1965 ANZAC - 50th Anniversary of Gallipoli Landing
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Cat. |
Mint Unhinged |
Mint Hinged |
Fine Used |
4d |
Anzac Cove - Brown |
131a |
$0.90 |
|
$0.70 |
|
$0.90 |
|
5d |
Anzac Cove - Green with a Red Poppy |
131b |
$0.90 |
|
$0.70 |
|
$0.90 |
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|
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|
Set of 2 |
131c |
$1.70 |
|
$1.35 |
|
$1.70 |
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|
First Day Cover - Green and Red Design - 14 April 1965 |
131d |
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|
|
$3.60 |
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… Two Stamps : 4d (131a), 5d (131b) |
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First Day Cover - Blue and Red Design - 14 April 1965 |
131e |
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$3.60 |
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… Two Stamps : 4d (131a), 5d (131b) |
The 1936 ANZAC stamps were
the first New Zealand stamps to commemorate the Gallipoli campaign. In 1958
the New Zealand Returned Services Association suggested that the Post
Office issue stamps to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the landing
of Anzac troops on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey on the 25th of April
1915. Both stamps in this issue show Anzac Cove where the troops
landed.
The plan had been to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul),
however the landing troops had to fight their way up steep cliffs against
heavy opposition which was waiting for them. Throughout the campaign, Anzac
Cove was within a kilometre of the front-line and was well within the range
of Turkish artillery.
Over two thousand New Zealand soldiers died
during the campaign and close to five thousand were wounded. After several
months the campaign was abandoned and the overnight evacuation of all
remaining troops without a single fatality was the one bright note to the
tragic campaign which quickly became a symbol of New Zealand and
Australia's war losses.
Both New Zealand and Australia have a
national holiday (Anzac day) on the 25th of April to remember those troops
who died at Gallipoli and in active service since then. On Anzac Day in
1985, the name "Anzac Cove" was officially recognised by the
Turkish government and the memorial there is a sombre reminder of the
thousands of lost soldiers:
"Those heroes that shed their blood
and lost their lives, you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and
the Mehmets where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You
the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your
tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost
their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."
Two different ANZAC first day cover envelopes were
issued featuring a green and red or blue and red design as
shown.
Bibliography
The Postage Stamps of New Zealand Volume VI
Edited by D. E. G. Naish FRPSNZ and K. J. McNaught FRPSNZ FRPSL
Publsihed 1975 by The Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand Incorporated
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