Postmarked: Wallis and Futuna
Meet the tiny works of art that inspire travel dreams around the world
One of my sailor friends, Manuel Ribeiro, is a world explorer and a true ocean adventurer. He is currently in the Philippines, having sailed his catamaran many thousands of miles on his “slow circumnavigation”. We met in Moorea many years ago and have become good friends who hope to share the same anchorage again one day.
Meanwhile, we keep in touch, and recently he told me in an email that Wallis and Futuna are on his list of countries he’d like to visit because of the stamps. He said he has been curious about coming here since he was a very young stamp collector, adding “The stamps of Wallis and Futuna had beautiful illustrations and, for some reason, there were plenty of them in my father’s collection!”
I asked him to tell me more about how he came to be interested in stamps, and why the stamps of the tiny kingdom of Wallis and Futuna were special to him and his dad.
The story he wrote back to me is a perfect addition to this essay. It is beautifully written and paints a wonderful picture of the hobby that he and his father enjoyed together, and how it influenced his dream of traveling here.
“My dad worked for a large shipyard in Portugal, that built and maintained large ships and marine structures. As part of his job as project manager, he had a lot of contact with foreign companies and traveled to some remote locations. In parallel, he always enjoyed geography and had a fantastic memory, knowing each country’s name, capital, flag, major rivers, etc.
I’m not sure about how he got involved with stamp collecting, but I do remember him cutting out stamps from mail he received, soaking them in water until the stamp came off, drying and carefully adding them to his album, organized by country, stamp emission date, etc. Sometimes, he would come home with stacks of stamps that he received from friends, who would cut out the stamps and leave the rest to my dad (and me, as I joined the effort) to organize.
These stamps from all over the world told stories, celebrated events, displayed local fauna/flora, or simply recognized relevant people. For me, as a young boy, it was a discovery well beyond what the history or geography books at school taught me.
At the time, teaching in school was mostly focused on Portugal and its overseas territories (then known as “colonies”) and, to a lesser extent, Europe. Stamps, and the related conversations I would have with my dad as we soaked, dried, and archived the stamps, opened a new world, as he took the opportunity to share what he knew about those countries.
I learned about some new countries through their stamps, and Wallis and Futuna was one such case. It was never mentioned in my geography classes, and if I had asked my teachers they might be puzzled. But from looking at the beautiful stamp illustrations and the remoteness of the place (literally the other side of the world), those islands became part of the list of countries I’d like to visit one day.”
Quite a few of the small island nations in the South Pacific, including Wallis and Futuna, are renowned for their unique postage stamps. Most are limited-run commemorative stamps, which rarely see local use as postage, but are popular with the international stamp collector market. The revenue generated from international sales has positive impact on the local economy, and their unique themes and limited availability make them valuable collector’s items, prized by philatelists around the world.
Wallis and Futuna’s first stamps were overprinted stamps from New Caledonia, marked with “ILES WALLIS – et – FUTUNA”. They started issuing their own stamps in 1944, and since then have produced annual issues that cover various themes.
Yesterday, I visited the Post Office in the village of Mata Utu to see these treasures for myself. The sign outside is shaped like a postage stamp, but that’s not actually where you buy them.
For that you need to go to the “Centre Philatelique”, which is in a nearby building. It’s a wonderland for stamp collectors, with fascinating issues on display in glass cases. Here you can buy individual stamps, sheets of stamps, and post cards.
Wallis and Futuna stamps are precious tiny works of art, created by local and international artists, that tell “contes et legendes” - tales and legends of island life. They are a unique form of philatelic promotion that builds awareness of these amazing islands and attracts visitors – an international marketing effort that actually works, as we learned from Manuel’s story. They are widely appreciated for their depictions of history, culture, nature, and design.
Some even have political themes, such as this unique stamp from 2020 that features General Charles de Gaulle, and commemorates the 80th Anniversary of his “Appeal Speech” on June 18, 1940, which urged the French people to not be demoralized and resist occupation at that point in WW2.
The Centre Philatelique also sells little envelopes that feature the artwork of a stamp, an actual stamp, and a dated postmark with the title of the issue. These are strictly collector’s items, not meant to be mailed, but they are beautiful, and I can see why they are popular.
You never know what is going to fuel your dreams of travel and exploration, or how they will manifest. Travel to these little-known islands was never on my radar before this year. Unlike Manuel, I knew little about Wallis and Futuna, and even less about their stamps before we sailed here. But I love the idea that years ago, a little boy in Portugal imagined himself coming here, based on what he saw on a postage stamp.
Sail on fearless crew! LJ
Attention All Hands: There was an amazing response to the offer to send a postcard to the first 5 crewmembers that comment on this post with “SEND ME ONE”. The postcards will be mailed tomorrow, let’s see how long they take to get there from this remote little island. Fingers crossed!!!
To all my constant readers, thank you for coming along on this voyage with us. I’m amazed and very grateful that you are interested in my writing. It brings me joy. Please invite your friends and family to join us. All are welcome onboard SV Duende.
If you are new to the crew, you should start at the beginning of this adventure with the Duende Origin Story Part 1 (and 2, and 3, and 4).
Hello Linda, I am Manuel’s sister Teresa. Manuel sent me your beautiful link and I thank you so much for having written the beautiful story about Wallis et Fortune, about the beautiful comments of my brother about our father and his love to the stamps collection😘I do remember those stamps and I remember very well that Manuel liked very much helping our father and, as far as I remember, I also liked to order and see the stamps and being with them and ordering together too. A beautiful real-family-story🙏thank you😘⛵️
Hi Linda, what an interesting history about the background of the Wallis and Futuna stamps. Such beautiful artwork too. Love the link to the story with your friend Manuel’s childhood memories about stamp collecting. So fascinating.