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A platform for the discussion of the first postage stamps from New Zealand.
Classic Design - Victorian Charm
Although postage stamps were introduced into Great Britain in 1840, the year when New Zealand became a British colony, it was not until 1855 that they came into use in this country.
Before that time postage was paid in cash, either by the sender or the addressee. But the system was slow and unwieldy and complaints of corrupt practices were numerous. Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, intended to have the stamps on sale on 1 April 1851 when a new postage proclamation came into force, but as there was no one in New Zealand capable of engraving the plates, they were ordered from Messrs Perkins, Bacon, and Co., stamp suppliers to the British Government.
Three denominations were ordered, 1d., 2d., and 1s., and the sheets arrived in New Zealand in February 1855. The stamps were placed on sale in the different provinces at various times, but 18 July 1855, the day on which they were first sold at Auckland, then the capital, is recognised as the date of issue. These stamps were the famous “full faces” or “Chalon Head” which portrayed a full-face likeness of Queen Victoria in her coronation robes.
Although the original printing was made in
London, all subsequent printings were made in
New Zealand.
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