New stamps from New Zealand

 

New Zealand Post will issue new stamps on 5 June 2013 featuring Matariki 2013.  The set of six stamps is incorporated into a miniature sheet and two first day covers.

Matariki 2013 - Koru

When the star cluster known as Matariki appears in the night sky it signals the Maori New Year and a time of new beginnings. The Matariki 2013 stamp issue celebrates the koru - a pattern symbolising new life and regeneration.Matariki is a significant event for Māori, and is widely acknowledged to signal a change of seasons. In traditional Māori society, Matariki was believed to foretell whether the year ahead would be plentiful. It was also a time of festivity, when communities would come together to reflect on the past and look ahead to new beginnings.

The message of new beginnings is represented in the koru pattern, which is derived from an unfurling silver fern frond. Each of the six self-adhesive stamps in this issue incorporates the koru pattern along with aspects of traditional Māori culture that have particular significance during the time of Matariki.

70c - Piko

The koru pattern is used in many Māori and New Zealand art forms and symbolises new life, regeneration, growth, strength and peace. For many this form is the symbol of renewal and of hope for the future. In this stamp the piko is blooming and will grow into a rauponga (fern leaf). The artwork surrounding the fern represents the domain of Tāne Mahuta - the God of the Forest.

70c - Manu Tukutuku

Sometimes the koru can be used in a non-literal way to symbolise aspects of Māoridom, and is often seen in carving and ta moko (tattooing). In this stamp the koru pattern symbolises the winds of Tāwhirimātea (the God of the Weather), and soaring on those winds is a kite, or a messenger between Heaven and Earth. In the background the sunrise depicts the first day of Matariki, and the sky - the domain of Tāwhirimātea.

$1.40 - Nguru

The pattern that covers the nguru (flute) in this stamp is made from a series of koru shapes that depict the music making pleasing shapes in the silence. In the background is the face of Hine Raukatauri, the Goddess of Flute Music, who loved her nguru so much that she decided to live in it forever.

$1.90 - Pataka

This stamp design talks about Matariki as a time of abundance, feasting and the opportunity to flourish. The pātaka, or storehouse, is covered in koru, and represents the concept of planting and storing kai (food), the gathering of kai, and nourishment and wellbeing. This is the domain of Rongo-mā-Tāne, the God of Kūmara and Cultivated Food.

$2.40 - Kotiate

The mangopare design seen swirling around the kotiate (club) is a traditional Māori interpretation of a hammerhead shark, featuring symmetrical koru as the distinctive head. It symbolises strength, determination and an unwillingness to yield. It is very much the warrior symbol, and speaks of the attributes that a warrior must possess. The kotiate and mangopare together represent the domain of Tūmatauenga, the God of War and Balance.

$2.90 - Patiki

The pātiki (flounder) design, with its swirling koru inside the shape of the pātiki, is used in many carvings - particularly in pātaka and waka (canoes). It is the symbol of hospitality, and can represent the catching of fish from the domain of Tangaroa, the God of the Ocean.

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New stamps on Year of Snake..

 

Australia Post celebrates the Year of the Snake

To celebrate the Year of the Snake, Australia Post released a Lunar New Year stamp issue featuring the Chinese character for the snake, shown in the $1.80 stamp, and its pictorial representation, shown in the 60c stamp.

The Snake is the sixth sign in the Chinese zodiac and symbolizes wisdom, caution and romance. The Year of the Snake begins on 10 February 2013.

Famous people born in the Year of the Snake include Sir Sidney Nolan, Audrey Hepburn, Bob Hawke, June Bronhill, Liz Hurley and Pierce Brosnan. According to Chinese Astrology they are likely to be or have been intelligent, graceful, independent, analytical and charming.

Zodiac 2013 stamp from Thailand

Thai Post has issued a stamp to celebrate the Year of the Snake. The Snake is one of the 12-year cycles of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and related to the Chinese calendar, as well as in related East Asian zodiacal or calendrical systems.

  

2013 Year of the Snake stamps from New Zealand

The snake is the sixth animal in the Chinese lunar calendar, and those born in the Year of the Snake are thought to be elegant, insightful, motivated and highly intellectual. According to ancient Chinese folklore, snakes are deities in disguise, and a snake entering a house brings good fortune for all who live there.

