NEW HEBRIDES

NEW HEBRIDES / NOUVELLES-HÉBRIDES CONDOMINIUM.

Definitive stamps.
Port Vila and Iririki Island.
Third stamp in a set of 11, issued on 03.09.1957 (issue in French language).
Face value: 15 New Hebrides goldcentimes.
Printing: Recess.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 185.
- Scott No. 100 (French issue).
- StampWorld No. 185.

- Stanley Gibbons No. 98 (French issue).

- Yvert et Tellier No. 177.

Port Vila is the capital and the most populous city of Vanuatu (44,039 inhabitants according to the 2009 census). Located on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, it is the economic and commercial center of the country, and its port and airport are the most important in Vanuatu. The area occupied by Port Vila has been inhabited by Melanesian people for thousands of years. An archaeological expedition discovered in 2004 a burial site of 25 tombs containing three dozen skeletons of members of the Lapita culture; Pieces of ceramics found at the site were dated to the 13th century BC. The first Europeans to land on the site, in May 1606, were Portuguese explorers led by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós and Luís Vaz de Torres. At the end of the 19th century, French citizen Ferdinand Chevillard purchased land around present-day Port Vila to turn it into the largest French plantation on the island. Thus was born the municipality of Franceville, which declared independence on August 9, 1889. From 1887, the territory of the New Hebrides was administered jointly by the French and the British, and in 1906 it was formalized as an Anglo-French condominium, which it was maintained until the independence of Vanuatu (July 30, 1980).

Iririki Island (0.18 km² or 0.07 sq mi) is located in Mele Bay, opposite Port Vila. Since 2004 it has been privately owned by an Australian businessman, who since 2018 has managed a resort and a casino.

NEW HEBRIDES

NEW HEBRIDES CONDOMINIUM (now Vanuatu).

Map of the archipielago.
Second stamp in a set of 13, issued on 06.09.1977 (issue in French language).
Face value: 10 New Hebrides francs.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 29 x 43 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 487.
- Scott No. 559.
- StampWorld No. 487.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 257.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 496.

New Hebrides Condominium (in French, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides) was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three thousand years before the first Europeans arrived in 1606 from a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. The islands were colonised by both the British and French in the 18th century, shortly after Captain James Cook visited. The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium that divided New Hebrides into two separate communities: one Anglophone and one Francophone. The independent Republic of Vanuatu was created on 30 July 1980. 

NEW HEBRIDES

NEW HEBRIDES CONDOMINIUM (now Vanuatu).

Map of Erromango island (native name: Nelocompne).
891.9 km2 / 344.4 sq mi.
First stamp in a set of 13, issued on 06.09.1977 (issue in French language).
Face value: 5 New Hebrides francs.

Catalogues
- Scott No. 258.
- StampWorld No. 473.
- Stanley Gibbons No. F256.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 495.

Erromango, Nelocompne in the native language, covers an area of 891.9 km² (344.4 sq mi). The island, in the Coral Sea, is an ancient underwater volcano that rose above sea level due to tectonic movements. It was colonized by the Lapita people from Southeast Asia about 3,000 years ago. James Cook was the first European to set foot on the island on August 4, 1774, and from 1804 whalers were regular visitors. The discovery of large sandalwood reserves attracted many outsiders, and during the 19th century this sparked conflict between indigenous people and traders. The missionaries had great difficulty establishing themselves on the island. Erromango was part of the Franco-British condominium of the New Hebrides, and now is an island of Vanuatu (independent State from July 30, 1980).