Postage Stamps
1948
This pre-decimal, pre-independence, four-penny stamp shows King George VI surveying the beautiful Lake Bosomtwe.
According to legend, a hunter named Akora Bompe discovered the lake while on a hunting expedition. He shot an antelope which did not die but instead led him to a body of water which was stocked with fish. The name comes from obosom (god, spirit) and otwe (antelope).
Traditionally, the god of this lake is the source of one of the 12 ntoro or character spirits that an Akan person may inherit.
This three-penny ("thre'p'n'y") stamp unfortunately omits the name of the mine, which is the Nsuta Manganese Mine near Tarkwa (WR), now operated by the Ghana Manganese Co. Ltd. For a short history of the mine see the Gold Coast DataBase Blog. Nsuta means 'water-twin', and is a name commonly given to a town near the confluence of two rivers.
1957
The un-named Nsuta mine artwork was later re-used in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and the stamp overprinted to celebrate Ghana Independence Day. The Ghana government adopted Ghana pounds (£), shillings (s), and pence (d) as its monetary system*, following that of the British, so the stamps shown below use the same denominations.
* £1 = 20s, 1s = 12d.
1962
These stamps were issued to commemorate the opening of the new Port of Tema, which was built as part of Prime Minister Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's vision for the industrialisation of Ghana following independence in 1957.
Tema is still Africa's largest man-made harbour, and handles about 80% of the country's import and export, the older port, Takoradi, taking the rest.
It is believed that the name Tema originated from the Ga word tor, which means 'gourd'. This plant was grown in the area and therefore the place was called Torman meaning 'gourd-town'.
For some reason, perhaps artistic, only the 3d stamp shows the harbour in the standard orientation with north to the top.
1965
The Organization of African Unity Summit Conference was held in Accra in October 1965, just 4 months before Nkrumah was deposed.
On 19th July 1965 the government changed the monetary system to the decimal cedi and pesewa (1¢=100p). So these stamps show values in 'p'.
At least 2 stories exist concerning the name Accra, both of which concern the Akan word nkran, meaning the 'black ant'. One regards the name as a reference to the numerous anthills seen in the countryside around Accra. Another states that it is a description of the Ga people in the days of inter-tribal wars, who were so numerous that they covered the battle fields like the innumerable hordes of black ants. However it is likely that these are merely folk etymologies.
1967
Accra features again in this set celebrating the first Ghana International Trade Fair. The concept was part of Nkrumah's industrialisation strategy, designed to promote international trade, especially with other African countries. The first fair was originally scheduled to take place from February to March 1966, but the plans had to be changed after the coup d'etat of 24 February that year, and it was held instead the following year, opened by the new head of state Lt. Gen. J. A. Ankrah.
Note that during this year the stamps changed their denomination from 'p' to 'Np'. The New Cedi (N¢), as it was called, was introduced on 17 February 1967 to replace the old cedi at a rate of ¢1.20=N¢1.00. It was a devaluation of only 20%, but it provided a convenient way of removing Nkrumah's portrait from currency.
Akosombo dam was built between 1961 & 1965, flooding the Volta River basin and creating the world's largest artificial lake. This provides the power for the hydroelectric project, originally 912 MW, 80% of which was contractually supplied to the American-owned Volta Aluminium Company (Valco), and the remainder being available for general distribution in Ghana.There is more than one account of the meaning of the name Akosombo. A plausible explanation is that it was called Nkonsonkonson-bo ('a chain of rock'), by the local inhabitants, who in 1733, had settled at the foot of the gorge formed by the Akwapim and Togo mountain ranges.
Just 5 miles down-river from the dam is the magnificent Adomi Bridge. Built in 1955-6 by Sir William Halcrow & Partners (now Halcrow Group Limited) and Freeman Fox & Partners, it was originally called the Volta Bridge. It solved the problem of vehicular access between the then Gold Coast and Trans-Volta Togo (formerly British Togoland), anticipating the forthcoming union which was to constitute the nation of Ghana. The bridge is situated bewteen the town of Atimpoku on the west bank of the river and the village of Adome on the east. It is also known as Senchi Bridge, but the town of Senchi is a few miles further south. GPN does not have information about the meaning of this name, but speculatively it may be related to the Ewe word dome, meaning 'between, among, amidst'.
1967
Tema appears again on this stamp, which shows specifically Quay No.2. The main harbour has two quays with a total of 12 berths. Paradoxically, Quay No.2 has berths 1-5, and Quay No.1 has berths 6-12. Berths 1 & 2 have the greatest draft limit, of 11.5m, and therefore can take the biggest shipping, so perhaps give the most impressive view for a stamp.
1976
Accra takes the limelight yet again for the 3rd Ghana International Trade Fair.
Although the currency is the same, the 'N' prefix has now been dropped.
2006
These stamps are from a set which highlights some of the many Ghana festivals The New Juaben Akwantukese Afahye (akwantu = journey; kese = big; afahye = festival) celebrates the migration of the Juaben people from the Ashanti to the Eastern Region in 1878 following two civil wars in 1832 and 1875. The festival is celebrated in November each year in Koforidua, the capital of New Juaben Municipal District, and of the whole region. The original town of Juaben is to be found about 15 miles north-east of Kumasi.
Which came first, the people name or the town? The grapheme 'ju' is not standard Twi orthography, and was presumably an early British spelling. The correct version would now be either 'dw' or 'du'. So the name could derive from duaben (dua = tree; ben = yellow). However, if the town were named after local trees of this name, it would be more likely to be called Duabenase.
2007
The commemorative stamps for the 50th Anniversary of Ghana's Independence included this set illustrating Aburi Botanical Gardens. The Garden was started in 1889 for the experimentation, exploration and teaching of horticulture and agriculture. The first curator was William Crowther, a student from Kew Gardens who arrived in 1890 and died of malaria in 1895.
Aburi is one of the Amantow Dunson (17 city states) of Akwapim.
2008
In July 2007 the Bank of Ghana introduced the third cedi-based currency, following a period of rampant inflation. This 1GH¢ stamp, equivalent to N¢10,000 in the second cedi currency, was issued to mark the centenary of the establishment of the Khilafat Ahmadiyya. The Khilafat, or Caliphate, is the institution of succession to a prophet in Islam. The Ahmadiyya movement follows the teaching of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) who claimed that he was the promised redeemer of Islam (Mahdi) and Messiah. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established in Ghana in 1921 and has funded a number of hospitals including the one depicted here in Daboase, Western Region.
