New Zealand Aviation in Stamps

[Dave Homewood]

Have a look at tbe stamps on these links, they feature some great NZ aircraft

Wellington from 75 (NZ) Sqn - Ascension Islands
www.swakop.com/namibstamp/aeropics/ascension595.jpg

RNZAF Hudson - Norfolk Island
www.swakop.com/namibstamp/aeropics/norfolk248.jpg

I have several more in my own collection that I should scan. Coming soon... unless someone beats me to it.

[corsair67]

Dave, the Norfolk Island stamps are great, aren't they? Somewhere (buried amongst other stuff), I have half a sheet or so of the Corsair stamps which I bought at a stamp show about 10 years ago.

NZ Post issued a nice set of four stamps in 1987(?) of RNZAF aircraft: I recall one featured a Skyhawk and one a Kittyhawk, but I'm not sure what the other two stamps had on them. Was the Avro 626 on one of them?

The RNZAF Museum used to produce special 'stamps' (not legal tender, I think they are known as "Cinderellas"?) for their First Day Covers. Does the RNZAF Museum still produce FDC to mark special occasions in NZ aviation history?

[Dave Homewood]

Here you go


When I was down at Wigram last year they still had a number of First Day Covers for sale, but I don't know if any are new since the death of Maurice Conly, who designed them. He also designed many NZ Post stamps and NZ coins by the way.

Yes I love the Norfolk Island stamps (and the place itself, paradise!)

[corsair67]

Ah, that brings back some memories. I loved the Skyhawk stamp, and was always miffed that I didn't have more excuses to use it on mail because I didn't have anywhere to send something that was going to cost that much way back then!

[Dave Homewood]

Over the years I have right-clicked-and-saved many items that have come up on ebay and TradeMe that I didn't really intend to bid on. Some of these have been philatelic items with RNZAF themes. So here are some that I have saved. Apologies for the poor quality of some, that's how they appeared on the auction...

[Dave Homewood]

[Dave Homewood]

[Dave Homewood]

[Dave Homewood]

Norfolk Island, though an Australian territory, has a real closeness with NZ. And none moreso in aviation. The RNZAF did the firat aerial photography of he island, from a No. 1 Sqn Hudson, to survey for the establishment of an RNZAF Station there in 1942.

An airstrip was carved out of the Norfolk Pine forest by Austarlian troops but the first aircraft to touch down was an RNZAF Hudson on Christmas Day 1942, dropping off Christmas presents to those based on the Island.

New Zealand set up a garrison on Norfolk with 1500 soldiers of the infantry and artillery. The RNZAF also manned the aerodrome, which had two strips of Marsden matting (which remained right up till the late 1980's before it was sealed and extended.

In the early 1980's a fantastic set of stamps were made to commemorate Norfolk's aviatioon history. This is possibly one of my most favourite sets of stamps. The paintings are wonderful. So I have scanned them real large for extra detail.

2c
The Gypsy Moth ZK-AKK "Madame Elija" flown by Francis Chichester from NZ to Australia via Norfolk Is. The floats on this plane were borrwed from the NZPAF.


3c
RNZAF P40 Kittyhawk's stop over at Norfolk on the way to the Forward Area in WWII. An RNZAF C47 is seen behind


5c
RNZAF Avengers of No 30 or 31 Sqn stop overat the island in transit to the Forward Area


15c
An RNZAF Dauntless of 25 Sqn stopping over at Norfolk


20c
Cessna 172 VH-DOW (or DDW?)
History and significance unknown to me


25c
RNZAF Hudson overflies Norfolk Island


30c
RNZAF Ventura NZ4503 - first of the Venturas - passes through Norfolk Island


40c
Avro York of the RAF visits Norfolk Island with the Australian Governor General, the Duke of Gloucester, aboard to tour New Zealand and Australian troops in 1944

50c
Postwar, a DC3 of New Zealand National Airways Corportion - the begining of Norfolk's tourism industry


$2
A Fokker Friendship of Air New Zealand (I think) continues the tourism trade into the 1980's


$5
The RNZAF continues its long association into the 1980's with regular visits from 40 Squadron's Hercules


And here's an extra, not form this set.
Christmas 1982, marking 40 years to the day of the first landing, the RNZAF's Hudson 'Santa plane'

[Dave Homewood]

Here's another you may recognise, depicted in a stamp from the 200th Anniversayr of manned flight

Miniature sheet (Mum's)


Close up of Motat's Beech plane that was flown by NZ Aerial Mapping

[Dave Homewood]

Here are a few more NZ aviation related stamps

New Zealand Post's PostAir


Another in the series, Rescue Planes (RNZAF Orions)


A stamp marking 25 years of NAC


The Antarctic Mission with RNZAF Hercules


The ANZCAN cable - note Wasp flying off the Frigate