The 2013 Year of the Snake stamp issue by New Zealand Post reflects different aspects of Chinese tradition and culture. The four stamps also celebrate New Zealand's growing Chinese community.

  

The stamps in this issue are as follows:

70c – Chinese Calligraphic Snake. The striking Chinese 'snake' character on this stamp was created by Zhao Meng-fu, a scholar, painter and calligrapher from the Yuan Dynasty (1254-1322 AD).

$1.40 – Paper-cut Greeting Snake. The greeting snake paper-cut on this stamp features images of the silver fern (Cyathea dealbata) and the pomegranate - a Chinese symbol of luck, fertility, wealth and long life.

$1.90 – Koru-Snake Lantern. New Zealand's links with China are celebrated in this lantern design. The unfurling fern represents new life, growth and strength, while the rounded lantern symbolizes wholeness and harmony. The snake is decorated with the peony, which is widely regarded as China's national flower.

$2.40 – Queenstown and Red lanterns. The koru-snake lantern is taken to new heights, soaring on the Skyline Gondola above Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. This area is also home to the Winter Festival, and in 2012 the Festival included a lantern parade, with an array of colourful lanterns and a Chinese dragon lighting up the streets.

Lunar Year of the Snake stamps from Macao

There are two kinds of theories about the attributes of the Five Elements in each year: one saying is dependent on the "Heavenly Stems" while the other is based on the sound retainers of the Five Elements, which are calculated by "Heavenly Stems" and "Earthly Branches".

The Macao Post adopted the "Heavenly Stems" calculation method to figure out the nature of the "Five Elements" in the sixth issue of the third series of Chinese Zodiac stamps "Lunar Year of the Snake". According to the "Five Elements", there are five different natures of snake: "Water Snake", "Metal Snake", "Earth Snake", "Fire Snake" and "Wood Snake". This year, the snake’s nature from the "Five Elements" is "Water Snake", so it becomes the main character of the five stamps.

 

Source : International Stamp News

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' The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey '

 

 

Date of Issue: 1 November 2012

‘In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.’   From this humble sentence coined by J.R.R. Tolkien in the early 1930s, the novel we know today as The Hobbit was born. Its sequel, The Lord of the Rings took New Zealand by storm when  Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson brought the trilogy to the big screen.

New Zealand is home to Middle-earth once again, with the release of the first of three films based on The Hobbit, entitled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

 

Miniature Sheets

The film follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers.

 

New Zealand Post will issue official stamps and coins to celebrate The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The range of stamp and coin products not only portray the characters and themes of the film, but also reflect New Zealand as the home of Middle-earth, and are destined to be collectables for years to come.

The set of six gummed stamps features key characters from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

70c - Bilbo Baggins

Like all Hobbits, Bilbo Baggins is fond of his comfortable existence, but his life changes forever when he is unexpectedly swept away from his home in the Shire to embark upon an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

$1.40 - Gollum

Once a hobbit-like creature named Sméagol, Gollum’s body and soul have been poisoned by the power of a small, plain, gold ring that he has kept hidden deep in a dark cavern within the Misty Mountains.

$1.90 - Gandalf

One of the most powerful Wizards in all Middle-earth, Gandalf the Grey joins the quest to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor and the great treasure that lies within its stone halls from a fire-breathing dragon, Smaug the Terrible.

$2.10 - Thorin Oakenshield

A strong, fearless fighter and respected leader of The Company of Dwarves, Thorin is determined to reclaim his homeland and destroy the beast that brought such misery upon his people.

$2.40 - Radagast

Forgetful, easily distracted and quite eccentric, Radagast is more comfortable talking to animals than he is to people. A fellow Wizard and friend of Gandalf the Grey, Radagast is one of the guardians of the great forests of Middle-earth.

$2.90 - Elrond

One of the wisest and most ancient of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth, Elrond is Master of Rivendell, the Last Homely House East of the Sea. During The Company of Thorin Oakensield’s brief stay, Elrond provides shelter and supplies to Bilbo and the Dwarves.

Maximum Cards

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New Stamps from New Zealand…

 

Christmas 2012

For thousands of years people around the world have reflected on the Nativity story at Christmas time, and this traditional story is told through New Zealand's Christmas 2012 stamps.

