Wednesday 6 July 2005
MEDIA RELEASE
Te Papa Celebrates 150 Years of New Zealand Postal History
Te Papa and proud exhibition sponsor New Zealand Post are celebrating 150 years since the issue of New Zealand’s first
postage stamps with the opening of the exhibition Stamped: Celebrating New Zealand’s postal history on Saturday 16 July.
Rich with stories of New Zealand history, Stamped examines the use of stamps, the development of stamp design, and how
stamps have expressed New Zealand’s national identity through artwork featuring the country’s landscapes, unique
culture, and iconic people and events.
Stamped features a selection of rare and beautiful stamps from the Royal Philatelic Collection, The Queen’s own
collection. They include the famous Kirkcudbright cover showing a block of ten Penny Blacks used on the first day of
issue and the Full-face Queens acquired by King George V.
The exhibition also explores the development of the postal service within New Zealand, and communication between New
Zealand and the rest of the world. Developed with the New Zealand Philatelic Federation, Stamped showcases philatelic
material and original art works from the New Zealand Post Museum Collection held at Te Papa.
“Stamped is an exciting and highly visual exhibition that enables us to reflect on our history and identity – the iconic
people, places, culture and historic moments that are so distinctly New Zealand. Te Papa is delighted to be part of the
celebrations of New Zealand’s postal history through this exhibition in partnership with New Zealand Post,” said Dr
Seddon Bennington, Te Papa’s Chief Executive.
"Since before the first Full-faced Queen was placed on an envelope in 1855, New Zealand Post has been helping New
Zealanders to connect with each other and the rest of the world. We are delighted to be supporting Stamped, which tells
the captivating story of our postal past, a story closely bound to the development of this nation. As our country
continues to change and develop over the next 150 years, New Zealand Post will build the capabilities that ensure Kiwis
remain connected, and to support an innovative and successful New Zealand,” said John Allen, Chief Executive of New
Zealand Post.
There are four main themes in the exhibition.
‘Early post in New Zealand’ shows the development of mail communication, postage stamps, and the postal system, closely
modelled on the British Post Office.
‘The mail must get through’ deals with internal and external communication by road, sea, rail, and air, and shows how
mail had a key role to play in opening up the country, and for keeping in touch during wartime and times of natural
disaster or social disruption.
‘Identity: New Zealand’s face to the world’ shows how far we have moved in interpreting who we are and what we wish to
promote – from being defined by our ties to Britain to identifying ourselves through the cultures of the Treaty
partners.
‘Contemporary design and production’ features the work of outstanding New Zealand designers from the nineteenth century
to the present day, and examines the latest techniques of stamp design, printing, and marketing.
Te Papa has a wide and varied events programme associated with this exhibition. Highlights include lectures by the
Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, Michael Sefi, on the opening and closing days of the exhibition.
Stamped: Celebrating New Zealand’s postal history
Open from Saturday 16 July 2005 till Sunday 15 January 2006.
Level 5 Gallery. Free entry.
ENDS
July Events Calendar
The Royal Philatelic Collection: An inside view
Date: Saturday 16 July
Time: 2pm–3pm
Location: Rangimarie Rooms 1 & 2, TelstraClear Centre, Level 3, Te Papa
Admission: Free entry
Michael Sefi, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, will discuss his experiences working with one of the greatest
stamp collections in the world. He’ll also illustrate some objects not on show at Te Papa. He will comment on King
George V’s collecting objectives and describe current issues facing the Collection.
Mr Sefi is a chartered accountant by discipline and has been a serious collector for the past twenty-five years,
exhibiting internationally. A past-President of the Great Britain Philatelic Society, he was a member of Council of the
Royal Philatelic Society London between 1990 and 2005.
Deputy Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection from 1996, he was appointed Keeper in January 2003.
Stamped: Celebrating New Zealand’s postal history floortalk
Date: Sunday 17 July
Time: 1pm–1.45pm
Location: Meet at the entrance of the exhibition, Level 5, Te Papa
Admission: Free entry
Join Suresh Dhargalkar, Deputy Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, for a walk through this fascinating new
exhibition. He will discuss Royal Philatelic Collection stamps that feature in the show.
Professionally, Suresh is an architect, specialising in historic buildings and conservation techniques for the
preservation of artefacts.
Now aged 70, he was the Superintending Architect to H M The Queen, responsible for the occupied royal palaces until his
retirement in 1996.
He then became the first Assistant to the Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection and was appointed Deputy Keeper in
2003.