Postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

were issued in the South African-administered colony of

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

from 1914 to 1989.

History

The

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

overran

German South West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...

in 1914–15 and, in 1922, a

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

mandate gave South Africa the responsibility of administering the colony, now renamed

. South Africa controlled the postal service until Namibian independence in 1990. After World War II, the mandate was supposed to transform the colony into a

United Nations Trust Territory United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Natio ...

, but South Africa objected to it coming under UN control and refused to allow the territory's transition to independence, regarding it as a fifth province. Swa 1andahalfd1937stamp

Stamps issued by the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

were used from 1914 until 1923. The first stamps inscribed "South West Africa" were issued bilingually in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

(''Suidwes Afrika'') on 1 January 1923. From 1970, the abbreviation "SWA" was in general use. However, some

postmark A postmark is a postal marking made on an envelope, parcel, postcard or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit. ...

s featured

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

as well as Afrikaans and English. In 1973, South West Africa became part of the South African post code system, using the number range 9000-9299.''South African Panorama'' - Volume 22
South African Information Service, 1977, page 9 This was withdrawn from use after the territory gained independence as Namibia in 1990. In addition, Afrikaans was removed from postmarks, which, following independence, were in English only.''The comprehensive handbook of the postmarks of German South West Africa, South West Africa, Namibia''
Ralph F. Putzel, R.F. Putzel, 1991, page 355 In 1989, the last stamps of South West Africa were a set of 15 depicting minerals and mining. Following independence, most of the designs were kept with only the name changed (cuprite was dropped and willemite added for the Namibian issue) and the removal of Afrikaans names.
by Paul Glover, 14 November 2008 Another problem was that one of the stamps, for

boltwoodite Boltwoodite is a hydrated potassium uranyl silicate mineral with formula HK(UO2)(SiO4)·1.5(H2O). It is formed from the oxidation and alteration of primary uranium ores. It takes the form of a crust on some sandstones that bear uranium. These crus ...

, had an error in its chemical equation. This was corrected in the Namibian issue. Namibia has issued regular

definitive Definitive may refer to: * ''Definitive'' (TV series), an American music television series * Definitive stamp, a postage stamp that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service See also * Definitene ...

and

commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike def ...

s since independence in 1990,

NamPost NamPost is the national postal service of Namibia. It has 743 employees and reserves of N$ 2.51 million. The current CEO of NamPost is Festus Hangula. History The first postal services in then South West Africa started in 1814 with the deplo ...

being its postal authority.

References

Bibliography

* Becker, Natie. ''The Overprinted Stamps of South West Africa to 1930''. s.l.: Philatelic Holding (Pty) Ltd trading as Stanley Gibbons South Africa and Framic (Pty) Ltd., 1990 218p. * Mallet-Veale, H. ''South-West Africa: a check list''. London: Harris Publications Ltd., 1928 43p. Series Title: "Philatelic Magazine" handbook; no. 12. * Putzel, Ralph F. ''The Comprehensive Handbook of the Postmarks of German South West Africa/South West Africa/Namibia''. Tokai, South Africa: R.F. Putzel, 1991 600p. * Quik, W.J. '' De postzegels van Zuidwest Afrika, de Verenigde Naties veranderde in 1968 de naam in Nambibië: 1884-1990''. Krimpen a/d Ijssel: Filatelistenvereniging Zuidelijk Afrika, 2005 353p. * Quik, W.J. and J. Stolk. ''De Postwaardestukken van Zuid-West Afrika 1888-1990 = The Postal Stationery of South West Africa 1888-1990''. Rotterdam: Filatelistenvereniging Zuideijk Afrika, 2003 145p. * Rust, Hans Joachim. ''Südwestafrika''. Bayreuth: Schwarz, 1963 40p. * ''The South African Stamp Colour Catalogue 2019-20''. 36th ed. Johannesburg: International Philatelic Service, 2019 406p. * Stephan, Adolf. ''Die Erste Dezimal Dauerserie und Ihre Merkmale = The First Decimal Definitive Series and its Characteristics''. Windhoek: s.l., 1988 109p.

External links

AskPhil – Glossary of Stamp Collecting Terms

South West Africa

Postal history of Namibia {{philately-stub