New Zealands first war stamp was issued to mark the fighting of New Zealand troops in the Boer War in South Africa. This stamp was issued on 7 December 1900.
When World War I started, the New Zealand Post Office over-printed a number of ½d stamps bearing a picture of King George V with the words "War Stamp". Many countries overprinted their stamps like this in wartime, either to get the peoples support for the war or to raise money to pay some of the costs of fighting the war. At the end of World War I the New Zealand Government decided that a special stamp set should be issued to celebrate the end of the war. These were called the Victory Stamps and on the 1½d was a picture of a Maori warrior, Maori carving and some native plants. Strangely, people in Great Britain were able to buy this before New Zealanders as the stamps were sold in London in November 1919 but were not sold in New Zealand until January 1920.
The next war stamps to be sold in New Zealand were ANZAC stamps issued in 1936 to mark the 21st anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops on Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey in April 1915. The stamps were sold for double their face value with the extra being used to help soldiers returning from the war.
Then, with the ending of World War II, a special Peace Issue of 11 stamps designed by famous New Zealand stamp designer James Berry was issued on 24 October 1946. These stamps included a tribute to the Army, the Navy and Merchant Navy, the Air Force, and to people who helped the war effort at home. Also included were stamps showing Parliament Buildings, St. Pauls Cathedral, and the Royal Family.
