From 1870, the usual route from New Zealand to the UK was via San Francisco, except for an interruption in 1873. The postal rate to the UK was 6d per ½oz.
From 1875 - 1885, The Pacific Mail Steamship Company operated the trans-Pacific route.
Route via Fiji, 1875 - 76
In the first eighteen months, the route from San Francisco was alternatively to Sydney or Auckland via Fiji and Honolulu with a branch route from Fiji dealing with mail to Auckland or Sydney when it was not the main destination.
This cover is postmarked 10 March 1876 in Nelson. It joined the Granada which had sailed from Port Chalmers on 8 March and Auckland on 13 March arriving in Fiji on 18 March where it waited for the mail from Australia. It departed Fiji on 22 March arriving San Francisco on 11 April.
It was then railed across America on the
trans-Continental railroad that had been opened in 1869
before being carried
on the Cunard ship Bothnia leaving New York
on 19 April and arriving in Liverpool on 30 April.
It has a red London receiving mark of 1 May.
It was therefore 52 days in transit.
Auckland - Honolulu - San Francisco
From late 1876, the route was Sydney - Auckland - Fiji - Honolulu - San Francisco.
The first cover has an indistinct Christchurch postmark of 29 March 1879. It was carried by the Australia from Auckland to San Francisco from 1 -23 April.
It was then railed to New York and carried by the White Star Line ship Adriatic to Liverpool. It left New York on 1 May, arrived Queenstown (Cork) on 10 May and Liverpool on 11 May.
It has an interesting red Paid Liverpool U.S. Packet
receiving mark dated 11 May and a faint Glasgow receiving mark on 12 May.
It was therefore 43 days in transit.
The next cover is postmarked in Auckland on 16 September 1879 and is addressed to Leek in Staffordshire, UK. It does not have routing instructions, but the postmark dates correspond to the route being via San Francisco.
The Zealandia left Auckland on 16 September and arrived in San Francisco on 8 October. Mail was then carried from New York to Liverpool on 17 - 27 October on the Inman ship City of Montreal.
The backstamp shows that the cover arrived in Stoke-on-Trent on
October 28 and in Leek on October 29.
It was therefore 43 days in transit.
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The above information is taken from:
Australia New Zealand UK Mails to 1880: Rates Routes and
Ships Out and Home, Colin Tabeart, Fareham, 2004.
The Postage Stamps of New Zealand Vol 3, published by the
Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand in 1955.
All scans were made by the author.