1969 Captain Cook Bicentenary.

This issue commemorates the bi-centenary of Captain Cook's first voyage to New Zealand.
The Captain Cook Bicentenary issue marked two firsts. For the first time in New Zealand, the set appeared in miniature sheet form with the values se-tenant. It is also the first time that embossing was used on a New Zealand stamp to make the portrait on each stamp stand out.

The Four Values.  

Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779)
Captain Cook was probably the supreme navigator of all time. After the important discoveries of his first voyage, his second Pacific Expedition has been described as the greatest voyage of discovery ever made. He finally managed to dispose of the idea there was a great southern continent in the temperate zone of the Southern Pacific Ocean. 
Cook made three voyages to the South Pacific. The first was in 1768 - 71 in the HM Bark Endeavour, the second voyage in 1772 - 1775 was with the naval ships HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure. The third voyage followed in 1776 -1779 where Cook again commanded the HMS Resolution with companionship HMS Discovery. Cook himself was killed during this third voyage in Hawaii on the 17th February 1779.

The Stamps.
See our collection of Capt. Cook stamps - Captain Cook Stamps of New Zealand.


The four-cent stamp has an embossed side portrait of Captain James Cook with the transit of Venus across the Sun and an Octant (reflecting quadrant) - a measuring instrument used primarily in navigation.


The six-cent stamp has an embossed portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, the noted naturalist and an outline of HM Bark Endeavour.


The eighteen cent stamp has an embossed portrait of Doctor Daniel Solander, the botanist aboard the 'Endeavour' and an outline of Matata (Rhaboothamnus Solandri), a native plant bearing his name.


The twenty-eight cent stamp has an embossed portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Captain Cook's chart of New Zealand.

The Miniature Sheet.
This issue became very well-known for its miniature sheet which was even more striking because of its simple design of only the four values se-tenant and a title/description in the top selvage. 



Some Flaws from this Issue.

One major problem that affected all four values was the embossing missing from the portrait on each stamp. While this is very noticeable when holding the stamp in your hand, it is very difficult to present in a blog like this. 

Our next flaw is a black colour shift best seen in the map where in some places Cook appears to have sailed overland on the east side and been extra far away on the west side. You can also see an extra-wide shadow effect in front of the Queen's face.

 Our third flaw is one of the more common in New Zealand stamps, the perforation shift. In this case, the error appears in a miniature sheet where lower perf almost touches the design of each stamp.

First Day Covers.

An official First Day Cover with the portrait of Captain Cook and his map of New Zealand on the left-hand side.

A generic First Day Cover design used on many issues around this time. Stocks of these covers would be held for use with any stamp issue on its first day. While it might have been convenient or saving in printing costs, there is something missing in not seeing the specially designed cover as seen above in our first example.

Technical information

               Date of Issue:
9 October 1969
               Designers:
E Mayo, Christchurch
               Printers:
Harrison and Sons, England
               Stamp Size:
41mm x 25mm
               Sheet Size:
100 stamps per sheet
               Process:
Photogravure
               Performance Gauge:    
14.5 x 14
               Paper Type:
Chalk surfaced, unwatermarked


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/

Information for this post came from.