Postage stamps and postal history of the Pitcairn Islands
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The
postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is att ...
of the
Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...
began with letters being sent without
postage stamp 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 ...
s, as none were available on Pitcairn. In 1921, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
formally agreed upon a system to handle post from the island, but this arrangement was ended in 1926. In 1927, stamps from New Zealand were introduced. To improve the revenue generation of the colony, the British government established an official post office on the island in 1940. The opening of this post office saw the issuance of the first set of Pitcairn Islands stamps. Stamps from Pitcairn became popular among
stamp collectors Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...
, and profits from their sale supported a significant proportion of the colony's budget. Early funds were used to construct a school, and hire a school teacher. At one point, stamp sales made up two-thirds of total government revenue. Despite government reliance on these sales, relatively few stamp designs were produced. Stamps were used to project a certain image of the island overseas, depicting life on the island and the tale of . Towards the end of the 20th century, a decrease in letter writing and in the popularity of stamp collecting led to a decline in revenue. In 2004, the territory became bankrupt.


History

Until the early 20th century, the
Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...
had no postal system. Outgoing mail was hand stamped with "Posted on Pitcairn Island: no stamps available", and was carried for free by passing ships. These letters received postal stamps and cancellation at various ports of calls, such as San Francisco to the East and New Zealand to the west. Occasional efforts were made to organise mail by the British consulate in nearby
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
, and some mail was unofficially handled by a postal office in the
Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
following the opening of the canal in 1915. In 1921, the United Kingdom and New Zealand formally agreed to receive post from the island, allowing postal fees to be paid by the letter recipient. However, in May 1926, the New Zealand government discontinued this arrangement following reports of ship passengers mixing their own mail into the "no stamp” system set aside for Pitcairn residents, leaving the island again without an official postal service. On 7 June 1927, a postal agency was set up on Pitcairn to sell stamps from New Zealand. Standard rates for New Zealand postage were applied. Post originating from the island was cancelled with the mark "Pitcairn Island/NZ Postal Agency". While New Zealand stamps were used, some commemorative covers were produced, such as one commemorating the establishment of a radio link to the island in 1938. In 1937, James Scott Neill, then the British Consul in Tonga, visited the island, tasked with examining the island's governance. At the time Britain sought for its colonies to be financially self-sufficient, and Neill suggested that selling postage stamps would be the only way in which Pitcairn could support itself. Following his report, it was announced on 30 April 1940 that an official Post Office would be established on the island.
Henry Evans Maude Henry Evans Maude, (1 October 1906 – 4 November 2006) was a British Colonial Service administrator, historian and anthropologist. Life and career Maude was born in Bankipore, India.MAUDE, Henry Evans (1926) died on 4 November 2006, aged ...
was sent from the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...
to bring "those twin blessings of civilization, a legal code and...postage stamps." The New Zealand postal agency ceased operations on 14 October, and the next day the Pitcairn Islands Post Office was opened, along with the release of the first set of Pitcairn postage stamps. These first stamps were delivered by the Fiji Post and Telegraph Department. One
first day cover A first day of issue cover or first day cover (FDC) is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for useBennett, Russell and Watson, James; ''Philatelic Terms Illustrated'', Stan ...
was sent to then- Princess Elizabeth. On the island, first day covers sold out within the day. Envelopes soon ran out, leading to the use of homemade envelopes made first from paper, and later—when paper ran out—from coconut tree materials. The first postmaster was Roy Palmer Clark. In 1941, a new Post Office was built in the central square of Adamstown. The volume of mail sent from the island grew significantly following this. In 1957, Clark called for a bigger post office, which was constructed in the 1960s. These stamps became very popular with
stamp collectors Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...
, and their sale became the dominant source of revenue for the community. In the first six months, £12,760 were sold. Profits went into a general fund which enabled the island to be mostly self-sufficient. This fund was used to meet the regular needs of the community, and pay wages. Funds in excess of regular expenses were used to build a school and hire a teacher from New Zealand, the first professional teacher hired on the island. The fund was also used to subsidise imports and travel to New Zealand. The stamps from the first set were sold until July 1957. By the 1970s, stamp sales contributed two-thirds of the government's revenue. At later points, the sale of coins and .pn domain names also contributed to the fund. Towards the end of the 20th century, as writing letters became less common and stamp collecting declined in popularity, revenue for the fund declined. In 2004, the island went bankrupt, with the British government subsequently providing 90% of its annual budget. Mail services to and from the island are infrequent. Post is sent via supply ships from New Zealand, which are scheduled a minimum of three times each year. Passing ships sometimes deliver mail to New Zealand on an ''ad hoc'' basis. Until September 2020, the New Zealand-based Pitcairn Islands
Philatelic Bureau This a list of philatelic bureaus across the world. In philately, a philatelic bureau is the part of a national postal administration that sells philatelic items to stamp collectors, tourists and stamp dealers. Bureaus by country * Afghanista ...
coordinated the territory's stamp program. On 20 September 2020, the management of the Pitcairn Islands Philatelic Bureau was turned over to
Tower Mint Tower Mint was founded in 1976 by acclaimed sculptor Raphael Maklouf Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth natio ...
, from the United Kingdom.


