Sheet of 20 x $7.60 'Service is Success' stamps.
The stamp shows a couple of jubilant cherubs and their prize kumara. The kumara here is a metaphor for Mangere couple Joe and Fay Gock, whose generous spirit impacted the community and the country. They have been growing vegetables together ever since they arrived as refugees in the 1950s. Responsible for many horticultural innovations, Fay and Joe developed patented polystyrene boxes for ice-packed vegetables, introduced the first seedless watermelons, put the first stickers on produce and, most importantly, developed a black rot-resistant kumara which saved the Northland kumara crop in the 1960s. In 2013 they won Horticulture New Zealand’s highest honour – the Bledisloe Cup. Joe was also awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in 2015 for his outstanding services to the community and to horticulture.
This stamp issue celebrates the Chinese New Year in the Year of the Horse. Click here to find out more.
Check out the full range of stamp sheets here.
| Date of issue: | 14 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Number of stamps: | Four gummed |
| Denominations: | $2.90, $4.20, $4.70 & $7.60. |
| Stamps and first day covers designed by: | YMC Design, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Printer and process: | Brebner Print, Napier by lithography |
| Number of colours: | Four process colours. |
| Stamp size and format: | Gummed: 30mm x 40mm (vertical) |
| Miniature sheet size and format: | 135mm x 90mm (horizontal) |
| First day cover size and format: | 205mm x 120mm (horizontal) |
| Paper type: | Tullis Russell Truwhite non-phosphor gummed 110gsm |
| Number of stamps per sheet: | 20 |
| Perforation gauge: | 13.33 |
| Special blocks: | Plate/imprint blocks may be obtained by purchasing at least six stamps from a sheet. Barcode blocks are available in A and B formats. |
| Period of sale: | Unless stocks are exhausted earlier, these stamps and first day covers will remain on sale until 13 January 2027. |
