New Zealand 1940 Centennial Maori Landing in New Zealand 1/2d Stamps Used. 

The half penny stamp features the designers impression of the arrival of Maori in New Zealand. The stamp shows emaciated and exhausted Maori struggling up the beach after weeks spent battling the oceans and weather in open canoes.

Planning for the commemorative 1940 Centennial of British Sovereignty issue began in 1936. The stamps were designed by James Berry and Leonard Mitchell, both of Wellington and were selected from designs submitted by 19 artists. Most of the stamps designs were dual-color.