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Introduction
Hundreds Even Thousands Of Years Since The Time Of The Ancient Egyptians Pigeons Have Been Used As Postage Birds For Carrying Messages Or Mail.
In Fact Because Of Pigeons And A Terrible Shipwreck That The First Airmail Postal Service Was Invented Right Here In NZ. -
Period: to
Pigeon Post
Pigeon Post -
The Shipwreak
On 24th of October,
the luxury steamship SS Wairarapa set off from Sydney for a five-day trip to Auckland with 250 passengers and crew on board.
But the Wairarapa didn't arrive in Auckland on the 29th,and it wasn't till1st of November that people learnt the dreadful truth.
The Wairarapa had plunged into cliffs on the northen coast of Great Barrier Island. P.S:Great Barier Island is only 100 kilometers north of Auckland,but at that time the only mail delivery was by the local steamer. -
First Message
A man called Walter Fricker, who kept pigeons in Auckland, thought that pigeons would be a faster way for news to travel. On the 29th of January 1896, his bird Ariel carried the first pigeon message from Great Barrier Island to Auckland. P.S:It was delivered in one in a half hours. -
Regular Mail Servie
The first regular pigeon mail service started in 1897.
Messages were written or typed on very light peices of tissue paper,called flimsies.
Each bird could carry about 7 of these messages at once,fastened around their leg with a postmarked stamp. -
My Opinion (good/bad)
I Think That The Idea Of Starting A Pigeon Servie Was A Great Idea,
Instead Of Having People Deliver Messages, We Had Pigeons Delivering It.
They Are Alot Faster And They Can Fly And Deliver Messages In Just Under An Hour!
Fact:The Fastest Birds, Like Te Uria (Lightnig) Could Cover The Distance In Less Than An Hour!!! WOW!
Personally I think that Pigeons are VERY hounorable and deserve alot of credit.
If we have another war I think that Pigeons SHOULD still be in it as a secret weapon. -
First pigeon post ends
The Pigeon mail service ended in 1908, when a telegraph link was opened between Great Barrier Island and the Mainland. -
Cher Ami
One of the most famouse Pigeons was Cher Ami which won the French Croix de Guerre after saving the lives of 194 men who had become lost during the horrile battle of Verdun in the First World War.The men attached a message to Cher Ami's leg with details of where they could be found,and he flew back to HQ with it, despite being badly wounded.
All 194 men were rescued, but Cher Ami died in 1919 because of his wounds.
In Lille, France, there is a special war memorial honouring more that 20 000 Birds -
Croix de Guerre World War ll
This is Croix de Guerre.
It was made from bronze.
The meaning of Croix de Guerre is: A French military decoration for gallantry.
It is classified under Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Croix de Guerre is a kind of decoration,ribbon, palm, medal, medallion etc.
(an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event) -
War Hero
In the 2 World Wars, pigeons were found at the front of the lines in battle.
Many of these pigeons had to battle with poisonous gas, gunfire, storms, hawks, rats etc.
They were a faster and safer way for humans to communicate with their team-mates without being killed them-selves. P.S:Imagine if you had to go through all of this (as a pigeon) for humans to communicate. -
Start Of Pigeon Post
Pigeons had often carried messages before, but this was the first time that a postal service had used them to deliver mail, useing airmail stamps.These stamps were unoffical, but they are still regarded as the first airmail stamps in the world, and they are very VALUABLE.
When one of the pigeons arrived home, it entered through a trap door,setting off a bell in the office down below.Someone then climbed up to remove the message from the pigeons leg and then let it go into the loft. (it's home) -
Question
Would YOU have liked to go through all that like those 20 000 Pigeons INCLUDING Cher Ami? Tell me your awnser on the comment part down below.
Or if part of Digikidz them E-mail me there.
=D