MOTAT Post Office and Stamps
- Bill Rayner
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
By Bill Rayner
MOTAT for many years had its own Post Office and issued a series of First Day covers for stamp issues featuring heritage items on the envelope and sold as MOTAT souvenirs to the public.
The example shown featured the centenary of the phonograph (later called a gramophone), by American inventor Thomas Edison in 1877 with a first day of issue of the stamp of August 27th, 1977.
Philately, the study, appreciation and collection of postage stamps, was a major hobby in the 19th and 20th Century with the first stamps as we know them issued by General Post Office, UK in 1840, and by New Zealand in 1855. In 1897 the British General Post Office introduced a standard letter postage rate of one penny for the whole British Empire. An Imperial Air Service utilised for 1st Class postage from Britain using flying boats commenced in 1937, and extended to Australia in 1938, and later to New Zealand.
A major item in the MOTAT Collection is Jean Batten’s stamp collection, purchased for MOTAT with support from the National Library of New Zealand in 1990, along with other Jean Batten memorabilia from the Hendon Aircraft Sale at Sothebys. The stamp collection has been fully digitised and can be found here https://collection.motat.nz/objects?query=jean+batten+stamp+collection Collections staff have recently been working to conserve the collection and arrange and rehouse it appropriately for researchers to access.
Stamp collecting is no longer a major hobby as it once was pre-digital age when every young person had a stamp collection and has now become a specialist hobby with a focus on Postal Service heritage and technical aspects.
If you are interested in stamp collecting and postal history, the Auckland Philatelic Society welcomes visitors to their weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 7.30pm at the Senior Citizens’ Hall, Wairere Ave, Mt Albert. https://aucklandphilatelic.odoo.com/.
Jean Batten Stamp Collection, Accession Numbers MSS-2016-59.43, MSS-2016-59.33, MSS-2016-59.54 courtesy MOTAT. Pillar box photo courtesy Bryna Foster.
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