The Discoverers - Millenium Part One

Single 40c 'James Cook' gummed stamp.

In early October of 1769, English explorer James Cook sailed the Endeavour into Poverty Bay and went ashore. It was the first landing by a European in New Zealand and marked the beginning of a six month circumnavigation during which Cook produced an astonishingly accurate map of the coastline. The stamp shows an image of Cook with his famous map of New Zealand and the main navigational instrument of the time, the sextant.

Single 80c 'Kupe' gummed stamp.

The legendary voyager Kupe is a semi-divine figure who appears in the traditions of several Polynesian islands. According to some Māori accounts, he fled from Hawaiki with Kuru-maro-tini about the waka Matahorua. During this voyage he discovered New Zealand, which he named Aotearoa, which they explored extensively before returning to Hawaiki. Kupe is of most importance in the traditions and place names of the Cook Strait area (such as the landform near Cape Palliser known as Kupe's Sail). This landform is shown on the stamp, along with a 'rock-art' style drawing of Kupe and a double canoe of the type used for long sea voyages.

Single $1.00 'Māui' gummed stamp.

The mythical figure of Māui is found in many Polynesian cultures. Born prematurely and thrown into the sea by his mother Taranga, he was rescued and according to some traditions, was brought up by Rangi, the Sky God. Māui eventually returned to earth where, armed with supernatural powers, he led his older brothers in a series of exploits. Māori myth attributes the creation of New Zealand to Māui. While fishing with his brothers he pulled from the sea a gigantic fish which is now known as Te Ika a Māui (the fish of Māui) or the North Island. His canoe became the South Island. Māui's fish hook became the cape which now forms the southernmost tip of Hawkes Bay. A carved meeting house panel depicting Māui, his fish hook and Cape Kidnappers are shown on the stamp.

Single $1.20 'Jean de Surville' gummed stamp.

At the same time Cook was circumnavigating New Zealand in late 1769, the French ship St Jean Baptiste, under the leadership of Jean Francois Marie de Surville, anchored in Doubtless Bay in Northland. When a small boat disappeared, he took revenge by burning huts and other Māori possessions, and kidnapping the chief Raninui. After three anchors were lost in a storm, the St Jean Baptiste sailed away to the east. Ranginui died at sea, and de Surville drowned at Chilca, Peru in April 1770. The stamp featured images of de Surville's ship and the Pā site at Tokerau where the ship anchored. De Surville's anchor is also shown, indicative of the three anchors which were lost.

Single $1.50 'Dumont d'Urville' gummed stamp.

French explorer d'Urville made three voyages to New Zealand. During the second voyage, between 1826 and 1829, he charted the coast of both the North and South Islands extensively and made important botanical and entomological investigations. An illustration of a crab species discovered on one of his voyages is shown on the stamp. Also depicted is an engraving showing his passage through French Pass which separates D'Urville Island from the mainland in the Marlborough Sounds.

Single $1.80 'Abel Tasman' gummed stamp.

In 1642 Tasman was dispatched by the Dutch East India Company to discover the great continent which was believed to lie in the unknown southern ocean. What he did discover, on 13 December 1642, was New Zealand, which he named 'Staten Landt'. His attempt to land at what is now Golden Bay was thwarted when one of his boats was attacked by Māori war canoes. The original map of the western coastline he travelled up is shown on the stamp. Also featured is an illustration from Tasman's journal and a portrait believed to be of Tasman.