The five gummed stamps in this issue are a beautiful reminder of the meaning behind Christmas, and the reason we all celebrate with friends and family on 25 December. The stamps have a uniquely New Zealand touch, with a pōhutukawa motif framing each of the intricately illustrated images.

Each of the Christmas stamps tells part of the Nativity story. The 70c stamp shows Mary and Joseph with the newborn baby Jesus, and the $1.40 stamp features the shepherds who were tending their flocks nearby. The angel of the Lord who shared the news of Jesus's birth is shown on the $1.90 stamp.

The $2.40 and $2.90 stamps show the three wise men travelling to worship Jesus, and presenting him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Christmas 2012 Set of Self-adhesive Stamps

Three self-adhesive stamps are also available in denominations of 70c, $1.90 and $2.40.

 

Christmas 2012 First Day Cover

Two first day covers are available in the Christmas 2012 stamp issue – one with the gummed stamps affixed, and the other with the self-adhesive stamps affixed. Both feature imagery of the pōhutukawa flower, which is widely recognised as New Zealand’s Christmas tree. During summer in New Zealand it is common to see a spectacular display of red flowers on pōhutukawa trees, particularly along New Zealand’s coastlines.

Christmas 2012 Self-adhesive First Day Cover

Blenpex - 2012

Date of issue: 12 October 2012

Blenpex 2012 is Marlborough's first National Stamp and Postcard Exhibition, and collectors from around New Zealand and the world will visit the stunning Marlborough region to attend.

The exhibition will take place from 12 to 14 October at the Marlborough Lines Stadium in Blenheim. It will be an opportunity for philatelists to display their collections and compete for a range of awards. A ‘Gourmet Challenge’ will take place as part of the exhibition, in which exhibits will be themed around the culinary nature of the region.

To commemorate Blenpex 2012, New Zealand Post will issue an exhibition miniature sheet and an exhibition souvenir cover. Mount Tapuae-o-Uenuku is featured on the collectables, the peak of which can be seen from all over Marlborough and beyond on a clear day. At 2,885 metres it is the highest mountain in New Zealand outside the main ranges of the Southern Alps.

Three stamps from New Zealand’s ‘Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee’ stamp issue are incorporated into the miniature sheet, making it a memorable collectable of both Blenpex 2012 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

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Great Voyages of New Zealand

 

Date of Issue : 5 September 2012

New Zealand Post will issue a set of 5 stamps and a Miniature sheet on 5th September 2012 featuring Great Voyages of New Zealand.

2012 is a fitting time to look back at New Zealand’s maritime history, as it marks a number of significant anniversaries, including 50 years of the Cook Strait Inter-Island Rail and Road Service. 100 years have passed since the Earnslaw was successfully launched, and it’s been 130 years since the Dunedin completed the first successful shipment of frozen meat between New Zealand and England.

These important milestones are celebrated in the ‘Great Voyages of New Zealand’ stamp issue along with waka, which transported people and trade goods across Cook Strait, and the Rotomahana – the first ocean-going ship built of mild steel.

Whether they were enabling trade, increasing efficiencies or transporting people, each of the vessels in the ‘Great Voyages of New Zealand’ stamp issue has a unique story to tell.

70c - Aramoana

The Aramoana’s big stern door transformed domestic transport in 1962. Prior to then, double-handling had made it too costly and slow for rail to compete with coastal ships, but roll-on, roll-off ships seamlessly connected the islands. In 2012 five such ships form a ‘floating bridge’. The 4,160-ton road/rail ferry Aramoana served until 1984.

$1.40 - Waka

Over time Māori developed a range of distinctive dugout canoes ranging from the imposing waka taua (war canoes) to the humbler fishing canoes, river canoes and reed and flax craft. Usually paddled but sometimes assisted by mat sails, the bigger vessels could transport large quantities of people and trade goods across Cook Strait.

$1.90 - Earnslaw

Tourists walk the triple - expansion steamer Earnslaw’s decks these days, but 100 years ago the ‘Lady of the Lake’ was a hard-working passenger, freight and livestock carrier, one of several linking the isolated farms and settlements of Lake Wakatipu. Designed and built in Dunedin and reassembled at the lakeside in 1912, the Earnslaw still burns coal today.

