In 1920 the first New Zealand Olympic Team marched under the New Zealand flag in Antwerp, Belgium. Four athletes competed in black singlets with the silver fern emblem hand-sewn over their hearts. The fern continues to inspire New Zealanders of today, as it has done for a hundred years. It will do so again, at Tokyo 2020.
Issue information
New Zealand’s Olympic history began a little earlier, in 1908 at the London Games, when the New Zealand athletes were part of an Australasian team. The emblem on their shirts bore a tiny kiwi and silver ferns beneath an emu and kangaroo. While we were yet to stand alone as Aotearoa, for the first time an Olympic medal was awarded to a New Zealand athlete, Harry Kerr, proudly wearing the silver fern.
For more than 100 years, over a thousand Olympians have competed, providing memorable moments, triumphs, pioneering efforts, near misses and hard-luck stories. The games have survived through world wars, boycotts, controversy, and although delayed, they are on track to continue beyond the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The fern, worn in that very first Olympic Games, continues to connect and inspire our athletes today - to where they come from, to our people and to our land and sea, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Presentation pack
You could commemorate the efforts of the 2020 New Zealand Team with this issue’s presentation pack, with guest writer Rob Waddell, New Zealand's 18th Chef de Mission for the Olympic Games. Waddell most recently represented New Zealand at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and followed this with an America's Cup campaign. He made steady and sometimes startling progress as a rower in the 1990s, and went on to join the long line of outstanding New Zealand single scullers with world titles in 1998 and 1999, capping off his career with a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Waddell won the Lonsdale Cup in 1998 and 2000, and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2001 for his services to rowing.
Product listing for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
| Image | Title | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $1.40 'Track' gummed stamp. New Zealand has a proud Olympic history on the track. 1,500m runner Jack Lovelock paved the way, winning gold at the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games. He was followed by the late Sir Peter Snell, who won three gold medals across two Olympic Games. |
$1.40 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $1.40 'Surfing' gummed stamp. Surfing will make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 with 20 men and 20 women set to battle it out in the waves for a spot on the Olympic podium. |
$1.40 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $1.40 'Pole vault' gummed stamp. Pole vault is one of the oldest disciplines at the Olympic Games, making its debut in 1896. The sport sees athletes use a flexible pole to hurl themselves metres into the air and over a bar, making it an extremely impressive spectacle to watch. |
$1.40 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $2.70 'Hockey' gummed stamp. Hockey is generally dominated by European nations, but at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, the New Zealand men’s hockey team upset Australia to win gold, becoming the first non-Asian/European team ever to clinch the top podium spot. |
$2.70 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $3.50 'Rugby sevens' gummed stamp. Rugby sevens made its Olympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games, where the New Zealand women’s side won a hard-fought silver medal. |
$3.50 |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single $4.00 'Shot put' gummed stamp. The words ‘New Zealand’ and ‘shot put’ have become synonymous in the past decade. Dame Valerie Adams has won two Olympic gold medals and one bronze, while Tom Walsh won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympic Games. |
$4.00 |
 |
Miniature Sheet | Mint, used or cancelled gummed miniature sheet. | $14.20 |
 |
First Day Cover | First day cover with six gummed stamps affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $14.70 |
 |
Miniature Sheet First Day Cover | First day cover with gummed miniature sheet affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $14.70 |
| Presentation Pack |
You could commemorate the efforts of the 2020 New Zealand Team with this issue’s presentation pack, with guest writer Rob Waddell, New Zealand's 18th Chef de Mission for the Olympic Games. Waddell most recently represented New Zealand at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and followed this with an America's Cup campaign. He made steady and sometimes startling progress as a rower in the 1990s, and went on to join the long line of outstanding New Zealand single scullers with world titles in 1998 and 1999, capping off his career with a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Waddell won the Lonsdale Cup in 1998 and 2000, and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2001 for his services to rowing. This presentation pack included the first day cover, miniature sheet and set of six gummed stamps. |
$34.90 |
Technical information
| Date of issue: | 7 October 2020 |
|---|---|
| Number of stamps: | Six gummed stamps |
| Denominations: | $1.40 x3, $2.70, $3.50, $4.00 |
| Stamps, miniature sheet and first day covers designed by: | Hannah Fortune, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Printer and process: | Southern Colour Print, New Zealand by offset lithography |
| Number of colours: | Four process colours |
| Stamp size and format: | 25mm x 50mm (4x vertical, 2x horizontal) |
| Miniature sheet size and format: | 182mm x 57mm (horizontal) |
| Paper type: | Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper |
| Number of stamps per sheet: | 25 |
| Perforation gauge: | 14.4 x 14 |
| 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 will remained on sale until 6 October 2021. First day covers remained on sale until 2 December 2020. |