- Postcodes in New Zealand
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In June 2006, New Zealand introduced a new postcode system, which, unlike the previous system, applies to all items of mail, from June 2008.
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 was the case with older machines. Until the early 1990s, all mail was sorted manually.
There are 1856 4-digit postcodes, each of which may serve up to 10000 individual locations. They start with 0 in Northland and progress southward, ending with codes starting with 9 in Otago and Southland.
The first two digits specify the area, the third digit specifies the type of delivery (street, PO Box, Private Bag, or Rural delivery), and the last digit specifies the specific lobby, RD (rural delivery) number, or suburb.
In October 2008, New Zealand Post launched a 'remember your postcode' campaign, offering a NZ$ 10 000 prize for remembering a postcode.[1]
Contents
Modes of delivery
In cities and large towns, the last two digits indicate one of the four modes of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in Palmerston North:
- Street address, in which mail is delivered directly to homes by the 'postie';
- 43 Vogel Street
- Roslyn
- Palmerston North 4414
- PO Box address, in which mail is delivered to a private box, usually at a Post Shop (formerly Post Office), for collection;
- PO Box 400
- Palmerston North Central
- Palmerston North 4440
- Private Bag, in which a private mail bag is delivered to an organisation such as a large company or a government department
- Private Bag 11222
- Manawatu Mail Centre
- Palmerston North 4442
- Rural Delivery, used in rural areas for home deliveries.
- Railway Road
- RD 10
- Palmerston North 4470
Suburbs
Under the new system, some suburbs in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch now either have their own postcode, or share one with fewer suburbs. For example, whereas the old postcode 1003 covered Epsom, Mount Eden, and Mount Albert, these suburbs now have separate postcodes from one another.
- 6 Ferryhill Road
- Epsom
- Auckland 1023
- 2 Avenham Walk
- Mount Eden
- Auckland 1024
- 3 Laurel Sreet
- Mount Albert
- Auckland 1025
PostShop lobbies
Each PostShop lobby now has its own postcode. Under the old system, some covered several PO Box or Private Bag number ranges in the same city, for example, whereas 1730 was used for several PO Box number ranges in South Auckland, each now has its own postcode:
- PO Box 51000
- Pakuranga
- Manukau 2140
- Private Bag 76912
- Manukau City
- Manukau 2241
- PO Box 38234
- Howick
- Manukau 2145
Repartition of postcodes
Here below is a table that - for each first postcode digit - indicates in which government regions the addresses are[2]:
Code prefix Regions 0 Northland, parts of Auckland 1 Auckland 2 Auckland, Waikato 3 Bay of Plenty, Waikato 4 Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui 5 Wellington 6 Wellington 7 Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast, Canterbury 8 Canterbury 9 Otago, Southland Previous system
Although postcodes were first introduced in New Zealand in 1977, these were used entirely for pre-sorting large volumes of mail in bulk,[3] 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 39990
- Wellington Mail Centre
- Lower Hutt
Under the old system, 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 cities and large towns, the last two digits indicated the mode of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in Palmerston North:
Street address:
- 43 Vogel Street
- Palmerston North 5301
Post Office Box address:
- P O Box 4000
- Palmerston North 5315
Private Bag address
- Private Bag 11222
- Palmerston North 5320
Rural Delivery address
- Railway Road
- R D 10
- Palmerston North 5321
NB: Prior to the changeover, New Zealand Post also required that a space was inserted between the letters 'P' and 'O' in 'PO Box' or 'R' and 'D' in 'RD'.[4]
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 Members of the New Zealand Parliament is delivered free of charge for individuals (organisations must pay regular rates). The cost is deducted from the Member's budget.
- Rt Hon John Key
- Prime Minister
- Private Bag 18888
- Parliament Buildings
- Wellington 6160
Other Freepost mail includes a unique number as well as the PO Box or Private Bag number:
- Freepost 112002
- CARM
- PO Box 913
- Dunedin 9054
Third party registered postal operators
Until recently NZ post has had the majority of influence on Private Box rentals. But now DX Mail and Private Box provide an alternative solution for people who need a remote box address. Along with the new competitors in the marketplace NZ Post may find it difficult to keep up with the new addressing system, which is why they have set a standard for addressing mail.
References
- ^ NZ Post launches `remember your postcode` campaign NZPA, October 10, 2008
- ^ New Zealand Postcode Database - downloadable MySQL database of new NZ postcodes
- ^ About Postcodes
- ^ New Zealand Post, Addressing and Layout Guide, July 2002
External links
- New Zealand Post
- NZ Post The $10,000 Question
- Old Post Code finder
- 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 Postcode Database - downloadable MySQL database of new NZ postcodes
- Postcode Perimeter Search for New Zealand
Categories:- Postal system of New Zealand
- Postal codes by country
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