The postal service in New Zealand was established in 1840, but it did not receive New Zealand postage stamps until 1855. To mark their centenary, miniatures were published reproducing the design of those first postage signs. True, instead of a portrait of Victoria by Chalon, an image of Elizabeth II was placed on them. Since then, most stamps have been issued by the Government Printing Office in Wellington, although plates are sometimes engraved in Australia. The first postage stamp appeared in 1873, in connection with the reluctant introduction of a reduced tariff for sending printed materials, and was an undisguised copy of a contemporary British stamp of the same denomination.