Whether they’re ‘off the beaten track’ or ‘on the main drag’, numerous New Zealand towns have made a name for themselves by erecting ‘legendary landmarks’ that tell stories about the town’s history, culture and landscape.
Issue information
The Legendary Landmarks stamp issue looked at just 18 of the many town icons across New Zealand, highlighting just how wonderful and unique these sculptures and the towns they represent really are. From the well-known landmarks like the Lemon & Paeroa bottle and the Ohakune carrot, to the lesser-known Mossburn deer and the truly kiwi Taihape gumboot, these landmarks can tell you about the local history and the town’s identity without saying a word.
18 Icons, One Stamp Sheet
The 18 x 80c stamps in this issue were provided together as one gummed stamp sheet. Designed to look like postcards stuck to a classic kiwi fridge, the sheet is a nod to the tradition of collecting postcards from each town whilst on holiday.
Legendary Landmarks Set of First Day Covers
A set of three first day covers was available. The 18 stamps were spread across the three first day covers, and the set made a perfect addition to any Kiwiana stamp collection.
Legendary Landmarks Postcard Set!
To complement the Legendary Landmarks stamp issue, we created a matching postcard set that you could share with your loved ones (or keep for yourself). The five postcards were packaged in a specially designed folder, and the towns featured inside were Rakaia, Cromwell, Te Puke, Rakiura and Tirau. Best of all, you received the postcard set with each stamp sheet or set of first day covers ordered. This product was also available separately for just $5.00!
Product Listing for Legendary Landmarks
| Image | Title | Description | Price |
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Set of Stamps |
Mint, used or cancelled set of 18 x 80c stamps. We chose a few of the landmarks featured on the stamps from this issue to tell you about, so read on to find out more! Opononi – Opo the Friendly Dolphin For 10 magical months between June 1955 and March 1956, Opo the friendly dolphin entertained crowds at Opononi Bay. She was a young bottlenose dolphin who loved spending time with the locals, particularly the children. Her favourite tricks were juggling balls or beer bottles on her snout. This bronze statue, a tribute to Opo, resides on the Opononi waterfront. Rakiura – Chain Link The chain found on Rakiura (Stewart Island) at the entrance to Rakiura National Park comes from the legend of Māui fishing up the North Island of New Zealand. According to the legend, Rakiura (known as Te Punga-O-Waka-A-Māui) was formed from the anchor of Māui’s canoe. There is a matching link sculpture on the South Island at the southern-most town in New Zealand, Bluff. Taihape – Giant Gumboot The iconic kiwi character Fred Dagg, created by comedian John Clarke, hailed from Taihape. The proud graduate of ‘Gumboot University’ was experiencing great success with the Gumboot Song, and so to encourage visitors to come to town, Taihape became the self proclaimed gumboot capital of the world. Every year since the 1980’s, Taihape has celebrated Gumboot Day, which falls on Easter Tuesday. In 2000, Gumboot Country Promotions commissioned the multicoloured gumboot sculpture from artist Jeff Thomson. Tirau – Big Sheep When the local numbers of Tirau were dwindling in the 1980’s, entrepreneur Henry Clothier took advantage of Tirau’s location on State Highway 1 and opened an antiques store to get travellers to stop. His son Steven Clothier, now known as the Iron Man of Tirau, was tasked in the 1990’s with building the now iconic Big Sheep wool gallery and the Big Dog information centre, eventually turning Tirau into the corrugated iron capital it is today. |
$14.40 |
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Set of First Day Covers | Set of three first day covers with gummed stamps affixed. | $15.90 |
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Set of Postcards | Set of five postcards with a gummed stamp affixed and packaged in a specially designed folder. | $5.00 |
Technical information
| Date of issue: | 2 July 2014 |
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| Number of stamps: | 18 gummed stamps |
| Stamps and first day covers designed by: | Graeme Mowday and Tim Christie, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Denominations: | 18 x 80c |
| Printer and process: | Southern Colour Print Ltd by offset lithography |
| Number of colours: | Four process colours |
| Stamp size and format: | 37.5mm x 38.3mm (horizontal) |
| Paper type: | Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper |
| Number of stamps per sheet: | 18 |
| Perforation gauge: | 14.4 x 14.62 |
| Special blocks: | Plate/imprint blocks, A and B barcode blocks, and logo and value blocks were supplied as one sheet of 18 stamps. |
| Period of sale: | These stamps remained on sale until 1 July 2016. |