TASMAN FLIGHT.

Hokitika Guardian, 17 July 1928, Page 4

TASMAN FLIGHT.

A PHILATELIC QUESTION

The forthcoming visit to New Zealand of Captain Kingston! Smith in the Southern Cross raises an interesting question for local philatelists. It is being asked: “Will our Government follow precedents by taking tho opportunity of issuing special air stamps for the return flight?” The collecting of air stamps has become an important branch of philately in the past few years, and almost every pioneer lias been postally signalised by the carriage of special mail, franked either by distinctive adhesives, or with the stamps of the country from which the flight started obliterated with a- special cancellation. AA’hethor the Southern Cross brought a mail to Australia on her recent epic air voyage across the Pacific has not transpired, but it would be of considerable interest to Australian and New Zealand collectors if this now famous aeroplane were to carry special mails between the Commonwealth and tho Dominion on her trip to and from this country. There would he an eager demand for envelopes which had been mailed on the pioneer flight across the Tasman. Once it -became known that such a mail was to lie carried, in fact, the rush to- secure stamps for franking letters by the. Southern Cross would doubtless be so great as to tax tho big ’plane to accommodate the mail bags. ‘