This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tuvalu .
Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls. Its population of 10,472 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world.
Tuvalu was formerly the Ellice Islands, part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands which split into Kiribati and Tuvalu upon gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1978 and 1979. [1]
The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is the government body in Tuvalu that issues new stamps and first day covers, which are purchased by stamp collectors around the world. The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is located in Funafuti.
The first stamps of Tuvalu were overprinted stamps of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands issued on 1 January 1976. [2]
The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau was established on 1 January 1976, which was the day the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony was dissolved and Tuvalu was established with separate British dependency status. The first postage stamp cancellation devices were put into use the same day. [3] The first issue was a set of provisional overprinted definitive stamps and a commemorative set of three stamps. [4] [5] [6] Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978.
In the late 1980s, Tuvalu became involved in a court case with Clive Feigenbaum, who was the Chairman of the Philatelic Distribution Corporation (P.D.C.). The legal case made claims in relation to a contract with the government of Tuvalu relating to allegations as to the deliberate production of stamps with errors for sale to collectors at inflated prices. According to the New York Times, "P.D.C. produced 14,000 deliberate errors: stamps with inverted centers, missing elements or perforation varieties, which it sold for inflated prices". [7] [8]
Tuvalu became a member of the Universal Postal Union on 3 February 1981.
The philatelic business activities are authorised by the Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau Ordinance (1982). Karl Tili was the first Tuvaluan general manager of the Bureau from 1989 to 31 December 2011. [9]
Between 1984 and 1988, stamps were issued for the individual islands – Funafuti, Nanumaga, Nanumea, Niutao, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, Vaitupu.
In 2013, the Tuvalu government was proposing to merge the Bureau with the Tuvalu Post Office, [10] which is regulated by the Tuvalu Post Office Act 1977 . The Tuvalu Post Office is not separately constituted and is a government department.
Addressing in Tuvalu has been virtually non-existent. As at 2018, fewer than 10 streets in the capital Funafuti were named, and only 100 homes and 10 businesses had a postal address. Most people had to travel to send or retrieve mail, and some did not have access to postal services at all. In 2018, Tuvalu Post, the country’s official postal operator, made what3words a national standard for addresses, enabling home deliveries for the first time. [11]
Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji.
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, so the origins of the people of Tuvalu can be traced to the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from Taiwan, via Melanesia and across the Pacific islands of Polynesia.
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail. Well-recognized varieties include commemorative overprints which are produced for their public appeal and command significant interest in the field of philately.
Vaitupu is the largest atoll of the nation of Tuvalu. It is located at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees east. There are 1,061 people living on 5.6 square kilometres with the main village being Asau.
This is a partial timeline of significant events in postal history, including dates and events relating to postage stamps.
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976, and were administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) until they became independent. The history of GEIC was mainly characterized by phosphate mining on Ocean Island. In October 1975, these islands were divided by force of law into two separate colonies, and they became independent nations shortly thereafter: the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978, and the Gilbert Islands became part of Kiribati in 1979.
Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about 400 miles (640 km) of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) with a population of 512 people.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
Nui is an atoll and one of nine districts of the Pacific Ocean state of Tuvalu. It has a land area of 3.37 km2 and a population of 610.
The Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, commonly the Church of Tuvalu, is a Christian church which is the state church of Tuvalu, although this status merely entitles it to "the privilege of performing special services on major national events"; its adherents comprise about 86% of the 11,600 inhabitants of the archipelago.
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
The Girl Guides Association of Tuvalu was previously a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, however membership was withdrawn in 2005.
The postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago located on the south-east side of Africa.
Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people, and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide. The average depth of the Funafuti lagoon is about 20 fathoms. With a surface area of 275 square kilometres (106.2 sq mi), it is by far the largest lagoon in Tuvalu. The land area of the 33 islets around the atoll of Funafuti totals 2.4 square kilometres (0.9 sq mi); taken together, they constitute less than one percent of the total area of the atoll. Cargo ships can enter Funafuti's lagoon and dock at the port facilities on Fongafale.
Bangladesh first issued its own postage stamps upon gaining independence in 1971. A set of eight stamps, with various motifs including a map of the country, were issued. Shortly after, stamps in eight values were overprinted "Bangladesh Liberated" in both English and Bengali were prepared in the United Kingdom, but only three values were issued in Bangladesh.
Clive Harold Feigenbaum (1939–2007) was a colourful and controversial British businessman who was involved in a lifelong series of scandals in the world of philately. Particularly notable was the sale of "gold" stamps from Staffa and his role in the collapse of attempts to list Stanley Gibbons on the Unlisted Securities Market in 1984.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Kiribati.
Motufoua Secondary School is a boarding school for children on Vaitupu atoll, Tuvalu. As of 2000 it is the largest high school in Tuvalu. As Tuvalu consists of nine islands, the students reside on Vaitupu during the school year and return to their home islands during the school vacations.
The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is the government body in Tuvalu that issues new stamps and first day covers, which are available for purchase by stamp collectors around the world. The Bureau is located in Funafuti.
The Governor of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands was the colonial head of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands civil service from 1892 until 1979.