The stamp issued by New Zealand depict a whaleboat hunting a whale with in the background a whaler.
The vessel is not identified, and most probably depict a whaler from that time frame.
New Zealand Post did give the following info by the stamp.
Sealers from Sydney were the first to exploit the rich marine resources in the seas around New Zealand, virtually determining large colonies around the southern coasts.
As sealing declined, whaling began. The first recorded visit by a whaling ship to New Zealand was that of the "William and Ann" which called at Doubtless Bay in 1791 while hunting sperm whales in the South Pacific. Other early New Zealand whalers were British and American hunting from 100 small shore stations with longboats, well into the 1840s. Often they braved long, dangerous voyages in wooden ships to take the precious whalebone and whale oil back home, turning them into umbrellas, corset ribs, lipstick and soap. Three main species were hunted in the waters around New Zealand - the sperm whale, the humpback and the right whale. The last New Zealand shore station closed in 1964. The New Zealand government gave whales total protection in 1978.
New Zealand 1989 80c sg1508, scott?