Celebrating New Zealand's long and varied coastline with this scenic stamp issue.
Issue information
The exact length of New Zealand’s coastline is impossible to measure due to countless twists and turns, but it’s estimated to be between 15,000 and 18,000 kilometres. Although the North Island is smaller than the South Island, it actually has a longer coastline due to numerous inlets, bays, harbours, fiords and estuaries.
Dotted along New Zealand’s coastline are numerous lighthouses that play a key role in keeping our ships safe from harm. Ship-to-shore communications are essential in ensuring safety on the water, and 2013 marked 100 years since New Zealand’s maritime radio service was fully developed. 2013 also marked the centenary of the Castlepoint lighthouse on the Wairarapa coast.
The New Zealand Coastlines stamp issue celebrated five areas of New Zealand’s picturesque coast and the lighthouses that monitor them.
Product Listing for New Zealand Coastlines
| Image | Title | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Stamp |
Single 70c 'Castlepoint' gummed stamp. Castlepoint lighthouse is built on a prominent cliff on the Wairarapa coast, named by Captain Cook who thought it looked like a medieval stronghold. One of the last manned lights to be established in New Zealand (1913), it is one of only two lighthouses still operating with the original lens. |
$0.70 | |
| Single Stamp |
Single $1.40 'Nugget Point' gummed stamp. Nugget Point’s stone lighthouse stands near the south-east corner of the South Island, where many small islets and reefs pose hazards to the small vessels entering the Clutha River mouth. It was first lit in 1870 and the original lens is still in place today. |
$1.40 | |
| Single Stamp |
Single $1.90 'East Cape' gummed stamp. The country’s most easterly lighthouse was originally located on East Island, just off East Cape, where its light was first lit in 1900. It was a troublesome location from the start and in 1922 the tower and all the buildings were relocated to the mainland. |
$1.90 | |
| Single Stamp |
Single $2.40 'Pencarrow Head' gummed stamp. Built in 1858 and operational from 1 January 1859, Pencarrow Head lighthouse, near Wellington, is the oldest lighthouse in New Zealand and was the first to have a foghorn fitted, in 1900. This was also the only lighthouse in New Zealand to ever have a woman, Mary Bennett, as principal lighthouse keeper. |
$2.40 | |
| Single Stamp |
Single $2.90 'Cape Campbell' gummed stamp. Cape Campbell lighthouse, about 50 kilometres from Blenheim on the South Island’s east coast, marks the southern approaches to Cook Strait. Many ships have been wrecked in the vicinity of the cape. The wreck of the Alexander in 1858 prompted the choice of Cape Campbell as a site for a lighthouse. |
$2.90 | |
| Miniature Sheet | Mint, used or cancelled gummed miniature sheet. | $9.30 | |
| First Day Cover | First day cover with five gummed stamps affixed. | $9.80 | |
| Miniature Sheet First Day Cover | First day cover with gummed miniature sheet affixed. | $9.80 | |
| Presentation Pack |
Written by Rear Admiral David Ledson, ONZM (Retired), the presentation pack contained the complete set of stamps, the miniature sheet and the first day cover. |
$29.90 |
Technical information
| Date of issue: | 4 September 2013 |
|---|---|
| Number of stamps: | Five gummed stamps |
| Denominations: | 70c, $1.40, $1.90, $2.40, $2.90 |
| Stamps, miniature sheet and first day covers designed by: | Creature, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Printer and process: | Southern Colour Print Ltd by offset lithography |
| Number of colours: | Four process colours |
| Stamp size and format: | 60mm x 25mm (horizontal) |
| Paper type: | Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper |
| Number of stamps per sheet: | 25 |
| Perforation gauge: | 13.33 x 13.60 |
| Special blocks: | Plate/imprint blocks could be obtained by purchasing at least six stamps from a sheet. Barcode blocks were available in A and B formats. |
| Period of sale: | These stamps remained on sale until 3 September 2014. |
