Fiji is a group of 332 islands (106 inhabited) in the South Pacific north-east of New Zealand just west of the International Date Line. Fiji has been a British Colony since 1874 and an independent nation in the British Commonwealth since 1970.
The first postal service in Fiji was established in 1870 by G. L. Griffiths, publisher of the Fiji Times, a weekly newspaper. Since there was no postal service among the islands, delivery of letters to agents of the newspaper was offered to the public.
The initial stamps displayed the name Fiji Times Express and the denomination of the stamp. The first 4 issued in 1870, the one, three and six penny and one shilling were printed on quadrille paper. The printed sheets of stamps were cut apart with scissors.
Late in November 1871, the service was discontinued when the native government took control of the post and issued new stamps with Fiji at the top with a crown above the script letters C.R. as the centre motif.
On October 10, 1874, King Cakabau ceded the Fijian Islands to the British Government. Following the change the printing plates were changed to read V.R. in place of C.R. The initials V.R. stand for Victoria Regina or Queen Victoria.
The pictured stamp shows the evolution of the stamps of Fiji over the 100 years from 1870 through 1970.
To find out more about stamps or coins please feel free to attend a meeting of the Coin and Stamp Club at the Victory Lutheran Church on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.
Dennis Vickery. Collector’s Corner is contributed by the Medicine Hat Coin and Stamp Club. For questions or comments about coin or stamp collection email medhatcsc@live.com