$2.40 - Dunedin

In 1874 the Albion Line (later Shaw Savill & Albion) commissioned the 1,320-ton Dunedin for the immigrant trade, which it served until being converted in 1881 to carry frozen meat. A regular caller to Oamaru, the Dunedin vanished with all 35 crew after sailing from that port for London in March 1890; the ship probably hit an iceberg.

$2.90 - Rotomahana

With its rakish bow, masts and funnel, the Rotomahana looked like an elegant steam yacht. The first ocean-going ship built of mild steel, the 15.5- knot ‘Greyhound of the Pacific’ spearheaded the Union Steam Ship Company’s grab for the trans-Tasman trade in the late 1870s. The 1,727-ton ship later served on the Wellington-Lyttelton and Melbourne-Hobart runs before being discarded in 1925.

The first day covers feature imagery of historical nautical maps as well as two unique date stamps.

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Asian Arrivals - Indians in New Zealand

 

 

Indian theme on foreign stamps

 

Indians first settled in New Zealand in the late 1800s. Most of these early migrants came from the regions of Punjab and Gujarat, and were temporary labourers. They numbered only a handful – an estimated forty-six persons in 1896. They were overwhelmingly men. In 1896, only one Indian woman was listed as resident in New Zealand! Most of these early migrants did not intend staying here, but wanted to earn money before returning home.

Migration increased until 1920, when the New Zealand Government introduced restrictions under a ‘permit system’. By this time, there were just over 2000 Indians in New Zealand.

Around this time, there was increasing prejudice and fear about Asian migrants. The White New Zealand League emerged in 1926 with the slogan ‘Keep New Zealand a White Man’s Country’. It found strong support in the press and from local bodies. Indians were criticised for living in shacks and ‘introducing alien views of life and standards of conduct’. The White New Zealand League warned that the intermingling of Indians with both Päkehä and Mäori would result in the ‘halfcasted citizen of the future’ – a prospect it regarded with alarm . But the New Zealand Indian community was still overwhelmingly a society of men. Many of them lived and worked communally. While a few set up shops, most found work as hawkers, bottle collectors, and kitchen hands in the larger towns, or as labourers in the market gardens of Otahuhu and Pukehohe. Others worked building railways or draining the swamps of the Hauraki lowlands.

In some places where Indians were perceived as ‘taking over’, prejudices ran deep and lasted a long time. In Pukekohe, Indians were not allowed to join the local growers’ association, some landowners refused to lease them land, and they were not allowed into the balcony seats of the picture theatre. Until 1958, only one barber’s shop in Pukekohe would cut the hair of Indians !

The discrimination Indian migrants encountered, and their increased commitment to settling in New Zealand permanently, led to the formation of the New Zealand Indian Central Association in 1926. After the introduction of the ‘permit system’ in 1920, the number of new migrants from India dropped. However, of those who did make it here, a greater proportion were women and children. By 1945, families (mostly of shopkeepers and fruiterers) were getting established, and marriages of second-generation New Zealand Indians were to become increasingly important.

But Indian weddings in New Zealand remained rare, even after World War Two when more liberal attitudes allowed for easier entry of Indian migrants into New Zealand. Indians tended to settle in concentrated pockets rather than throughout the country. Punjabis settled in Waipa, Waikato, Otorohanga, and Taumarunui, while Gujaratis settled in Auckland, Pukekohe, and Wellington.

Until the 1980s, over 90 per cent of New Zealand Indians traced their roots back to Gujarat – especially to the Surat district in the south of the state. Most were Hindu. The next biggest group (6 per cent) came from the Punjab, and were usually Sikh. In 1981, Fijian-born Indians accounted for less than 14 per cent of Indians resident here. At this stage, just under 45 per cent of a total New Zealand Indian population of 11,577 had been born in New Zealand, while 31 per cent had been born in India.

Today, Indians living in New Zealand are not restricted to the few trades that they were in before World War Two. Now few Indians (less than 5 per cent) are involved in agriculture, while nearly a third (30 per cent) are involved in professional, managerial, and administrative positions. Indians are prominent in a number of sections of New Zealand society, including business, medicine, education, politics, sport, and the arts.

