STELLALAND

First stamps issued 1884

NEW REPUBLIC
First stamps issued 1886

As a young stamp collector, I would page

through my British Africa album over the
years, and occasionally notice the single
page for “Stellaland” and two pages for
“New Republic.” I didn’t have any actual
stamps until much later from these oddly
named places, and there weren’t many
varieties to begin with. What were these
African “countries” anyway?
Here is a Stellaland stamp from my collection.
There were just five varieties issued. See the
This is not going to be a deep dive into brown dots on the lower part of this example of
the four pence stamp? That’s called “toning,”
Stellaland and New Republic, but rather a age spots you might say. They detract some
brief overview — with profuse illustrations — from the stamp’s value. I have included a crude
of the odd philatelic history of both short- illustration of the Stellaland coat of arms, below,
lived Boer “republics” on either side of for reference purposes. The stamp is even more
crudely drawn, don’t you think?
today’s South Africa.

Before I learned anything about these mini-

states, my imagination was stirred by their
stamps. What was this coat-of-arms with
stars? Representing a country in the middle
of Africa that even sounded like a star:
Stellaland. As for the New Republic stamps
— what a hoot! They were barely anything
to look at, just violet printing on gray-white
paper. Some stamps had an embossed
coat-of-arms that you could barely make
out. Over time I’d come across these
stamps at auctions and shows. More
recently, I’ve been able to buy a few. I found
a Stellaland set and bought it from Ed Bailey of
Liverpool. The New Republic stamps in my collection
came from lively internet bidding. None of them were
cheap, but at least they were not out of reach. I am
happy to say that when I leaf through my British Africa
album today, I no longer have to endure empty pages for
Stellaland and New Republic!

Above is New Republic stamp from my collection. The notation

tells me I bought it in 2010 for $13.63, and that it is mint/hinged
with gum. The stamp carries the date of Jan. 4, 1887 — the date
of issue, if you will, which seems to have changed every day.
 Now, on to a brief look at
these brief nations. As you
see on the map at left with
fuzzy writing, there is
Stellaland (follow the black
pointer line, center), north This purports to be the flag of the short-
lived New Republic (or Nieuwe Republiek,
of the Cape Colony and in the unique spelling of the Boers). It’s
south of Bechuanaland. actually an amalgam of flags, with the New
Nine hundred miles to the Republic at the top, the British Union Jack
east is New Republic (see at left, the Orange Free State colors in the
middle and at the bottom — Cape Colony.
the other pointer to the
right), extending close to
the coast and the Indian Ocean. Each republic
comprised less than 6,000 square miles, about the size of Connecticut. Their
populations were mostly black, less than one-fifth white/Boer. The republics
sprang into being and evaporated in the 1880s, amid jousting between Boers
from ZAR/Transvaal, indigenous tribes, Brits in London’s colonial office, and the
imperialist juggernaut Cecil Rhodes in Cape
Town.

Stellaland was created in 1882 by a group of

Boer farmers (some call them “freebooters”
and “marauders”) who prevailed over Korana
and Tswana groups. The name (Star Land)
came from a comet that was passing at the
time, sources say. Stellaland was not the
only upstart Boer republic in the region. To
the north, another collection of farmers set
up the biblically-inspired Goshen, also in
1882. Goshen never issued stamps, and
joined forces with Stellaland in 1883, creating
the United States of Stellaland. The validity
of Stellaland’s sovereignty — and its stamps
— was always dubious, as Paul Kruger in the
ZAR and Cecil Rhodes in Cape Town
pursued their various schemes. In February
1884 Britain claimed Stellaland as a
protectorate, but the Boers defied this
unilateral fiat; that same month they began
issuing their own Stellaland stamps —
though the Scott catalogue doesn’t list any Stellaland only issued five varieties of stamps,
from one penny to one shilling. A sixth catalog
cancelled varieties, so one wonders if they listing, of the 4p. with a 2p. surcharge, is
hideously expensive. The listing notes: “The
status of No. 6 has long been questioned.” The
three stamps in my collection — 3p, 4p and 6p
— are the most affordable. I paid $25 for the lot.
ever were used on actual letters in the mail. In the fall, Kruger declared
Stellaland under the ZAR’s protection, then annexed it. This was too much for
the Brits. Sir Charles Warren and his troops marched into Vryburg in December,
and by August 1885, the republic was no more. In 1886 the land became part of
British Bechuanaland, and thence eventually melted into the Union of South
Africa.

At about the same time, Boers far to the east set up their New Republic, also
known also as Vrijheid (Freedom), the name of their capital city. One story is that
the land was ceded to the Boers by the Zulu king, in gratitude for their help in
driving off his tribal challengers. Donald Morris tells it another way in his book,
“The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation.” The Boers
did indeed help Dinuzulu ward off the Usibebu, he writes. “Then the bill was
presented. Some 800 men demanded farms … and almost 3 million acres
disappeared into a New Republic which … proceeded to lay out claims clear
across Zululand to the sea.” The republic was proclaimed by Lucas Johannes
Meyer in August 1884. The Boers jousted with the Brits until 1888, when Great
Britain captured Zululand, with considerable bloodshed (mostly Zulu). The New
Republic sought refuge with Paul Kruger and union with the ZAR. Their
conjoined fates were
sealed by the
Second Boer War in
1900. The territory
became part of
Natal, then after
1910, the Union of
South Africa.

The New Republic

issued two long sets
of stamps between
1886 and 1888 —
64 varieties in all, as
listed in the Scott
catalogue. Postal
clerks in Vrijheid
dutifully date-
stamped each label,
by hand. This is one
of the few instances
I know of in philately
where unique
stamps were
Here is most of my collection of New Republic stamps. In addition to the 1p
described earlier, there is a 2p that I note has a tear (I still paid $10.50 for it)
and a 9p that I note has no gum, but which cost me $25.
 created on successive days. I’m
not sure why the Boer postal
authorities thought this was
necessary. To prevent fraud? To
give clerks something to do? As a
philatelist I wonder: Has anyone
managed to collect a complete set
of daily New Republic stamps? It
sure would be costly!

Later issues were embossed with a

raised impression of the republic’s
busy coat-or-arms that is barely
visible (see left). Maybe the
impressions were sharper when
they appeared at the post offices in
Utrecht and Volksrust in 1886 and
1887.

Here is my example of an embossed New Republic stamp.

There is a certain fairy-tale quality

This set did not include date stamps. My stamp was not to these stamps. I won’t call them
cheap — I paid $17.94. You should be able to make out the Cinderellas, but they were only
coat-of-arms — I tried to angle the stamp in the light to quasi-postage stamps. (What’s a
emphasize the raised image. For reference, an illustration
of the New Republic coat-of-arms is below. I can
Cinderella? Check out my blog —
multiple posts in 2017-8.) New
distinguish the banner and the outlines, and even the shield
in the center. The motto, Eendragt, Regtvaardigheid, Republic stamps were valid on
Enliefde means “Unity, Justice and Charity.” letters mailed inside the New
Republic itself. Nieuwe Republiek
stamps were accepted by the
neighboring Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free
State, as well as Portugal, which presided over nearby
Mozambique. Germany also recognized the New
Republic, and may have accepted letters mailed to its
new outposts in East Africa. But for mail elsewhere,
stamps from Transvaal/ZAR or Natal were required. It
seems the Unive rsal Postal Union, established in 1874,
did not accept New Republic stamps as valid for
international postage. How’s that for humiliating?

That, my dears, is all I have to say about Stellaland and

New Republic. Any questions?

TO BE CONTINUED