To many, they're relics from a bygone era. To stamp collectors, they're windows to the world.
'As kids, our stamp collection was how we learned about other places,” says Tauranga District Stamp Club secretary Brian Ducker.
'Stamps from Africa had animals on them and we could see on the map that Burma and Kenya were part of the Commonwealth. You felt you belonged. Back then, we couldn't just press a button and see countries around the world. That's why stamps were so fascinating.”
The Tauranga District Stamp Club celebrated 60 years of philately last month in the Bay of Plenty with a lunch for about 90 past and present members at the Tauranga Citizens Club.
'We have great discussions about the past and the connections we find through the stamps,” says Brian.
Very rare
He collects Tauranga postal history and one of his most prized items is an envelope stamped in Tauranga with a Headquarters obliterator in 1864, in the months after the Battle of Gate Pa.
'It's a letter sent by a Captain Grace, of the 68th Durham Light Regiment, to his wife in England. 'There are fewer than 10 in the world known with that postmark,” says Brian.
'Researching the background to the stamps is wonderful. Using the internet, you can look up a name or a place and easily discover the whole story behind it. Captain Grace survived the famous battle and went on to serve elsewhere in the country.”
Brian has just been made a life member for his service to the club along with Ross Haycock, who was president for seven years.
Amateur historians
'We've become amateur historians,” says Ross. 'A particular cover or stamp leads you down a path that you didn't expect.
'I collect early American envelopes and I can look up who sent it, who it went to and I've come across some remarkable things.”
It was Ross' father who initially passed down his collection. 'I would've been in primary school when I started collecting stamps – I was around 10 or 11. I had a pen pal in Australia with the same birthday and I still have the letter he sent me.
'I stopped when I was a teenager and picked it up again 40 or 50 years later when I came home from overseas,” says Ross.
Sentimental
Some stamps are simply sentimental, like a letter from his grandfather – who was killed in the Gallipoli campaign – to his pregnant wife.
'He was sure the unborn child would be a boy, so asked that the baby be named after him. 'When my mother was born, she was christened Dorothy Mary but ‘Roy' in brackets and that was what she was known as through her whole life: ‘Roy'. It's a nice family memory to have.”
While some clubs can count member numbers on one hand, Tauranga still has a strong community.
'We have members around the region – in Waihi and Whakatane,” says Ross. 'I've made a lot of close friends through the stamp club.”
TDSC meets twice-monthly, with an impressive line-up of speakers on offer. For more information about the club, phone Brian on 07 576-5210.