2018-10-24 Wed

Fiji is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 2,000 km northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is a former British colony. Before the first postage stamps of Fiji, mail was carried by trading vessels to Sydney, Australia, and probably other ports, where it was placed in the mail.

The first stamps of Fiji were issued on 1 November 1870 by the local newspaper, the Fiji Times. The stamps were simple definitives with rouletted perforation. The stamps were hand-stamped on quadrilled pink paper.

They come with the denominations of 1 Fijian penny, 3 Fijian pence, 6 Fijian pence and 1 Fijian shilling. The stamp depicts the value of the stamp in the centre with “FIJI TIMES EXPRESS” around. All of which are within a rectangular border.

The British Consul objected to the service and tried to close it in 1871 and appointed an official Postmaster and the Fiji Times service was closed in 1872.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com