Kia ora, welcome!

Antony Harris Head of Stamps and Collectables

Welcome to the latest issue of Focus.

As a decades-long fan of The Lord of the Rings, I feel privileged to have played a part in commemorating the films that changed New Zealand’s position in the world of film. These amazing movies touched the lives of thousands of Kiwis, from those who got to participate as extras (including yours truly!) to those around the motu who got peeks at their production and the Wellingtonians and visitors who got to witness three huge premiers, especially that of The Return of the King, which saw 100,000 people line the streets of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington).

New Zealand’s thriving film industry has been joined by other creative players in recent years, with multiple local companies taking part in the production of interactive video games. These digital games are played and enjoyed all over the globe, and are currently our fastestgrowing creative industry. We are proud to have collaborated with the New Zealand Game Developers

Association to select outputs from five local game development companies to showcase some of this exciting industry’s successes.

In May we’ll be issuing stamps celebrating another creative industry. This year marks 25 consecutive celebrations of New Zealand Music Month, and to highlight our history of talented musical exports, May’s stamp issue takes a look back at art rock band Split Enz. In this issue we revisit a previous stamp issue that highlighted a range of other musical genres found in New Zealand.

Our first stamp issue of 2024 focused on some of our underwater rock stars. Several fabulously fluorescent creatures feature on the Marine Reserves stamps. They showcase some of New Zealand’s protected marine environments, in which people are prohibited from fishing or removing or disturbing any marine life.

Our annual Chinese New Year stamps featured the Dragon to mark the year of the 2024 Chinese zodiac animal. In this issue you can read the stories that inspired the designs.

You may have heard that we’re making some exciting changes to Kiwi Collector rewards. We’ll be making a detailed announcement about these changes later this year.

You may have also noticed that this year we’ve made a change to first day cover sale periods. Since February

2024, first day covers have remained on sale for 12 months from their issue dates.

Finally, it’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since her arrival, but we’re pleased to introduce the newest member of our team, who’s helping to ensure NZ Post Collectables will continue to commemorate the things that make our country special for years to come.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Focus

Antony Harris Head of Stamps and Collectables