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Kiwi Stamp Circuit

Box 18-337     Glen Innes    Auckland    New Zealand 1743
 

Newsletter #38

October 2010

With this newsletter, we release the second of our 2010 Kiwi CALs. This time ‘Mr Kiwi’ is on his way to the Commonwealth Games in India – we hope he gets good accommodation !

The CALs were printed by NZPost in sheets of 50 (5 x 10), with a limited print run of 1500. The year of issue, 2010, shows vertically in small letters at the bottom left of the CAL. The artwork is by Alistair Burns – thanks once more Al.

Another Long and Twisted Road !

Like our soccer CAL, NZPost required a number of changes to Alistair’s original design. Having submitted the original designs in December 2009, NZPost finally agreed to print it in September 2010. Fortunately by then the rise in postage had been announced so we were able to get the CALs printed in 60c denominations.

Background redrawn to show ‘Indian colours’ rather than the flag.

Textual reference to the ‘Commonwealth Games’ removed.

Queen’s baton colour changed to grey.

The CAL and First Day covers were released on 1st October 2010, as our team settles into the Games Village and New Zealanders look forward with hope, to their successes.

1st October 2010, is the first day of the 60c basic letter rate.

Al’s original design

NZPost prints CAL to honour Vietnamese Revolutionary !!

Members have expressed surprise at receiving mail, soliciting funds for the Save the Children Fund bearing CALs honouring Phan Boi Chau, a 20th century Vietnamese nationalist.

Born 1867, as Phan Văn San in the village of Sa Nam in northern Vietnam, Phan spent much of his life crusading for the liberation of Vietnam from the French. Whilst visiting Japan and China to gain support for his cause, Phan was kidnapped in 1925 in Shanghai by French Secret Service agents and smuggled back to Hanoi on a French warship. The French colonial government sentenced Phan to death on the charge of treason, but being scared of a popular uprising, he was kept under house arrest. He died a natural death in 1940, shortly after the Japanese invasion. Although they corresponded, Phan Boi Chau and Ho Chi Minh supposedly never met. Most cities in Vietnam have named major streets after Phan Boi Chau, and in 1967 South Vietnam issued a 1d stamp in his honour, but there is no record in SG of a 3d design like the one portrayed in this Save the Children Fund CAL.

Cup Fever sends Internet Usage to Record Levels

New records for internet usage (over 12 million visitors per minute) were set on the opening day of the Soccer World Cup. Whilst all areas of the world reported ‘heavy usage’, the bulk of the demand came from America and Europe. It’s likely that being a workday for many viewers, people turned to their office computers to follow the action, instead of their TVs.

The CAL and First Day covers were released on 30th June 2010, as New Zealanders look back with pride, on the achievements of our ‘All Whites’.

Editors Note: We are quite amazed that
• Save the Children Fund, a registered ‘charity’ should chose a political theme for its fundraising
• New Zealand Post approved a design featuring a foreign revolutionary on our stamps Should we anticipate stamps featuring Che Guevara ? Fidel Castro ?? Mao Tse Tung ???
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