http://www.stampandcoin.co.uk APRIL 2016 55I
t was founded in 1882,
on 6,000 square miles of
land granted to a group of
around 400 Boer settlers
by Mosweu, a Kora Chief,
in return for their having
helped him defeat a local rival,
Mankuroane. The settlers decided
they should turn this grant into an
independent nation. Legend has
it that while camped out on what
would soon become their capital,
Vryburg, a group of them looked
up at the sky, saw the comet and
decided on the name.
The new nation soon acquired
a coat of arms, as shown on this
stamp (it was also on its flag, briefly;
Stellaland managed to have three
different flags during its short
existence). The top left corner shows a
korhaan, a type of bustard, the symbol
of Mosweu. The top right star was the
emblem of the new country. The scales
signify justice. The skewered fish,
bottom right, are the symbol of the
defeated Mankuroane. The pugnacious
motto means ‘Armed and Justified’.
In 1883, Stellaland merged with a
neighbouring mini-country, similarly
set up by mercenaries rewarded for
intervening in another local dispute,
and became the grand-sounding
United States of Stellaland. It had apopulation of around 25,000.
Stamps, an essential part of a
new nation’s identity, were issued
in February 1884. Five values were
produced, the penny illustrated here,
an orange 3d (‘drie pence’ in Anglo-Stellaland was named after a comet that was blazing across the sky at
the time it was founded. The name proved appropriate: like the comet,
Stellaland was soon gone, but the unique place gave us a handful of
intriguing stamps to collect, writes Chris WestStamp stories
Stamps of Stellaland
Afrikaans), a grey 4d, a purple 6d
and a green shilling; Stellaland used
the currency of the neighbouring
‘South African Republic’ in what is
now Transvaal. A set is worth about
£200, more if the stamps are postally
used. There was no cancelling stamp
at the Vryburg post office; used
examples have the elegant initials of
postmaster Ferdinand Hartzenburg
handwritten on them.
There are also handsome revenue
stamps of denominations up to£5, which show the coat of arms
supported by two lions. There is
even an overprint: it is not known
if these are official, but someone
printed ‘Twee’ (Two) on some of the
grey 4d stamps. These can be worthseveral thousand pounds, if genuine;
forgeries are common.
Sadly, Stellaland did not last much
longer than the comet. Like many
small nations, it found itself caught
between two bigger ones, in this
case the Boers in Transvaal and the
British. Eight months after this stamp
appeared, Stellaland was annexed by
Transvaal. Three months after that,
the British marched in. In August
1885, the United States of Stellaland
was officially abolished and became
part of British Bechuanaland. The
stamps were taken out of use that
December, and any ones left sold to
a Suffolk-based stamp dealer, Charles
Whitfield King.
Conflict between Boers and Britons
continued to build, culminating in
the war of 1899 to 1902, which ended
with a British victory.
Stellaland has resurfaced in modern
political debate thanks to far-right
groups who want to establish a
white-dominated state there. There
seems little support for this locally:
in recent elections, almost everybody
in the area voted for the ANC or
their centrist rivals the Democratic
Alliance. Vryburg is now a town of
50,000 people. A centre for the cattle
industry, it is nicknamed the Texas
of South Africa, because of the beef
but also because of Stellaland’s old
one-star emblem and the independent
frontier mindset of its founders,
which lives on in this stamp.See page 66 for our in-depth guide to the
postal history of the Cape of Good HopeProfessional writer Chris West has
written about many different subjects,
from crime fiction through history to
how to start a business. He has written
two books on stamps, including First
Class: A History of Britain in 36 Postage
Stamps. For more information visit his
website: http://www.chriswest.infoLegend has it that while camped out on
what would soon become their capital,
Vryburg, a group of settlers looked up at the
sky, saw the comet and decided on the name
The Stellaland Republic
lasted just three
years before it was
absorbed into British
Bechuanaland in 1885,
which became part of
the Cape of Good Hope
ten years laterp55 Stamp story.indd 55 01/03/2016 11:34