This newsletter follows the September 2026 NZPF meeting.
As I believe I have said in a previous newsletter, our hobby enjoys a symbiotic relationship with both the dealer community and NZPost. We all need each other to flourish. So, it was great to be able welcome Antony Harris of NZPost to our recent meeting. He gave a short presentation on recent and upcoming stamp issues, what NZPost hubs will look like – with photos of the recently opening Hub in Palmerston North – and trends in new issue sales. We also discussed with him ongoing sponsorship for Federation and how that will help upcoming National exhibitions in New Zealand. We were also able to pass on a complaint from Southland PS about the rise in postage rates. This goes to illustrate the relationship that Federation have with NZPost and how we can pass on society concerns to Post.

Significant Birthdays

It has been one of my duties (a pleasurable one), to send birthday wishes to a couple of societies. I note here Taranaki PS who celebrated 90 years with a cake on the day I realised what was about to happen on 26th August, and North Shore PS who celebrate their 50th on 23rd September with a luncheon on 26th September where I plan to be present.
Other societies with longevity on their side are
Auckland 1922
Hastings 1955
Wellington 1922
Dunedin 1913
South Auckland 1964
Hawkes Bay 1939
RPSNZ 1888
Marlborough 1973
Tauranga 1963
Horowhenua 1962
Airmail Soc 1930
Nelson 1954
Thames 1959
Hutt Valley 1938
PHSNZ 1964
Southland 1931
Waikato 1939
Manawatu 1922
NZSGB 1952
Stamp Collectors Club 1944
Whakatane 1946
Upper Hutt 1963
Christchurch 1911
Timaru 1928
Whangarei 1957
Wanganui 1921
By way of a contrast, Taupo Stamp Club has just been accepted as a member of Federation. They are also members of the Northern Association. Their email address is taupostampclub@gmail.com

Queensland Stamp and Coin Show 2026

I attended this 4 day show on the outskirts of Brisbane. New Zealand exhibitors were there in force with 18 exhibitors sending 102 frames of material and one literature entry. That represents over 25% of the material on show. There were a large number of dealers, both coin and philatelic and I overheard some very satisfied dealers saying that they had sold out in some areas. Our thanks go to the commissioners Ross Marshall (Waikato PS) and Robert Lyon (Wellington PS) who also judged. Taking that amount of material between 2 people is a physical feat! A lot of Kiwis crossed the ditch to attend in person and if I am to single anyone out for accolades it should be Colin Capill (Tauranga PS) who was runner-up to the grand award.
Challenges
One feature of the national exhibitions held in both Australia and New Zealand are the challenges. At regular intervals philatelic challenges and picture postcard challenges are held.
The 2026 Brisbane exhibition held the picture postcard challenge. This year. Competed by teams from each State/Territory and North and South Island, this year only three teams entered. A combined New Zealand entry won – NZ scored 343 points, NSW 323 and Tasmania 322. The cup was donated by South Australia in 2019. They won it that year, since then in 2022, 2024 and 2026 New Zealand have won it every time. Well done us!
The cup is pictured at right.

It might be worth invigorating the challenges, or at least giving them more visibility. The exhibition catalogue makes no mention of them nor the cup and while the APF website has the rules, no list of winners is available.

The Wellington Regional Stamp, Coin and Postcard Fair

The fair was well attended on Saturday, 18 July, with lots of visitors and society/club members present and active in the events of the day. A highlight of this fair was the annual inter-club competitions (Neville Harris and Patrick Brownsey) and non-competitive exhibits, with over 1,000 pages on display!

Bob Gibson, convenor of the Judges’ teams presenting Peter Holmes, president of Horowhenua Philatelic Society with the Neville Harris trophy.

The Neville Harris Memorial Trophy (for those entrants who have yet to achieve 80 marks for an exhibition at national level) was won by Horowhenua Philatelic Society, with Hutt Valley Philatelic Society runners-up. Horowhenua has competed in every competition so far but had not yet won the trophy, so this was a great result for them. This suggests the new competition rules are achieving what the organisers hoped: encouraging exhibiting by less experienced exhibitors. Hutt Valley’s second place also reflects this, as Darryl Keegan, who has not yet exhibited nationally, showed why he should.

