This article surveys the postage stamps and postal history of

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

, particularly in 1949–1963.

Netherlands New Guinea

From 1950 to 1962, stamps were issued as the Nederlands Nieuw Guinea. Netherlands New Guinea came under temporary United Nations administration from 1 October 1962 to 1 May 1963 when stamps were overprinted “UNTEA”. The first were

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

s reading " UNTEA" (United Nations Temporary Executive Authority) applied to the stamps of

Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingd ...

, issued in 1962. There are four slightly different types of overprint, three types applied locally, and a fourth made in the Netherlands and sold by the UN in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Two people have appeared on the postage stamps of Netherlands New Guinea: * Juliana of the Netherlands, queen of the Netherlands (1950) *

Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

, prince consort (1962) Since 1963 Western New Guinea has been part of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The Indonesian postal service is responsible for mail in the region. Netherlands New Guinea stamps were superseded on 1 May 1963 by stamps of Indonesia overprinted "IRIAN BARAT" and a series of six commemoratives whose designs included a map of Indonesia stretching "from Sabang to

Merauke Merauke is a large town and the capital of the South Papua province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency in South Papua. It is considered the easternmost city in Indonesia. The town was originally called Ermasoe. It ...

" and a parachutist landing in New Guinea. These, as were later issues in 1968 and 1970, were inscribed both "IRIAN BARAT" and "REPUBLIK INDONESIA".

References

* 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 5A, ©2021, Amos Media Co., Sidney, OH * NVPH Speciale catalogus 2003, Postzegels van Nederland en overzeese rijksdelen, ©2002, NVPH, s’Gravenhage, Netherlands * Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986.

Netherlands New Guinea

See also

References

Further reading