1900 Pictorials

Single 1/2d 'Mount Cook' gummed stamp.

Mount Cook is New Zealand's highest mountain. The mountain ridge runs from the Hooker Glacier on the west side to the Tasman Glacier on the east and forms a section of the South Island's Main Divide. The flowers depicted on the stamp are the ranunculus and celmisia - two varieties of alpine flora. The stamp was a reproduction of the 1898 1/2d brown stamp, designed by H.W. Young.

Single 1d 'White Terraces' gummed stamp.

The White Terraces were a tourist attraction on the shores of Lake Rotomahana about 30 km from Rotorua. They were already world famous by 1886, when the eruption of nearby Mount Tarawera completely obliterated them. The terraces had been formed over thousands of years by a geyser, which had played over the mountain slope leaving deposits of silica creating a fanlike staircase. The plant depicted on the stamp is a native bramble, tataramoa. The stamp was a reproduction, at a smaller size, of the 1898 4d stamp designed by E Howard.

Single 1 1/2d 'Boer War (issued on 7 December 1900)' gummed stamp.

Following the outbreak of the South African War, New Zealand assembled its first Expeditionary Force. Richard John Seddon who was Premier (Prime Minister) at the time requested Parliament to ask the British Government to accept a contingent of 210 mounted officers and men. Each of the volunteers had to provide his own horse. During the war a total of ten contingents were raised and in total 6,500 troops were sent to South Africa. The design was completed by James Nairn of Wellington and engraved by H G Thomas of New York.

Single 2d 'Pembroke Peak' gummed stamp.

Along the southern extremity of the west coast of the South Island is a series of sounds or fiords of remarkable scenic beauty. Pembroke Peak is situated in Milford Sound, and rises to a height of over 2,100 metres. This stamp was a reproduction, at a slightly smaller size, of the 1898 2d brown stamp by W R Bock.

Single 4d 'Lake Taupo (issued August 1899)' gummed stamp.

Lake Taupo is New Zealand's largest lake situated in the centre of the North Island, the stamp design incorporates, in the distance, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres). The tree depicted is a cabbage palm. This stamp was a reproduction, at a slightly smaller size, of the 1898 1d stamp designed by J Gaut.

Single 6d 'Kiwi (issued 5 May 1900) gummed stamp.

Kiwis (Apterygidae) are the most primitive birds found in NZ. They have probably been here for 70 million years and, because they are unique to this country and a highly distinctive family, they have become a national symbol. Like the extinct moa, the kiwi is unable to fly. The birds stand about 31 cm tall, and have a long, sensitive bill to find their food - worms, grubs and ground insects, and fruit fallen from trees to the forest floor. This stamp was a reproduction, in red, of the 1898 6d green stamp designed by E Howard.