1968 - Trade Definitives.

         This is the third of a series of three that I am doing on the Agriculture Industries of New Zealand. In the first one, the 1936 Chamber of Commerce, we looking at the four major export industries of the 1930s. Of course these were primary industries, mainly farming of sheep and cattle.

1936 Chamber of Commerce.

1968 - 1969 Trade Definitives.

        Now I find this set of Trade Definitives has a lot in common with that earlier set. The wool, the meat and dairy are back again. So is the apples and the general theme of export industries. But now fishing and timber has been added too. I have included both sets above for comparison.
        Of course these stamps have a more modern appearance, using colour and photographs to deliver their message. The idea of the insert is there again too, but this time a lot bigger, taking almost a third of the stamp.

The Designs in Detail.

7c - Fishing Industry.

(Issued December 1969).

This design depicts, a fishing trawler in the left panel, and in the right panel is a mass of fish on the vessel's deck.  The fishing industry had its origins early in New Zealand history with the whaling industry.  In 1844 whale oil and other products fetched £50,000 on the London markets. Following European settlement and the population increase, the fishing industry first provided for only local consumption but later developed into the significant export industry it is today.  Trawling is one of the principal methods used.  Fitted with freezers, trawlers usually make weekly trips at a time.

8c - Fruit Industry / Apples.

(Issued July 1969).

This design depicts, in the left panel is a close-up of "Rome Beauty" apples and a view of part of an orchid in flower in the right panel.  Apples and pears were first introduced to New Zealand by Rev. Samuel Marsden in 1819.  In 1899 the first trial shipment was carried to the United Kingdom in cool storage by the S.S. Papanui. Further shipments followed and by 1910 were providing encouraging returns.  Today the fruit industry is firmly established and a major export earner.

10c - Timber Industry.

(Issued April 1968).

A stand of radiata pine is depicted in the left panel and a stack of milled timber in the right panel.  The taking of timber from New Zealand began with the Royal Navy taking kauri for masts and spars. Timber was, in fact, a commodity for overseas trade up until the 1870s, being New Zealand's major export in the 1850s.  However, it was not until the State Forest Service was established in 1920 that forestry gradually re-emerged as a major export industry.

18c - Wool Industry

(Issued July 1969).

The left panel of the stamp depicts sheep grazing in a paddock and in the right the Woolmark symbol is illustrated.  The real foundation of the pastoral industry was the importation in 1834 of 105 Merinos from Australia by John Bell Wright who landed them on Mana Island near Wellington.  He sent a few bags of wool to Sydney for sale the following year.  Until refrigeration in 1882, wool was one of New Zealand's few valuable exports.  When this stamp was issued, sheep farms took up nearly half of the country's land area. Today this is changing with dairy becoming the major export industry of New Zealand.

20c - Meat Industry.

(Issued July 1969).

Meat carcasses being loaded onto a vessel are depicted in the left panel with Hereford cattle grazing on the right.  The meat industry and its associated products are amongst New Zealand's biggest export earners. Notice how the meat is being loaded in nets. Today this is done using containers.  

25c - Dairy Industry - Butter.

(Issued December 1968).

In the left panel a typical Taranaki dairy farm is illustrated with Mt Egmont / Taranaki in the background, in the right panel cartons of butter and cheese are being loaded onto an overseas bound vessel. Again we see the hand loading of produce at the port. Today this is done in containers at the dairy factory.

Printing Flaws and Errors.

 The stamps in this set suffered various colour shifts during printing. Below are a selection of them which all show a general blurring of the design. Sometimes you look at the stamp and think, 'What on earth is going on here?' Finally you spot a point in the stamp where you can tell which colour is at fault. I notice that some of my so called good examples above are slightly blurred as well. There is also one perf shift included here too.

1969 7c Fishing Industry, blue shift of colour 0.5mm down.

 1969 7c Fishing Industry, black colour shift.

1969 8c Fruit Industry, 1mm colour shift of red downwards.

1969 8c Fruit Industry, selvage block of 4 with horizontal perf shift.

Notice there are blank perfs too.

1968 10c Timber Industry, corner stamp with colour shift black down.

1969 18c Wool Industry, blue colour shift.                              1969 18c Wool Industry, yellow colour shift.

Technical information

Date of Issue:	2 April 1968
Designers:	New Zealand Post Office, Wellington
Printers:	Bradbury Wilkinson, England and Harrison and Sons, England
Stamp Size:	7c, 8c, 18c and 20c : 41mm x 25mm;  10c and 25c : 41.5mm x 25mm
Sheet Size:	100 stamps per sheet
Process:	7c, 8c, 18c and 20c: Lithography;  10c and 25c:  Photogravure
Performance Gauge:	7c, 8c, 18c and 20c: 13.5 x 13; 10c and 25c: 14.5 x 14
Paper Type:	7c, 8c and 20c: unwatermarked; 10c, 18c and 25c: NZ and star watermark

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ

You can visit their web site and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/