Emerging Years - 1950's

Single 45c 'Rock and Roll' gummed stamp.

It was the sound that changed the face of music forever. American rock 'n' rollers like Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Bill Haley and the Comets not only inspired their frenzied fans halfway around the world - they also saw a whole new breed of 'home grown' musicians like Johnny Devlin and Max Merritt emerge.

Single 80c 'Conquest of Everest' gummed stamp.

In a decade which saw New Zealand find its feet as a nation, perhaps the biggest single event was that Edmund Hillary conquered the mighty Mount Everest at 11.30am on 29 May 1953. Amidst intense emotions Hillary, the New Zealander, was thrust into the international limelight as a celebrity with courage and fortitude.

Single $1.00 'Aunt Daisy' gummed stamp.

"Good Morning Everybody. Good Morning. Good Morning." The catch cry of one of New Zealand's greatest broadcasting icons, Aunt Daisy. Her quavering voice filled the airwaves with everything from useful household hints to home-grown philosophy from 1936 to 1963 and she also became one of the first New Zealanders to face a television camera in 1951.

Single $1.20 'Royal Visit' gummed stamp.

Just months after her Coronation, Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning sovereign to visit New Zealand. At the end of her first day here she told the people "though this is my first visit to New Zealand, I have the impression that I know it well and I know that here I shall feel at home." During her five week stay, the young queen charmed and enthralled all with her eloquence and beauty and delivered her Christmas message to the Commonwealth.

Single $1.50 'Opo - the Friendly Dolphin' gummed stamp.

Songs, stories, poems and a novel were inspired by the affectionate and friendly visitor to the tiny Hokianga beach settlement of Opononi in the summer of 1955/56. Opo - the friendly dolphin, seemingly came from nowhere to entertain and amaze bathers with her aquatic antics and tricks. Through the long summer she would play gently with children, eventually giving them rides and etching a place in our history and hearts.

Single $1.80 'The Coat Hanger' gummed stamp.

A startling addition to the Auckland landscape and a revolution in transportation, the Auckland Harbour Bridge was opened - first to pedestrians - in May 1959. More than 100,000 people streamed across it on foot in a single day and within six weeks of it opening to traffic, one million vehicles had crossed the bridge.