The hard work has paid off for Tauranga philatelists. For only the third time since the prestigious Ambury Shield was created in 1949, a team representing Tauranga District Stamp Club has won the inter-club competition.

Eight Tauranga residents spent months researching, writing and presenting their 11 entries to take the top spot – and placed just three points ahead of their nearest competitor, Waikato.

The shield was presented to the northern North Island team at the largest stamp competition and exhibition in the region on November 2 in Hamilton. Pyes Pa resident Jill Nutsford also took home the Novice Trophy for her first-ever entry.

“Judges looked at the layout of the submissions, the knowledge that you show, and the condition of the stamps,” said Tauranga District Stamp Club president Ross Haycock.

“We decided to blitz it this year. We held three workshops to give our entrants feedback, to shape and mould the entries until we had something worthwhile there.”

Submissions could be based on any topic or theme, like stamps related to Rotary Club or featuring Jersey dairy cows, for example. One of Haycock’s entries focused on vintage postcards of French cathedrals while another presented his research on the Machin £1 stamp from Great Britain.

“It’s the attention to detail, the history and the stories behind stamps that interest me,” said Haycock.

The club is also encouraging more children to get involved in the Distant Juniors.

“There are about 25 youngsters who collect stamps with themes like horses or flowers – whatever interests them,” said Haycock.

“One 4-year-old who collects car stamps was gifted a toy car as a prize at the last meeting. We want to encourage the younger set of collectors to bridge that gap between them and the current members whose average age is 65 to 70.”

To get involved with Tauranga District Stamp Club, phone 07 578 0930 or email: jillnutsford@gmail.com.