Hon Peter Dunne
Minister of Internal Affairs
17 May 2017 Media Statement
New Zealand Post issue commemorative He Tohustamps
New Zealand Post today issued a set of three stamps to commemorate the opening of He Tohu, a new permanent exhibition of New Zealand’s iconic constitutional documents at the National Library of New Zealand in
Wellington.
The stamp series was launched at Parliament by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon Peter Dunne, accompanied Taku
Parai, representing the He Tohu Iwi Leader Partner Group, and New Zealand Post Chair Jane Taylor.
The He Tohu exhibition has been developed in partnership between the Crown and Māori. The three He Tohu stamps are:
• $1.00 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni – Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New
Zealand
• $2.00 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty of Waitangi
• $2.20 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition -Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine.
The stamps go on sale at New Zealand Post shops and agencies throughout the country from today, and will be available
for a year.
“It’s very fitting these taonga are being launched as stamps,” says Mr Dunne.
“By their nature stamps signify connection. Sending a letter is an act of one person connecting with another. Some of us
may send fewer letters these days, but the delight in receiving a hand written message, complete with a beautiful stamp
affixed, has never diminished.
“Commemorating our nation’s three founding documents with stamps provides an opportunity for New Zealanders, and the
world, to appreciate their historical significance, and for future generations to reflect on how we have acknowledged
and shown respect for the past.
“I am certain that the He Tohu exhibition and these stamps will help create many more connections between New Zealanders and their nation’s history,”
Mr Dunne said.
The He Tohu exhibition, which is free of charge and opens to the public on Saturday, 20 May 2017, is at the National Library of New
Zealand in Wellington.
Background to each stamp
A set of stamps and a first day cover celebrating the exhibition will be available from 17 May 2017. The issue consists
of three stamps – one for each of the documents. Two stamps feature a historic and modern figure – reflecting the
relevance of the documents both at the time they were signed and today. The third stamp, Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty
of Waitangi, reflects partnership. The colours and style of the stamps echo the He Tohu exhibition.
$1.00 – 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni – Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New
Zealand
The figure behind the young person in the foreground is a stylised rangatira representing the signatories to the
declaration. He is holding a taiaha, signifying strength and willingness to defend independence. Pacific blue represents
the ocean, especially in the north of New Zealand where the document was signed.
$2.00 – 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty of Waitangi
The young boy and girl are facing the future of Aotearoa New Zealand together in partnership, in the spirit of Te Tiriti
o Waitangi – Treaty of Waitangi. The ochre colour is associated with the Māori tradition that the first woman was formed
from the red earth. Kaka wing feathers are a similar vivid orange and are associated with chiefly status.
The figure in the background of the Women’s Suffrage Petition stamp is a stylised “suffragist” from the 1890s,
representing the hundreds of volunteers who door-knocked in all weathers in communities across the country to collect
the signatures that won New Zealand women the vote. Purple was the official colour of the movement.
Hon Peter Dunne
Minita o Te Tari Taiwhenua
17 o Haratua 2017
Ka whakaputaina e New Zealand Post ngā panekuini whakamaumahara mō te whakatuwheratanga o te whakaaturanga He Tohu
Kua whakaputaina e New Zealand Post i te rā nei he huinga panekuini e toru hei whakamaumahara i te whakatuwheratanga o
te He Tohu, he whakaaturanga pūmau hou o ngā tuhinga tūāpapa rongonui o Aotearoa i Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa i Te
Whanganui-a-Tara.
I whakarewahia ngā panekuini i te Whare Pāremata e te Minita o Te Tari Taiwhenua, a Hōnore Peter Dunne, me Taku Parai nō
te Rōpū Rangatira ā-Iwi mō He Tohu, me te Heamana o New Zealand Post a Jane Taylor.
He mea waihanga tahi te whakaaturanga a He Tohu i waenga i Karauna me te iwi Māori.
Ko ngā panekuini e toru o He Tohu ko te:
• $1.00 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni
• $2.00 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• $2.20 1893 Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine.
Ka tīmata te hokona o ngā panekuini i ngā toa New Zealand Post me ōna umanga puta noa i te motu mai i tēnei rā, ā, ka
wātea mai mō te kotahi tau.
"Ka tika kia whakarewahia ēnei taonga hei panekuini," te kī a Hōnore Peter Dunne, Minita o Te Tari Taiwhenua.
"Ko te āhua o te panekuini he tohu i te hononga. Mā te tuku reta kei te tūhono te tangata tētahi ki tētahi. Kua iti
haere ake pea te tuku reta a ētahi o tātau i ēnei rā, engari e kore e mimiti te hari o te ngākau i te whiwhi karere
ā-tuhi, me tētahi panekuini ātaahua," te kī a Minita Dunne.
"Mā te whakamaumahara i ā tātau tuhinga tūāpapa e toru hei panekuini ka whai wāhi te iwi o Aotearoa me te ao, ki te
whakamaioha i te hiranga tuku iho, hei whakaaroaro hoki mā ngā reanga e whai ake mō te āhua o tā tātau whakamana,
whakaute hoki i ngā āhuatanga o mua.
"E pono ana ahau ka āwhina a He Tohu me ēnei panekuini kia nui ake ngā tūhonohononga ki te hītori o Aotearoa," te kī a Minita Dunne.
Kāore he utu mō He Tohu, ā, ka tuwhera ki te iwi whānui hei te Rāhoroi, 20 o Haratua 2017, ki Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa i Te
Whanganui-a-Tara.
Ko te whakamārama mō ia panekuini, ka tāpirihia ki te pānui pāpāho
Ka wātea mai he huinga panekuini me te uhi rā tuatahi e whakanui ana i te whakaaturanga mai i te 17 o Haratua 2017. E
toru ngā panekuini o te putanga – kotahi mō ia tuhinga. Kei ngā panekuini e rua ko tētahi āhua tawhito me tētahi hanga
hou – e whakaata ana i te hāngai o ngā tuhinga i te wā i waitohua me nāianei. Ko te panekuini tuatoru, Te Tiriti o
Waitangi, he whakaaturanga hononga. Ko ngā tae me te hanga o ngā panekuini he rite ki te whakaaturanga He Tohu.
$1.00 – 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni
Ko te āhua i muri i te tama i mua he whakaahuatanga o tētahi rangatira e tohu ana i ngā kaiwaitohu i te whakaputanga.
Kei te mau taiaha ia, he tohu kaha, ā, he mataara ki te tiaki i tōna tino rangatiratanga. E tohu ana te tae kikorangi i
te moana, otirā te raki o Aotearoa, te wāhi i waitohua ai te tuhinga.
$2.00 – 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi
E anga atu te titiro a te tama me te kōtiro ki te anamata o Aotearoa i runga i te wairua kotahitanga, e ai ki te wairua
o Te Tiriti o Waitangi. E tohu ana te tae whero i te kōrero tuku iho a te Māori i ahu mai te wahine tuatahi i te oneone
whero. He rite anō ngā huruhuru parihau o te kākā ki te tae karaka, ā, he tohu rangatira hoki tēnei.
$2.20 – 1893 Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine
Ko te āhua i muri o te panekuini o Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine he tauira nō tētahi "kaihāpai pōti wahine" nō ngā
tau o te 1890, e tohu ana i ngā tini kaitūao i pātōtō i ngā kūaha ahakoa te āhua o Tāwhirimātea puta noa i te motu ki te
kohikohi i ngā waitohu i riro mai ai te pōti ki ngā wāhine o Aotearoa. Ko te waiporoporo te tae whaimana o te kaupapa.