New Zealand

Fossils, dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals on stamps and postmarks of New Zealand


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Contents:
New Zealand is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and numerous smaller islands.
New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.
Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life.
The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions.
New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland. Population of the county is about 4,7 million.
In 1840, Maori Chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights.
The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both world wars.
[R1]

Postage stamps have been issued in New Zealand since July 1855 with the "Chalon head" stamps figuring Queen Victoria.
The design was based on a full face portrait of the Queen in her state robes at the time of her coronation in 1837, by Alfred Edward Chalon.
The stamps were initially hand cut from sheets, but from 1862 on, these sheets started being fed through automatic perforating machines.
The Chalon heads were used until 1874, when they were replaced with lithographed stamps that showed Queen Victoria in side profile.
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. [R2]



Official stamps of New Zealand related to Paleontology: fossils, dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals

01.02.1984 "Antarctic Research" [1] 01.10.1993 "Dinosaurs" [2]
Fossil on Antarctic research stamps of New Zealand 1984 Dinosaurs on stamps of New Zealand 1993 Michel "Dinos - whole world" catalog 2019. Approx. 2500 colour illustrations and about 20 000 price quotations at approx. 328 paperback pages with Novelties up to MICHEL Rundschau 1/2019 have been catalogued in this edition
03.03.2010 "Ancient Reptiles of New Zealand" (mint and self-adhesive mini-sheet)
Prehistoric animals, Ancient Reptiles on stamps of New Zealand 1984 Prehistoric animals on stamps of New Zealand 1984

Notes:
[1] Plant fossil shown on one of the "Antarctic research" stamps of New Zealand 1984, MiNr.: 889, Scott: 791.
Plant fossil shown on one of "Antarctic research" stamps of New Zealand 1984.

[2] On October 10, 1993, only three month after release of "Jurassic Park" movie, three commonwealth countries: Australia, Canada and New Zealand issued stamps with prehistoric animals.
Dinosaur stamps of Australia 1993 Dinosaur stamps of Canada 1993, Click for details Dinosaur stamps of New Zealand 1993



Commemorative postmarks of New Zealand related to Paleontology: prehistoric animals

Legend is here
1990 "Canterbury Museum" [PM] 01.10.1993 "Dinosaurs" [FDC] [2] [C1] 03.03.2010 "Ancient Reptiles of New Zealand" [FDC]
Allosaurus dinosaur on meter franking of New Zealand 1990 Dinosaur on meter franking of New Zealand 1990 Dinosaur on meter franking of New Zealand 1990
03.03.2010 "Ancient Reptiles of New Zealand" [FDC] [C2]
Dinosaur on meter franking of New Zealand 1990

Notes:
Limited Edition Pack of Ancient Reptiles of New Zealand stamps [C1] Dinosaur vertebrate on postmark of New Zealand that used on FDC.

[C2] The silver postmark used on FDC from "Limited Edition Pack" which included a numbered gummed miniature sheet specifically designed for this edition, a signed first day cover, a full set of stamps, colour separations of the $2.80 stamp and insightful commentary by renowned New Zealand geologist and palaeontologist Dr Hamish Campbell.



Some other commemorative postmarks of New Zealand to consider: contributors to Paleontology

Legend is here
21.12.2001 "Centenary of the first British Antarctic Expedition - Robert Falcon Scott" [Sp] [CO1]
Robert Falcon Scott on postmark of New Zealand 2001

Notes:
[CO1] Robert Falcon Scott CVO (6 June 1868 – 29 March 1912) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1910–1912.

Scott and his companions died on the second expedition. When Scott and his party's bodies were discovered, 16kg of Glossopteris (an extinct beech-like tree from 250 million years ago) fossils from the Queen Maud Mountains were found next to their bodies, which they had dragged on hand sledges.
These fossils were promised to Marie Stopes (shown on UK stamp in 2008) to provide evidence for Eduard Suess's idea that Antarctica had once been part of an ancient super-continent named Gondwanaland (now Gondwana).
More details are here.



References:
  •   [R1] New Zealand: Wikipedia, WikiTravel, FlagCounter.
  •   [R2] Postal History and Philately of New Zealand: Wikipedia,
              Links to official website of the Post Authority, stamp catalog and a list of new stamps of New Zealand are here



Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for the draft page review and his valuable comments.


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