Designs

The first 1940 set of stamps consisted of eight denominations, with two additional denominations added in 1951. Printed by two British companies, they featured an image of
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
alongside depictions of the island and one map locating Pitcairn. The 1957
definitive stamp A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in ...
s, which consisted of 11 denominations, showed
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
alongside further scenes depicting aspects of life on the island. One depicted the school-teacher's house, although it was initially mislabelled as the school itself. Despite the reliance of the island on stamp sales to collectors, relatively few stamp designs were issued. By 1989, there were fewer than 300 designs that had been produced. Most of them have catalogue values of under US$10. The program issues up to six commemorative stamps per year, and new definitive stamps are issued on an average cycle of five years. Stamps designs were chosen to project a certain image of the islands to the outside world, such as telling the story of , while avoiding spurious topics. Commemorative issues have been created to celebrate events in local history, developments in the British royal family such as weddings and jubilees, and local wildlife. Unsold stamps were destroyed to help preserve the collectible value of the stamps. One of three stamps issued on 15 November 1961 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the return of some islanders from Norfolk Island was described as "cartographically the worst stamp ever perpetrated" by
Dudley Stamp Sir (Laurence) Dudley Stamp, CBE, DSc, D. Litt, LLD, Ekon D, DSc Nat ( – ), was professor of geography at Rangoon and London, and one of the internationally best known British geographers of the 20th century. Educated at King's College Londo ...
in 1966, in his speech as President to a meeting of the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
, due to the poor representation of the shapes of both islands and the lack of scale.


List of people on stamps of the Pitcairn Islands

Below is a partial list of people on stamps of the Pitcairn Islands arranged in alphabetical order: *
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
(1940) *
Thomas Adams Thomas Adams may refer to: Politicians * Thomas Adams (MP), Member of Parliament for Bedford *Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586–1667/68), Lord Mayor of London * Thomas Adams (politician) (1730–1788), Virginia delegate to the Continental Cong ...
(1969) *
Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
(1986) *
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
(1973) * Captain
William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...
(1940) *
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
(1981) *
Fletcher Christian Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was master's mate on board HMS ''Bounty'' during Lieutenant William Bligh's voyage to Tahiti during 1787–1789 for breadfruit plants. In the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Christian sei ...
(1940) *
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
(1974) *
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
(1981) *
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
(2012) *
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibl ...
(1999) *
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
(1949) *
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
(1952) *
George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
(1940) *
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
(1971) *
Robert Pitcairn Robert Pitcairn (May 6, 1836 – July 25, 1909) was a Scottish-American railroad executive who headed the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 19th century. He was the brother of the PPG Industries, Pittsburgh Plate Glass ...
(2017) *
Sarah, Duchess of York Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson; 15 October 1959), also known by the nickname Fergie, is a member of the British royal family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles III ...
(1986) *
Sir Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest in ...
(1992) *
Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew u ...
(1999) * Chris Stewart (2009) *
John Tay John I. Tay (1832 – 8 January 1892) was a Seventh-day Adventist missionary who was known for his pioneering work in the South Pacific. It was through his efforts that most of the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island were converted to Adventism, and t ...
(1986) *
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
(1976) * Simon Young (1961)


Gallery

File:Pitcairn 1938 Pitc Cover.jpg, A 1938
first day cover A first day of issue cover or first day cover (FDC) is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for useBennett, Russell and Watson, James; ''Philatelic Terms Illustrated'', Stan ...
celebrating the arrival of
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
to Pitcairn Island, using a stamp from New Zealand with a Pitcairn Island cancellation File:Pitcairn 1940 06.jpg, A 1940 stamp depicting File:Pitcairn 1949 01.jpg, A 1949 stamp celebrating the 75th anniversary of the
Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
File:Pitcairn 1957 06.jpg, A 1957 stamp depicting the school-master's house, although it is erroneously labelled "Pitcairn School"


References


Further reading

* Foxwell, F.W. ''Pitcairn Islands, stamps and postal history''. Taunton: The Author, 1967 70p. * Kisling, Vernon N., Jr. ''The Pitcairn Islands Specialized Stamp Catalog''. Greenville, ME.: Moosehead Communications, 2010 , 240p.


External links


Pitcairn Islands Philatelic Bureau

Pitcairn Islands Study Group



Women of the Bounty stamps
(pdf download link)

{{PostalhistoryOceania Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands-related lists Philately by country Philately of New Zealand