Pacific Stamp Box

Edited by John Hunter

SYDPEX 88, the Bicentennial Na tional Stamp Exhibition, will be on from July 30 to August 7. Already several countries have indicated they will be issuing special stamps to commemo rate the event: the latest announcement has come from Papua New Guinea, which will issue two stamps and a special post mark on September 1. A special feature of the exhibition will be selections from the Royal Collection of Queen Elizabeth 11. The se lections include Trinidad, North America and early military mail from the cam paigns of European armies in India. The Sydpex 88 committee will be releasing a specially overprinted gutter pair of stamps, to be issued in April.

AUSTRALIA Post is continuing to re ceive considerable criticism for flooding the market with stamps and philatelic ma terial. Latest criticism is levelled at the in creasing number of higher valued stamps being issued: Australian Stamp Monthly estimates there are at present eight differ ent $1 stamps available over the counter and between July and November last year 15 different 37c stamps were released. Add to that first-day covers, maximum cards and packs and the average collector is finding a once simple hobby becoming very expensive. The old title “Hobby of Rings” lakes on a new meaning since it will soon require a king’s ransom to keep up with all of Australia Post’s issues. Already collectors have cut down, with many elect ing to stop collecting Australian material altogether. Some are turning to material from other countries: unless Australia Post changes its issuing policy, philatelic inter est in its material will suffer a blow from which it may never recover.

AUSTRALIA POST held its second Ar chival Sale, which realised more than $420,000; 49 per cent over the estimate. Of a total of 204 lots only four did not sell.

ANOTHER Australian record is being upheld. Present holder of the World Stamp licking Championship, Mr lan Thomas, has gone to Japan to uphold his title. Mr Thomas’ title is 204

stamps licked in 4 minutes. I hope he has a few glasses of water on hand.

SAMOA issued a se tenant set of five stamps commemo rating the bicenten ary of Australia.

This is the second set issued by Sa

moa, and features the postal services of the two countries. Shown is the means of travel for an aerogramme bearing a congratula tory message.

ON FEBRUARY 17 PNG issued a set of four stamps as Part Two of its definitive set featuring ships. Papua New Guinea is to be complimented on its 1987 Year Al bum: it gels better each year. Year albums are having an effect on philatelic supply ships. In the past these dealers produced pages each year to house stamps issued by various countries. They have now tried to increase sales by issuing pages containing peculiar variations in the way the stamps were collected: one has dictated the mar ket by producing pages requiring the col lector to house special gutter pairs, combinations of rows, blocks etc, but with the issuing of year albums by many coun tries dealers are seeing a decrease in sales as collectors can now settle for a book, stamps included, showing an example of each stamp in a simple presentation.

ON APRIL 20 New Zealand will issue a S 5 definitive stamp featuring the rare Tak ahe. At last count in 1985 there were 180 takahe in the Fiordland area of the South Island: deer have eaten out many of the plants this bird prefers.

ON MARCH 2 New Zealand issued four stamps celebrating the visual arts in New Zealand; modern interpretations of tra ditional Maori patterns on the rafters of meeting houses.

TUVALU 15 has announced its 1988 pro gram. February, Living Reef Part Two; May, Red Cross; August, Fungi; October 10th, Anniversary of Independence; No vember 1, Christmas.

As well as this there will be all the spe cial issues I have criticised already. Pub lisher of catalogues have great trouble with Tuvalu and have appealed to the country to indicate which recent issues are legal, reprinted, issued for the general public and so on. I wonder, really, if anyone still col lects stamps from Tuvalu . . .

SOLOMON ISLANDS issued two se-len ant strips featuring the 10th anniversary of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. The stamps show various aspects of agriculture development and transport of agricultural goods. Designing se-tenant stamps requires care that each stamp when separated presents a whole in itself. Unfortunately, when these stamps are separated the Agricultural Develop ment Fund logo splits in half.

NAURU issued on November 5 a stamp commemorating the centenary of the Nauru Congregational Church. On Janu ary 31 four stamps were issued to celebrate Nauru’s 20th Anniversary. □

Norfolk Island commemorated its foundation with a set of stamps issued on March 4.