New Zealand

New Zealand is a self-governing dominion of the British Commonwealth.

     The next stamp shows the location of New Zealand.

     This stamps shows the New Zealand 200 Mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

Chatham Islands

     In 1791 the British claimed possession of the Chatham Islands which they named for the ship which landed there. The native population were the Moriori who had settled the islands a thousand years before. They were almost totally wiped out by Maori from New Zealand and European whalers. The Islands now belong to New Zealand, but has a district council with separate territorial authority. The stamp issued in 1989 recognizes the Moriori heritage and shows a map of the island group.