Jeanette Banfield with her latest philatelic display which is themed after ancient Egypt. Photo / Grace Odlum
Jeanette Banfield with her latest philatelic display which is themed after ancient Egypt. Photo / Grace Odlum
One of Jeanette (Jenny) Banfield’s favourite parts of philately is that it keeps her mind going.
The Kāpiti resident, who just turned 90, has been interested in philately since she was 65, inspired by her husband, Norman, who has been collecting stamps since he was 10.
Philately has taken Banfield all over the world and given her some great opportunities - and now she has been honoured for her services to philately by being made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours.
She was the president of the New Zealand Philatelic Federation from 2004 to 2007, and trustee and convenor of the New Zealand National Philatelic Trust from 2004 to 2018 – both roles that have allowed her to exhibit nationally and internationally.
Banfield became an accredited national judge in 2006 and a year later became a national philatelic literature judge.
Since then, she has judged several national exhibitions and judged in Australia in 2008 and Qatar in 2015.
Another highlight of her work was being the New Zealand commissioner to the International Philatelic Federation and the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately exhibitions between 2008 and 2022.
Jeanette Banfield has been interested in philately for almost 30 years. Photo / Grace Odlum
Banfield has represented New Zealand on two International Philatelic Federation technical committees and has been secretary of the Maximaphily Commission from 2012 to 2016, and then chairwoman from 2016 to 2022. This made her the first New Zealander to head a commission.
During her time with the Maximaphily Commission, she was able to simplify the exhibiting and judging guidelines, which were adopted worldwide, and she also simplified the procedures for handling exhibits.
Banfield and her husband used to lead the Kāpiti Philatelic Society, before stepping down to let others who had different ideas step up.
She said the club had been struggling for the past five to 10 years because of a lack of members, and she encouraged anyone interested in philately to get involved.
While she was pleased to be getting the recognition that came with her King’s Birthday honour, she said she had not started collecting stamps for recognition.
“I enjoy getting a good medal, but it’s not totally what I wanted to get out of philately.”
In her earlier life, Banfield was involved in the Kāpiti Gymnastic Club, holding roles as head coach and club president from the late 1970s.
She also coached national-level gymnasts and became a national judge, including assistant judge of gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.
