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New Zealand postal addresses follow the same format as much of the English-speaking world. There are four kinds of address depending on the mode of delivery:
- Street address, in which mail is delivered directly to homes by the 'postie';
- PO Box address, in which mail is delivered to a private box, usually at a 'Post Shop' (formerly Post Office) for collection;
- Private Bag, in which a private mail bag is delivered to an organisation such as a large company or a government department; and
- Rural Delivery, used in rural areas for home deliveries.
Post Code system
New Zealand's post code system was introduced in June 2006, and unlike the previous system, are required for all items of mail, whether sent from within the country, or from overseas.
Old Post Code system
Post codes were first introduced in New Zealand in 1977, but these were used entirely for pre-sorting large volumes of mail in bulk, similar to the Mailsort system used by Royal Mail in the United Kingdom. Consequently, post codes were not usually seen in addresses:
- New Zealand Post
- Private Bag 39 990
- WELLINGTON
New Zealand Post did not require individual items of mail to include the post code in the address, as optical character recognition (OCR) enabled automated sorting machines to scan entire addresses, rather than just post codes, as is the case with older machines. Until the early 1990s, all mail was sorted manually.
Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were divided into postal zones, which were incorporated into the post code system for use in bulk mailings. For example, for the former Wellington 4:
- Flat 2
- 173 Park Road
- Johnsonville
- WELLINGTON 6004
In the cities and large towns, the last two digits indicate the mode of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in Palmerston North:
Street address:
- 43 Vogel Street
- PALMERSTON NORTH 5301
PO Box address:
- PO Box 4000
- PALMERSTON NORTH 5315
Private Bag address
- Private Bag 11222
- PALMERSTON NORTH 5320
Rural Delivery address
- Railway Road
- RD 10
- PALMERSTON NORTH 5321
Generally, each PO Box or Private Bag number range had its own post code, although there were often cases in which a post code was used for several number ranges in the same city, for example, in South Auckland:
- PO Box 51000
- PAKURANGA 1730
- Private Bag 76912
- MANUKAU 1730
- PO Box 38234
- HOWICK 1730
NB: New Zealand Post recommends that no space is inserted between the letters 'P' and 'O' in 'PO Box' or 'R' and 'D' in 'RD'.
New Post Code System
Starting in June 2006, a new postcode system is in use. There are 1850 postcodes, with up to 10000 locations in each code. The postcodes start with 0 in Northland and progress southward, ending with codes starting with 9 in Otago and Southland.- Flat 2
- 173 Park Road
- Johnsonville
- WELLINGTON 5010
In the cities and large towns, the last two digits indicate the mode of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in Palmerston North:
Street address:
- 43 Vogel Street
- PALMERSTON NORTH 4414
PO Box address:
- PO Box 4000
- PALMERSTON NORTH 4440
Private Bag address
- Private Bag 11222
- PALMERSTON NORTH 4442
Rural Delivery address
- Railway Road
- RD 10
- PALMERSTON NORTH 4470
Whereas under the old system, there were often cases in which a post code was used for several PO Box number ranges in the same city, each now has a separate postcode:
- PO Box 51000
- PAKURANGA 2140
- Private Bag 76912
- MANUKAU 2240
- PO Box 38234
- HOWICK 2145
Māori Names
New Zealand Post recognises Māori names for cities and towns in New Zealand, for example, the Māori Language Commission's address is:
- Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
- Pouaka Poutāpeta 411
- TE WHANGANUI A TARA 6140
In English, this translates as:
- Māori Language Commission
- PO Box 411
- WELLINGTON 6140
In spite of the considerable difference between the two languages, there was no need to add the post code under the old system, which in this case would have been 6015.
Freepost
Mail to the New Zealand Parliament is delivered free of charge to the sender. The cost is deducted from the member's budget:
- Rt Hon. Helen Clark MP
- Parliament Buildings
- WELLINGTON 6011
Other freepost mail includes a unique number as well as the PO Box or Private Bag number:
- CARM
- Freepost No. 112002
- PO Box 913
- DUNEDIN 9054
External links
- New Zealand Post
- New Zealand adopts postcodes - article in The Times June 1, 2006
- New Zealand enters brave new world of postcodes - article on Nine Network website, May 31, 2006
"New Zealand postal addresses"