New Zealand Post "The Emerging Years" - 1920s, 1930s, 1940s & 1950s

NEW ZEALAND POST between 1992 to 1995 issued a series of stamps entitled the "The Emerging Years" which highlighted developments in the country during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Each decade featured six stamps, making a total of 24 stamps in this four-year print run. Each set showed images relevant to the decade and used the type of lettering suggestive of the period.

1920s - PAINTING THE CLOUDS WITH SUNSHINE

45c - Flaming Youth, a Flapper and young man in a candy striped collegiate look suit stand together. The 20s was famous for shrinking hem lines and more in your face women. Formality also began to melt away from the body fock, floral hat look of the 1900s.

50c - Radio in New Zealand was born on the night of 17 November 1921 when Dr Robert Jack, Professor of Physics at Otago University, switched on a small transmitter in his Dunedin laboratory and began broadcasting music from gramophone records. The country promptly became wildly enthusiastic about the new-fangled 'wireless' that could pick up voices and music from the air, and by the end of 1927 more than 30,000 homes had radio licences. The Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand was established in 1925 with stations in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. By 1929 they were a staple in most middle class homes.

80c - All Black - based on the 1924/25 Invincibles, who won almost every match in a tour of the UK. This team was remembered for their skills. Their toughness built up by years on the New Zealand terrain and back country.

$1 - Swaggie, NZ in the 1920s was still very rural, and homeless old men who walked from place to place doing odd jobs for a living was a common sight. Many were once shepherds, gold or gum diggers and few would turn them away. Called a swaggie as he often carried his worldly possessions in the swag bag behind him. They usually slept at the Starlight Hotel and numbers increased in the Depression, by WW2 they were a thing of the past.

$1.50 Motorcar - Owing a car became a reality in the 20s for many. First arriving around 1900, cars became more commonplace in the 1910s, but really took off in the 20s, every year saw more growth, so that by 1926 a National Board and agency was set up for registrations and driver licencing.

In 1920 there were under 5000 cars in New Zealand, by 1929 it was nearly 100,000 or 1 for every 14 people. By 1939 it was 215,000 cars. Most popular were Model T's, Austin 7s, Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles. In 1926 Ford and GM opened assembly plants in NZ that assembled foreign made cars and included local coach bodies.

$1.80 - Air Age, this was more late 20s and got a real push when Smithy flew here from Australia in 1928. Already in the 1920s we had aerodromes at Ohakea (Whanganui) and Wigram (Christchurch). However it was the next decade things went commercial.

1930s - I'VE GOT A POCKETFUL OF DREAMS

45c - Buttons and Bows, the 30s fashion was more toned down than the 20s, thanks to the Depression and the can-do attitude of 30s people (Most clothes were homemade, rather than store bought - although the material came from stores).

50c - The Great Depression affected NZ too. There were paycuts in 1930 and 1931, 1932 saw 25% unemployed and riots and horrible relief camps where some men lived in tents and got paid 5s a week. It was not until 1935 it receded and the Labour Government introduced social security and State Housing.

80c - Phar Lap - Known to Kiwis and Aussies, this famous racehorse won the Melbourne cup and our hearts at the start of the decade. Born in Timaru, his death is still shrouded in mystery.

$1 - State Housing - Following a housing crisis in the Depression, the Labour government built state houses for the working class and helped the country out of poverty. The first ones opened in 1937 and the stamp shows the solidly built homes of the 30s and 40s. In the 50s/60s they cut cost and built cheap wooden and fibrolite homes which are now decaying and being replaced. Many original 30s homes are brick and still standing.

$1.50 - Free Milk - Poor health of our kids in the 30s, led to the Labour Government giving free milk in schools from 1937. Each child got a half pint and scrawny ones got sent to health camps, funded by the other great 30s institution, the health stamp! The Milk programme lasted until 1967 and some schools have now revived it with breakfast clubs.

$1.80 - The talkies, movies had been in NZ since the 1900s, but Talkies only arrived at the end of 1929 and in 1930 and 1931 despite the Depression, cinema after cinema went to talkies, laying off the Orchestra players in the process. Movie going was a constant in the period of the 30s to 60s before Television and most Kiwis regardless of class, went at least once a week. Most movies of course were from Hollywood, with some cinemas offering only British ones.

1940s -- KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING

45c - The War, this must be dealt with, first and fast. The Second World War saw much fighting by Kiwis and this series of stamps being issued in 1993, New Zealand saluted the Maori Battalion, who deserve the accolade, very devoted and brave men, who showed how wrong Hitler's racist theories were, despite Maori officers, the commanders were still white and thought little of their charges. Maori soldiers could only serve in the infantry or navy and were banned from the Air Force except as cooks and janitors.