Since 1987, New Zealand has become home to highly skilled, affluent migrants from North, South and South-East Asia. By 1996, 82,000 people of Chinese origin, 44,000 Indians, 13,000 Koreans and 7,000 Japanese identified themselves as New Zealanders

NZ Post released this stamp as part of the 1998 set of the " A New Beginning - Asian Arrivals"   .

- Kenneth Sequeira - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

email :  kenneth.sequeira@hotmail.com

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50 Years of Friendship : New Zealand and Samoa

 

New Zealand Post will issue a set of five stamps and a souvenir sheet on 1st August 2012 to commemorate 50 Years of Friendship: New Zealand and Samoa

The links between New Zealand and Samoa not only stem from the fact that they are close Pacific neighbours, but are also due to the large number of New Zealanders of Samoan descent living in New Zealand. Samoans make up around 50 per cent of New Zealand’s Pacific Island population and the arts and culture of Samoa have become a distinctive voice in New Zealand society.

Each of the five stamps features a contemporary view of a selu tuiga – a head comb that takes the shape of a traditional tuiga. A tuiga is a Samoan headdress that is worn at important events by the mānaia (son) or the taupou (daughter) of the high chief of the village. The tuiga is a unique symbol of the chiefly nature of Samoan society, and a significant number of tuiga were worn when Samoa gained independence.

Elements of Samoa’s unique culture have been crafted by the stamp and coin designer, Michel Tuffery MNZM, into each of the selu tuiga featured on the stamps. These elements include key Samoan cultural frameworks, traditional Samoan arts, architecture, heritage and agriculture.

Michel Tuffery lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand (Aotearoa), and is a famous multi-disciplinary artist of Samoan, Rarotongan and Tahitian heritage. Tuffery has established himself as a diverse and critical creative practitioner within contemporary New Zealand and Pacific Island art, and his work features in major public and private collections globally.

The individual stamps in this issue are as follows:

70c - Fu'a

Fu’a is the Samoan word for flag and the fu’a of independence flies in front of the original Samoan Maota Fono or Parliament House. This Maota Fono was built in the shape of a circular Samoan meeting house. Chiefs and orators have discussed issues in a circular manner since time immemorial – making the form of the circle a traditional and sacred symbol.

$1.40 Niu

The coconut tree or niu is a very important tree for sustenance. For thousands of years, the lives of the Samoan people depended on this tree of life. It provided food, milk and oil as well as shelter, baskets and other woven artefacts used by Samoans in their everyday lives.

$1.90 - Maota

The Maota Fa’amasino or the Courthouse building is 110 years old, and one of the oldest buildings in the city of Apia. The building was built by the Germans in 1902 and has seen two foreign administrations (Germany and New Zealand) occupy it, before Samoans took over after gaining independence from New Zealand.

$2.40 - Tatau

Traditional Samoan tatau (tattoo) motifs and patterns are taken from nature. There are the tulī (godwit) bird, the centipede, the trochus shell and the ‘aso, the rafters of a fale on to which thatches are lashed, and a number of other shapes including a va’a (twohulled canoe) that sits at the top on the back of a male tatau.

$2.90 Malumalu

Malumalu ole Atua means ‘church building’ and the Catholic Church’s Immaculate Conception of Mary Cathedral at Mulivai was a symbol of spiritual sustenance that graced the shoreline of Apia Harbour. Sadly, the Cathedral was demolished after 127 years, when the 8.1-magnitude earthquake of September 2009 shook it to an irreparable state.

: New Zealand Post

Club News

AHIMSAPEX - 2012

 

From Jamshedpur Philatelic Society

Monthly meeting of Jamshedpur Philatelic Society was held on 8th July 2012. New team was elected as:-

President:- Mr. Rahul De

Vice President: Syed Hafizuddin, Mr. K. K. Rikhi

Secretaty: Ashok Kumar Tiwary (e-mail:ashoktiwary695@gmail.com)

Asst. Secretary: Mr. Rajinder Singh

Treasurer: Mr. S.R. Arun kumar

:  Ramesh Chandra – Lucknow ; Ashok Tiwary - Jamshedpur

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