Stamps of Fiji - A Brief History
Channel: Social Plug - Fiji
Date: 2021-08-07

On this episode of the Social Plug, we have a quick look at the history of postage stamps in Fiji.
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 or the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail, 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 and then item is then delivered to its addressee.
Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s. Before then, ink and hand-stamps, hence the word 'stamp', usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage. 
The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly referred to as the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840
All countries issue stamps and many of them use stamps as a way to publicise their culture or special occasions. 
Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of historical study and reference, as government-issued postage stamps and their mailing systems have always been involved with the history of nations
The study of postage stamps and their use is referred to as philately.
Before the first postage stamps of Fiji, mail was carried by trading vessels to Sydney, Australia, and other ports, where it was placed in the mail. Methodist missionaries, active in Fiji from 1835, also corresponded regularly with their headquarters in London. All ship mail – commercial and religious – was carried to Sydney or to Auckland where stamps to the correct value were applied before the letters were placed in the postal system
The first stamps of Fiji were issued on 1 November 1870 by the local newspaper, the Fiji Times. 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.
Stamps were issued by the Kingdom of Fiji in 1871, showing a ‘CR’ monogram for ‘Cakobau Rex', the King of Fiji.
in 1874. King Cakobau ceded his title as Paramount Chief of Fiji to the person of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, while he took the title of Second Most Senior Chief. His monogram CR on all remaining postage stamps was overprinted VR and used until supplies exhausted in 1878, when new stamps bearing a Crown VR design only replaced them. Queen Victoria’s profile appeared on later 1s and 5s stamps issued in 1881.
During the 20th century Fiji followed the well-trodden path of issuing key plate classics during the reigns of Edward VII and George V. 
In 1938 the reign of George VI introduced a 22-stamp set with values from ½d to £1. The pictorial designs showed Fijian lives, scenery and culture; all very much welcomed by collectors throughout the world at that time.
Following precedents set by New Zealand and Australia, Fiji added two surcharged health stamps (1d+1d and 2d+1d) to its pictorials in 1951. One showed children bathing; the other publicized Rugby Football, which by that date had become Fiji’s top outdoor sport, apart from fishing. 
In 1970 the nation became the independent Republic of the Fiji Islands and continues to issue stamps commemorating many important occasions in Fiji’s history as well as almost every subject you can think of.
The next time you send or receive mail or a package, spare a thought for the rich history behind that tiny rectangle of paper pasted in the corner.

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