Title
1989 Vanuatu Port Vila Bay Aerial View Iririki Island Efate South Pacific Postcard
Front
Colour aerial photographic view looking down over Port Vila Bay on the island of Efate, Vanuatu, taken from an aircraft at moderate altitude.
The bay occupies the centre and left of the image as a broad sheet of water, shading from deep blue-green in the outer channel through brilliant turquoise over the shallow reef flats to pale aquamarine along the shoals. A long pale submerged reef spit runs diagonally across the lower left.
At the centre of the bay lies the small wooded island of Iririki, oval in shape and densely covered in dark green vegetation, with scattered white-roofed resort bungalows visible among the trees, a jetty projecting from its eastern shore and small craft moored in the sheltered water around it.
The right-hand side of the frame is filled with the town of Port Vila, its buildings following the curve of the harbour shore. The waterfront commercial strip of the town centre runs along the upper right with closely packed roofs, wharves and a coastal road, while the residential suburbs spread inland over green ridges dotted with houses, gardens, roads and areas of bush. At the lower right and bottom edge further settlement, roads and open sports ground are visible.
The upper part of the image is occupied by a long forested peninsula, likely Malapoa, running from the left across the top of the frame, its slopes wooded and its higher ground scattered with buildings, with a road running along the shoreline and surf breaking on the outer coast at the upper left.
Printed in yellow italic script across the lower right of the image: “Greetings from VANUATU”
Back
Divided-back colour postcard, printed text in dark brown.
Printed at the upper left:
“VANUATU
Aerial view of Port Vila Bay”
Printed at the upper centre within a device of two palm trees:
“Nu-COLOR-VUE South Pacific PRODUCTION”
Printed at the right within the ruled address box: “ADDRESS” and, at the lower right of the box, “POSTCODE”
Printed at the lower right:
“COPYRIGHT
Nucolorvue Productions Pty. Ltd.
Telephone: (03) 560-1788
Made in Australia.”
Postage: one New Caledonia airmail stamp, 44 francs, printed in black and orange on a cream ground, reproducing a design of stylised engraved figures and foliage after the artist C. Ohlen, with a decorated engraved bamboo tube illustrated in a panel at the foot. Inscribed at the top “RF Nouvelle-Calédonie 44 f”, at the foot “les bambous gravés”, with “POSTE AÉRIENNE 89” printed vertically at the right and the credits “ARQUER” and “COATANTIEC” in the lower margin. The stamp is tied by a circular datestamp, with a wavy-line machine cancellation across the upper centre of the card.
A violet oval tourist cachet is struck across the lower centre, depicting a lighthouse and reading in part “PHARE AMÉDÉE — NOUVELLE CALÉDONIE”.
Handwritten in blue ballpoint in the message panel at left:
“Russell
Please keep this card for stamp for Valerie
Great Trip
Love Mum”
Handwritten in blue ballpoint in the address panel at right:
“Mr R. J. Rogers
14 Dickson Place
Hardinge
W. Aust. 6163”
Estimated Era
1989 or very shortly after. The New Caledonian airmail stamp used to frank the card belongs to the “les bambous gravés” issue and carries the year 1989 within its “POSTE AÉRIENNE 89” inscription, giving a firm earliest date; the Amédée lighthouse cachet indicates the card was carried and posted through New Caledonia during the same South Pacific journey. The state is styled Vanuatu, the name adopted at independence from the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides in July 1980, so the card cannot predate that year. The publisher, Nucolorvue Productions Pty Ltd of Melbourne, issued this “Nu-Color-Vue South Pacific Production” series through the 1980s, and the six-digit Melbourne telephone number with the (03) prefix is consistent with the period before the Australian numbering change of the mid 1990s. A date of about 1985 to 1989 for the printing and 1989 or 1990 for the postal use is most probable.
Note: Coins & Banknotes Grading
- Please
closely inspect the photos to understand the condition of the coins or
banknotes before proceeding with your purchase, as grading can be
subjective and varies from person to person. - Please do not place too much hope on grading companies to grade the notes accurately, as they can be notoriously inconsistent.
- Different graders have different opinions, eye factors, and knowledge that influence the final grading.
- Even grading companies do not guarantee that you will get the outcome of your desired grading.
- If
you have any questions or require additional information, I am more
than happy to assist. Please feel free to contact me anytime.
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cheap. We strive to keep the shipping costs as low as possible,
sometimes even absorbing a portion of the costs. All orders are sent
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