More than 100 years ago, pigeons carrying mail ruled the skies between New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island and the mainland.
In 1896, a reporter visiting the island on assignment brought with him a pigeon belonging to pigeon fancier Walter Fricker to fly his story back to the newspaper in Auckland rather than wait for arrival of the next transport ship.
The bird made the 60-mile trip in less than two hours.
A year later, Fricker established the Great Barrier Pigeongram Agency, which is often credited as the world’s first regular commercial airmail service. It offered island residents the opportunity to send correspondence at a pace faster than the weekly steamer ship visit provided.
Fricker’s company was soon joined by competing pigeon post services, leading to some confusion and another innovation: the first airmail stamps. The stamps were used to distinguish the services from one another and are prized by collectors.
Birds were sent to the island weekly by boat and flew back to Auckland with up to five messages per bird written on tissue paper and attached to their legs. The birds were trained to fly the reverse route, but it cost twice as much to send messages from the mainland this way.
Pigeon mail flourished until 1908 when the first telegraph cables were laid between Great Barrier Island and the mainland, making the service unnecessary.
Daily flights now transport mail and packages to and from the island.
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