Seapost -> New Zealand Marine P.O. Cancels

New Zealand Marine P.O. Cancels

By Mike Dovey

Marine post offices were first used on board New Zealand ships in 1866 and carried on until 1907. While the service was stopped on a universal scale after this date, it was in fact used again on vessels on the route from Auckland to the west coast of Canada and the USA from 1923 until the outbreak of the Second World War, when the service was totally discontinued.

Images of New Zealand marine PO cancels Cancellation types 4013 - 4015 (Hosking) were used on vessels from 1894 until 1907.
Types 4016 - 4022 (Hosking) were used on the later transpacific services from Auckland to the American west coast.

These cancels were allocated to various vessels through the years. Although there is not a definitive listing to show which vessel had which cancel, and for what period of time, some collectors have made a study of these cancels and there is quite a lot of information available to the new collector.

For example,
4014 was allocated to the MV SONOMA,
4015 was allocated to the MV MOANA.

PACKET BOAT cancel with Marine Post Office NZ cancel
4016 used on board MV TAHITI in 1929.

4016 is known to have been allocated to the MV's MAUNGANUI, MONOWAI, NIAGARA and the TAHITI.
4017 is known to have been used on the MV NIAGARA.
4018 is known to have been used on the MV AORANGI.

Boxed PACKET BOAT and LOOSE LETTER cancels on cover
4017 & 4020 used on board MV NIAGARA in 1931.

4019 is known to have been allocated to the MV's AORANGI, MONOWAI, and NIAGARA.

4020 is probably the most popular of all of the marks and was issued to 7 vessels. These were the MV's AORANGI, MOANA, NIAGARA, MONOWAI, ALAMEDA, SIERRA, and VENTURA.

Boxed LOOSE LETTER cancel on cover
4018 used on board the MV AORANGI in 1933.

4021 is known to have been allocated to the MV MAKURA in 1926.
4022 was allocated to 5 vessels: the MV's MAUNGANUI; MAKURA (1933 - 34); MARANA (1930); MONOWAI; and the NIAGARA.

 

References:

All of the above cancellation type numbers are taken from Roger Hosking's "Paquebot Cancellations of the World". (Still available - 3rd Edition)
The information for the various vessels is taken from Gus Lund's "The Paquebot Marks of the Americas". (Out of Print).


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