The designs for the 1946 Peace issue were prepared in 1943 by James Berry
who designed many of the 1940 Centennial stamps. They were greatly admired
and when Stanley Gibbons ran a competition to determine the 12 best stamp
designs of 1945 and 1946, four of the stamps came from this issue, with the
nine penny view of Franz Josef Glacier winning first prize.
quantities of sheets of this issue were purchased by returning servicemen
as investments, making this issue very easy to source, even
All stamps were recess printed except the 1½d and
shilling stamps which were the first New Zealand stamps to be printed by
The halfpenny stamp features Lake Matheson with the
Southern Alps in the background, including Mount Cook and part of the Fox
The penny stamp shows Parliament House in Wellington with a
portrait of King George VI inset in an oval frame to the left.
1½d stamp has Saint Paul's Cathedral in London superimposed over
the Union Jack in the background with a large 'V' for victory and
laurel sprays on each side. Below Saint Pauls is inscribed "This was
their finest hour". James' original design featured a portrait of
Winston Churchill in the place of Saint Pauls - this was the only stamp
where the design had to be altered as at that stage, only the portraits of
members of the royal family, or dead famous people could be included on
The twopence stamp features the Royal Family - King George
VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in a frame in
the shape of the Royal Crown. At the top is inscribed "In Peace, long
may they Reign"
The 3d stamp features the badge of the Royal
New Zealand Air Force with the aircraft that New Zealanders flew alongside
the RAF during the Battle of Britain to the left. To the right are civilian
aircraft that the pilots will fly in peace with a white dove in the top
The four penny stamp is a similar tribute to the New
Zealand Army, with a tank in Egypt replaced with a tractor on the farm. New
Zealand forces played a prominent role in in Africa, Italy and the Pacific
during the Second World War.
The five penny stamp completes the
trilogy with a tribute to the Royal New Zealand Navy with HMNZS Achilles in
the war time role and the MV Dominion Monarch on the right.
Achilles, manned by New Zealanders, was one of three British naval vessels
in the Battle of the River Plate in 1939 which tracked down and engaged the
German pocket battleship 'Admiral Graf Spee'. The Graf Spee was
damaged in the battle and docked for repairs in the neutral port of
Montevideo, but was forced by international law to leave within 72 hours.
Faced with what he believed to be overwhelming odds, the German captain
scuttled his ship rather than risk the lives of his crew.
the war, the Dominion Monarch was the largest ship in the Australasian
trade and with a low passenger to crew ratio, offered exceptional luxury
and service. During the Second World War she was stripped of her fittings
and utilised as a troop transport eventually bringing New Zealand troops
home after the war. She was refitted and returned to her former role after
The sixpence stamp features the New Zealand Coat of Arms
with steel workers to the left and agriculture to the right and various
tools and implements at the bottom under the inscription 'onward'.
At the top of the stamp "freedom from fear and want".
8d stamp features a knight holding a banner with the Cross of Saint George
and the inscription 'their name liveth for evermore'. The image is
taken from a stained glass window at the Wellington College Memorial
The ninepence stamp features the view of the Franz Josef
Glacier and Southern Alps from the Waiho Gorge Chapel window.
shilling stamp has the National Memorial Campanile, Wellington with
heavenly bells ringing on either side.
New Zealand postage stamps
were often overprinted for use in other South Pacific countries such as
Niue, the Cook Islands and Western Samoa, as shown above.