The Neville Harris Memorial Trophy is a great entry-level competition, and members of Upper Hutt, Hutt Valley, Manawatu, Horowhenua, Wellington and the Royal are urged to have a go next year. All competitive entries were judged by teams of judges from the national register the weekend before the event. Entries receive constructive feedback from the judges aimed at building exhibiting skills.

 

 

The Patrick Brownsey Challenge Trophy, for more experienced exhibitors, was won by Jenny Banfield with her “Medical Meghdoot Cards” exhibit earning 95 points. While her exhibit showed Jenny’s vast experience, it was great to see others doing very well also. In particular, Darryl’s 86 points for his “Exploring Lenticular Stamps” showing again why we are keen to see him exhibiting.

Recognition for Norman Banfield

At the recent FIAP exhibition in Bandung, Indonesia, Norman Banfield was asked to sign the Roll of FIAP Distinguished Philatelists (FDP). This is of course a huge accolade for Norman who has done so much for Asian philately over the decades. The Co-signatories of the roll this year were Abdulla Khoory, Dr Prakob Chirakiti, Dr Andrew Cheung and Toshimasa Ouhara.

The citation for Norman mentions his work as a juror, an exhibitor and as an administrator. It is so long, I won’t repeat it here. What is not mentioned are all the philatelists that he and Jenny have helped over the years, whilst difficult to measure is in some ways much more tangible.

Philatelic dates for 2026 and 2027

The next Wellington Regional Stamp Show will to be held at Knox Church, Lower Hutt on 26th September 2026. The event will have dealer and society tables, seminars and workshops with the
North Shore PS plan a 50th Anniversary meeting on 23rd September with a luncheon to follow on 26th September 2026. Their annual competition this year is on 3rd October.
The NZ Postcard Society will be having a 2-day postcard event in Christchurch on 2nd and 3rd October 2026.
The Ambury Shield Inter Club Competition between northern North Island clubs will be held in Hamilton on Saturday 31 October 2026 at the Hamilton Contract Bridge Club (note change of venue), 20 Richmond St., Whitiora, Hamilton. It is hosted by Waikato SC. More details can be obtained from Helen Bell at helen.davlen.nz@gmail.com
The Interclub One Frame Competition will be hosted by the Airmail Society of NZ on 4th and 5th December 2026 at the Philatelic Centre on Mandeville St, Christchurch. There will also be a stamp fair on the 5th. Details have been sent to all societies.
A new event for your diary is the NORTHLAND STAMP & COLLECTABLES EXPO 27 to held on 20th & 21st February 2027 at the Turner Centre in Kerikeri. There is a one frame competition and a one-page exhibition for novices. Several stamp dealers in addition to Postcards, Coin & Currency, and other Collectable dealers from around the country will be in attendance. See https://nzpf.org.nz/events/northland-stamp-collectables-expo/

National Exhibitions in 2027 and 2028

The prospectuses for both Canberra (10-13 June 2027) and Palmpex 2027 (1-3rd October 2027) have been issued.
Canberra details and on-line entry forms can be found at https://canberrastamps.org and the NZ commissioner is Louise Brownee (Marlborough SCC) lousv8@yahoo.co.nz
Details of Palmpex can be obtained at https://nzpf.org.nz/exhibitions/palmpex27/
In 2028 the New Zealand National is CANPEX 2028 and will be held in Christchurch on 8-10th September 2028 at the Wigram Air Force Museum.

International Exhibitions in 2027

Melbourne
This FIAP exhibition is to be held on 2-5th September 2027 at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. Further details are expected soon.

International events with New Zealand participation including contact details for the appointed commissioners can be found here: https://nzpf.org.nz/exhibitions/ Go to the page on the Federation website to connect to the relevant exhibition website and to connect directly to the commissioner. Sometimes entry deadlines get extended and the commissioner will be able to give you the latest information. A lot of changes have been made recently to the calendar for 2027.

Next newsletter

Content for the next newsletter gratefully received. More photographs and news from societies are especially welcomed. The next meeting of Federation is on-line on 12th November 2026.
David Loe, President and newsletter editor.