New issues of New Zealand

Leading the way

Leading the way, the fifth in a series of stamps leading to the new millennium, captures some of New Zealand's defining moments, and the people who made them possible.
The subject of women's suffrage was first raised in New Zealand in 1869 in a pamphlet entitled "An Appeal to the Men of New Zealand". Between 1877 and 1893, a number of women's suffrace bills were introduced to Parliament, but these were rejected. A petition finally resulted in the passing of the Electoral Bill on 8 September 1893.
As early as March 1902, well before the Wright brothers' celebrated first flight Richard Pearse is said to have flown in a high wing monoplane of his own design. There were no photographs to record the event, so no conclusive proof of any kind exists to verify the timing of the flight.
Born in 1871, Ernest Rutherford, winner of the 1908 Nobel Chemistry prize, was considered the greatest physicist of his time. Based largely in England, he is known for his studies of radio-activity and the discovery of the atomic nucleus.
Bill Hamilton and his team of young engineers experimented with harnessing jet power for marine use in the early 1950s. The result was the now famous Hamilton jet unit which was subsequently marketed worldwide.
Edward Hamilton became New Zealand's most famous and celebrated mountaineer. After gaining considerable experience climbing in his own land, he led the New Zealand expedition in 1851 before joining the British Everest Expedition. Hillary reached the summit of the world's highest peak in 1953.
New Zealand's refusal to allow nuclear-armed ships to call at its ports put considerable pressure on the country's external relations with the United States. During the 1980s more and more New Zealanders rallied behind the "no nukes" cry. The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone Act was passed in June 1987.

Stamps in detail

General information:
Date if issue: 17 November 1999.
Denominations: 40c Women's suffrage, 80c Powered flight, 1.10$ Splitting the atom, 1.20$ Jet boat, 1.50$ Mt. Everest and 1.80$ Nuclear free.
Size: 28 x 44mm.
Design: Deidre Cassell.
Print: Lithography by Southern Colour Print, Dunedin.

Special round Kiwi stamp

The special round $1 Kiwi stamp will be issued on 31 december 1999 to commemorate the eve of the Year 2000. The stamp design is of the purple $1 Kiwi stamp first issued on 6 August 1997 and now with the sheet selvedges and gutter strip overprinted in gold.
The stamp features New Zealand's favourite bird and national symbol, this is the fifth re-issue of the popular round kiwi stamp. First introduced in 1988 as the olive green round kiwi, it has since been reissued in red (1991), blue (1993) and purple (1997). The original stamp was designed by Allan Mitchell.

New Dawn

On 1 January 2000 New Zealand issues her last stamp in the millennium stamp series. This 40c stamp is the first New Zealand stamp to be micro-printed and features a dawn sunrise with a map overlaid, marking the world significance of this once in a lifetime event.

More information

Postage Stamps 1999