Postage stamps and postal history of Vanuatu

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Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, is in the South Pacific. From 1906 to 1980 it was an Anglo-French Condominium, so Britain and France both issued stamps for the islands. There were also joint issues marked EIIR (Elizabeth II Regina) for Britain and RF (République Française) for France.

The first British stamps (1908–1910) were created by overprinting Fiji stamps with "NEW HEBRIDES / CONDOMINIUM." A later joint issue bore the word "NEW HEBRIDES" and showed coats of arms for both nations, with denominations in British currency. When stocks ran low in 1920, many values were surcharged "1d." or "2d." and new stamps appeared in different colors; more surcharges followed in 1924.

In 1925 there was another joint issue of nine values, with both pence and centimes on the same stamp. The British version showed pence on the right and used the "multiple crown and script CA" watermark; the French version showed centimes on the left, read "NOUVELLES HEBRIDES," and used RF watermark. Because the franc weakened, the two currencies were aligned in 1938 by issuing stamps in the same currency, the gold franc. The 1938 issues all depict a beach scene and are inscribed "NEW HEBRIDES" at the top and "CONDOMINIUM" at the bottom.

After World War II there were commonly used Commonwealth designs, with New Hebrides-specific issues appearing from 1967. The French stamps followed a similar pattern to the British, starting with 1908–1910 overprints on New Caledonia issues; a 1911 joint issue read "NOUVELLES HÉBRIDES" with centimes, and 1912 on RF paper. Surplus issues were surcharged in 1920. In 1941, some stamps were overprinted "France Libre" to show Free French control.

Postwar stamps mostly matched British styles but carried French inscriptions. After independence in 1980, stamps have been issued under the name Vanuatu. Earlier, in 1897, an inter-island postal service run by the Australasian New Hebrides Company issued two local stamps, but the service failed and the remaining stock was sold to dealers.