

The demand for the pack suggests

6c, 1111; 8c, 11111; 18c, 1111; 23c, 1111.

"Union Postale" STAMP ISSUES by member countries are described in full in the Universal Postal Union's monthly magazine "Union Postale", published in seven languages.

"Union Postale" also contains articles

that in itself it is a coUectors item.

relating to r;xlstal services and recent art·

Of similar design to the Collectors Pack, two new definitive packs will be released early this year.

They will be available from selected Post Offices and by mail order from the Philatelic Bureau. Both packs will be sold with printed envelopes, with one

icles include: The Rural Delivery System in New Zealand; The Air France Postal Network; How Postal Officials are trained in the USSR; News from International Bureau of the U.P.U.; New Postal Films.

pack containing definitive stamps up to

and including 20c, the other a full set.

Full details, including price, will be released shortly.

Annual

subscription

is nine Swiss

francs payable by money order or a cheque drawn on a bank in Switzerland.

Subscriptions to: The International Bureau of Universal Postal Union, Berne,

Switzerland.