1855 NZ's first postage stamps go on sale

These adhesive, non-perforated stamps for the prepayment of postage were the famous ‘Chalon Head’ design that portrayed a full-face likeness of Queen Victoria in her coronation robes.

New Zealand issued its first postage stamps 15 years after they appeared in Britain. The three stamps in the Full Face Queen set – 1 penny (1d), 2 pence (2d) and 1 shilling (1s) – were printed in Britain. Other values were added later.

The first stamp designed in New Zealand was a halfpenny stamp issued on 1 January 1873. This had a side view of Queen Victoria’s head and was known as the ‘Newspaper’ stamp because it was used to pay to send a newspaper by post.

New Zealand has long been a trendsetter in stamps. In 1893 we became the first country in the world to put advertising on the back of stamps. (The Post Office soon withdrew these because people were unwilling to lick the ink.) In April 1898 New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to put pictures of the countryside, birds, and animals on its stamps.

New Zealand was also one of the first countries to introduce a ‘penny universal’ stamp. The idea was that all countries would charge a standard amount for postage, making it easier to send letters internationally. New Zealand’s penny universal stamp was issued on New Year’s Day 1900, when Post Offices opened specially for one hour to sell it. (Its value was equivalent to 72 c in 2010). A number of other countries soon adopted the idea. A notable exception was Australia, which threatened to return letters carrying only the penny stamp.

Image: New Zealand’s first stamps (NZ Post)