After the war, separate Maori Battalions were ended and Maori were mainstreamed into the NZ Defence force like everyone else. There was also much bravery by Pakeha New Zealand soldiers and thousands died defending our freedom, some also were decorated with medals for bravery.

50c - Aerial Topdressing - the spreading of fertiliser using aircraft was very much the minset, which started in earnest in the late postwar 1940s. Shown here, a flight c. 1949 in a Tigermoth spreading the possibly deadly fertiliser. In the 1940s people still used poisonous stuff like DDT.

80c - Hydroelectric - the 1930s to 1960s saw much infrastructure development and the 40s were no exception. Once the war had ended, many large dams were built in the North and South Islands, bringing cheap renewable energy to many. Many British, Polish and Dutch immigrants worked on these projects with Maori and Pakeha New Zealanders.

$1 - Marching (Majorettes) were very popular through to the 1970s, and still is in some parts now. In the late 1940s it was an obsession and again we are in the later part of the decade. Mostly this was a female occupation and gave them something to do away from sexist 40s/50s stereotypes of housewifery.

$1.50 - American GIs -- known as the 'Friendly invasion' -- arrived here from 1942 to help in the War in the Pacific (Japanese submarines came into Auckland Harbour). They lived here and introduced Hamburgers, Coca Cola and the Jitterbug and some women married them becoming GI Brides. They added a touch of glamour in amongst the dreariness of war.

Of course it was not all peaches and cream, NZers were angry at the gung-ho attitude of some the GIs, rapes and pub punch ups that happened and many NZers were shocked at the way Black GI soldiers were treated and how some white soldiers treated Maori.

$1.80 - Victory - It is difficult to say whether this stamp commemorates VE Day or VJ Day or both, as celebratory parades were held in NZ. The misery of war had lifted, but rationing and austerity remained until the 1950s.

1950s - ALL SHOOK UP

The 1950s in general were a prosperous and peaceful decade, a waterfront strike in 1951 was the only disharmony and NZ got rich off high agricultural prices, the welfare state and protectionism.

45c - Rock and Roll Dancers, Rock and Roll music swept the nation's teenagers from 1955 onwards. More money and more free time for teenagers led to more fun. The stamp looks tame, but there were moral panics over this "Jungle music" that caused "Juvenile deinquency", and the worst was the Mazengarb report in to Hutt Valley youth who frequented "Milk bars", wore leather and stove top pants and listened to rock n roll wasting as much as a whole shilling on a cup of "wog" coffee.

 

Mazengarb despite his colourful name, was a boring old man born in the 1890s and he had no idea about 50s youth who were mostly bored and used rock and roll, motorcycles, American movies and smoking as a form of freedom. Stories of 14 year old girls having sex for a meatpie and a rock n roll party in a graveyard did the rounds of the tabloid press and a book about raising your kids was sent to every beneficiary family in the country. It caused a storm in a teacup.

The 50s was a time of increasing poverty and expression, but society was still very rigid and full of rules, only in the 60s did real self-expression become acceptable.

80c - Conquest of Everest celebrated Edmund Hillary, a beekeeper from Waiuku and Tenzing Norgay who together conquered the world's highest mountain. Many Kiwis and the British were proud of it and Hillary went on to more achievements.

$1 - Aunty Daisy (Grace Green) was a well-known NZ radio personality of the 1940s and 1950s who was known for her cheery demeanour, hints on being a good housewife, gardening, feminine etiquette and every other conformity with mid 20th century sexist stereotypes of womanhood. She is still remembered with affection by the older generation. She also had several cookbooks.

$1.20 - Queen Elizabeth II - The glamorous young Queen made New Zealand a stop on her world tour of 1953/54 and spent Christmas and most of January 1954 here visiting many parts of the country and winning hearts where she went. Prince Philip also accompanied her.

$1.50 - Opo the friendly dolphin, for a few months at the beginning of 1956, this tame dolphin frolicked with swimmers and vistors alike at Opononi in the far north. Songs were written about this dolphin, who was sadly found dead in late March 1956; it was believed he had been poisoned by some sicko.

$1.80 - Auckland Harbour Bridge, this was important to make transport in Auckland more efficient. Between 1945 and 1960, its population grew from 250k to nearly 500k and North Shore expanded from 20k to nearly 50k. The 4 lane bridge was built between 1954 and 1959 and was opened 30th May 1959 causing queues in every direction and even cars breaking down. It was a Godsend and answered a 100 year quest to build a harbour crossing.

In 1969, it gained four additional lanes from Japan (Nippon clip-ons) and today still does its service. Originally it had toll booths to pay for it, but these were removed in 1984. Popularly known as the coat hanger, given its arched metal shape, I always saw it as a poor cousin of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.