Fiji - Where The New Millennium Begins (Fiji Millennium Stamps) Home, The Collection, Go to Order Page, Mailing List

Release Date: 1st January 2000

Fiji is an island nation centrally placed in the mid-South Pacific, composed of more than 330 individual islands lying between longitudes 175 and 177 West and latitudes 15 and 22 South. Its multi-racial diversity and ethnicity, along with a warm climate and an even warmer welcome from its people, have long contributed to Fiji being a popular tourism destination.

Witnessing the first rays of sunshine of the new Millennium was cause for champagne corks to fly in a variety of locations, several challenging Fiji's claim to be the first such vantage point in the world. Fiji is the only easily accessible country to have the date line (the 180th meridian) running through some of its islands; for years, Fiji has proudly proclaimed that it is, literally, where each new day begins.

But the Millennium had to be more than a party. As the world made ready for 365 days of the Year 2000, Fiji sought to depict the spirit of the new century and one of the ways it did this was with the very special release of a series of eight stamps four artist's concepts of this intriguing island nation; four of which commemorate some of the country's endemic and unique flora and fauna.

Artist Joe Nasau depicted a Fiji history linking the last century with the new one: a giant sailing canoe called a drua which aided these master mariners in covering the 650,000 square kilometres of ocean which makes up Fiji; and a warrior beating the ceremonial lali alongside a temple called the bure kalou. The lali is still used today, a call to prayer, to councils, as a greeting to visitors… and now as a greeting to the Year 2000.

Fourteen-year-old student of LDS Technical College, Myron Williams thought the country's flag best-illustrated the past and future of a nation which, as he depicted with a vibrant dateline, marks the dawning of not only a new day, but a new era.

ENDEMIC SPECIES

Rich in bird and plant life seen nowhere else on earth, Fiji greets the new Millennium by giving special pride-of-place to four of its most remarkable endemic species, illustrated by Muni Deo Raj. Chosen were the national flower, the seldom-seen Tagimaucia; the Crested Iguana, first discovered about two decades ago; Red or 'Sacred' Prawns found in only two Fiji pools; and the Fiji Petrel, a bird so rare it has been sighted live only once in the last 145 years!

(mini sheet shown srnaller than actual size)

The Tagimaucia (Medinilla waterhousei) - Fiji's national flower is rarely seen by anyone for two reasons: it grows only around Lake Tagimaucia in Taveuni and a lone mountain top in Vanua Levu, both area rugged and difficult terrain, and because, when not in flower, it is difficult to spot. But when it is in flower, the snow-white petals hanging from bright scarlet covers on this climbing vine are as bright and gaudy as a Christmas decoration. Little wonder, then, that a Fijian legend enhances the vines' heritage. The legend is a love story, of course, about a beautiful young girl betrothed to a wealthy but old man. When she runs away rather than marry, she becomes lost in the bush and fails asleep. When found, it was said that a beautiful red and white flower appeared wherever her tears touched the vine. Tagimaucia, in Fijian, translates as 'crying in your sleep'.

The Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) is the most recently discovered of two Fiji iguanas, one banded, one crested. Discovered by Dr. John Gibbons in the early 1980s, the Crested Iguana may have arrived in Fiji, at least in egg form, from South America, floating on current-carried vegetation. The large, bright green reptile has been found in large numbers on Yaduataba, an island off the coast of Vanua Levu. Sometimes a metre long in length, the iguana lives high in the branches of Yaduataba's trees, well camouflaged by its coloration. It is not aggressive - but has sharp claws.

Red Prawns (Parhippolyte uveae) probably exist in Fiji because their bright red colour created village superstitions, which promised shipwreck, even death to those who were tempted to remove them. Called sacred prawns by Fijians (or 'ura buta' - cooked prawn - because of their colour) they are found in only two locations in Fiji: the island of Vatulele and Naweni Village on Vanua Levu. Both habitats are lava rock pools with salty, brackish water, near but not connected to the sea. In both locations, villagers need chiefly approval to approach the ponds, and both areas practice a solemn ritual of 'calling the prawns' to which the prawns seem to respond.

The Fiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi) is perhaps the world's rarest bird. A naturalist on board 'HMS Herald' collected a single specimen from Gau Island in 1865, transporting its carcass to the British Museum. Fiji biologist Dr. Dick Watling, assisted by Ratu Filipe Lewanavanua of Gau, were convinced the bird was not extinct. In seven visits to the island and 61 days of combing its rugged terrain and dense rainforest, the two were rewarded with the capture, in April 1984, of a single adult Fiji Petrel which flew into their mist net, possibly in response to amplified calls of another island seabird. The Fiji Petrel, seen for the first time in 145 years, was photographed and released. Further searches proved fruitless, and the dark chocolate-coloured bird with pale blue feet has never been sighted since.

Fiji greets the new Millennium with something almost as rare as it's featured endemic
species: an offer of peace and tranquillity.

COVER PAGE

The Gold Millennium Edition

Technical Details

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