1650. 🇳🇷 More News From Nauru.

🇳🇷 Eric Chan has kindly sent me some photographs via Stampboards which were taken at the 2019 Philatelic exhibition in Singapore. Eric says that “Nauru Post made a rare appearance at last year’s stamp show in Singapore” and he has sent photographs of 3 stamps (one featured in Blog 1642) which he saw there. Up to now I was not aware that either of the other two stamps had been released. After receiving Eric’s information I have been able to identify further details about one of the issues.

  The first issue is a single stamp released on 5 March 2019 to commemorate the visit to Nauru by the Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), Bishar Abdirahman Hussein, which the distinguished visitor recorded in his Twitter messages. His visit seems to have taken place from 20 to 22 February 2019 and the stamp was issued subsequent to his departure from the island. While in Nauru, Mr Hussein managed to try out a Nauru Post delivery motor cycle and photographed a wonderful aerial view of the island as his airplane departed from Nauru. He was present at a ceremony which launched Nauru’s first postcode. 

  Mr Hussein also visited Samoa, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Tonga though he does not report that any of the other countries have issued stamps to take note of his visit to the region but his photographs show one or two interesting moments of local postal history such as when he visited Vanuatu’s underwater post office, met the prime ministers of Tonga and Samoa as well as the Head of State of Samoa and handed over three postal vehicles to the Samoa Post Office financed by a UPU fund.

  I have to say that Mr Hussein looks as though he has a dream job. If I’d known such a job existed when I was very young I might have  taken a different road in my career plans (too late now alas!)

  The second previously unknown-to-me Nauru issue of 2019 is another single stamp issued according to the accompanying first day cover on 17 May to commemorate the country’s Constitution Day. The stamp depicts Nauru’s then President, Baron Waqa (see the head of this Blog) who was voted out of office shortly afterwards on 27 August 2019.

In summary to the best of my knowledge the new issues from Nauru Post since its inauguration are:- 

31 January 2018 - 50th anniversary of Independence, Port development project - 1 stamp (see Blog 1194)

17 May 2018 - Constitution Day, Nauru coat of arms - 1 stamp (see Blog 1237)

31 January 2019 - Independence Day, Nauru’s oldest citizen - 1 stamp (see Blog 1401)

5 March 2019 - Visit of the Director General of the UPU - stamp 

25 March 2019 - State visit of the President of Taiwan - 1 stamp (see Blog 1413)

17 May 2019 - Constitution Day, President Waqa - 1 stamp 

3 September 2019 - 49th Pacific Islands Forum, Nauru - 1 stamp (see Blog 1642)

Unknown date 2019 - Christmas - 1stamp (see Blog 1642).

I fear that this is not yet a full list and that there may well be more stamps that were issued during 2018. Doubtless all will become clear with the passage of time. I have not yet seen news of any new issues for 2020 - one suspects for instance that there will have been an issue on 31 January to commemorate Independence Day as has previously been the case.

VERY MANY THANKS TO ERIC CHAN for passing on the information about these previously unknown stamp issues.