Postage stamps and postal history of the Solomon Islands

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A 1939 two shilling stamp of the British Solomon Islands showing Tinakula Volcano. 1939 2 shilling British Solomon Islands stamp.jpg
A 1939 two shilling stamp of the British Solomon Islands showing Tinakula Volcano.
A 1956 half penny stamp of the British Solomon Islands. Brit Solomon Ysabel1-2d.jpg
A 1956 half penny stamp of the British Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation state since 1978, formerly a British protectorate known as the British Solomon Islands. They comprise nearly 1,000 islands and lie to the south-east of Papua New Guinea.

Solomon Islands Country in Oceania

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The country's capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands, but excludes outlying islands, such as Rennell and Bellona, and the Santa Cruz Islands.

British Solomon Islands

British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first declared over the southern Solomons in 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of HMS Curacoa, declared the southern islands a British Protectorate. Other islands were subsequently declared to form part of the Protectorate over a period ending in 1900.

Contents

The first mails from the islands are believed to be those sent by the British Resident Commissioner, Charles Woodford, who was appointed in 1896 and established an administrative centre at Tulagi. Letters were sent in a sealed bag to Sydney where New South Wales stamps were affixed. Later, a stock of New South Wales stamps was kept at Tulagi and the stamps were cancelled in Sydney. From April 1906, Woodford used a paid handstamp instead and stamps were again added in Sydney. [1]

Charles Morris Woodford CMG was a British naturalist and government minister active in the Solomon Islands. He became the first Resident Commissioner of the Solomon Islands Protectorate, serving from 1896 until 1915.

Tulagi Small island in the Solomon Islands north of Guadalcanal

Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 to 1942 and is today the capital of the Central Province. The capital of what is now the state of Solomon Islands moved to Honiara, Guadalcanal, after World War II.

On 14 February 1907, the first postage stamps were issued in the Solomon Islands, marked British Solomon Islands Protectorate. [1]

Postage stamp small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage, who then affix the stamp to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover —that they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. The item is then delivered to its addressee.

From 1913, stamps were marked British Solomon Islands. [1]

From 1975, leading up to independence in 1978, stamps were marked "Solomon Islands" and all stamps since then have been so marked.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue: Commonwealth and British Empire Stamps 1840-1970. 112th edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2010, pp. 123-126. ISBN   0852597312

Further reading

Reginald Croom-Johnson British politician

Sir Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson was a British barrister, judge, and Conservative Member of Parliament for Bridgwater. He was a noted philatelist with a specialist collection of the stamps of the British Solomon Islands.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.


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