History
At 1.00 p.m. on 1st. January 1901, in Sydney, after the Australian states had begrudgingly agreed to relinquish some of their sovereign powers in the common interest, the new Commonwealth of Australia was created when Australia's first Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun gave the oath of allegiance to Prime Minister, Edmund Barton before a crowd of 150,000 in Centennial Park in sweltering heat.
The new Federal Government had been formed on 25th. December 1900, and was to reside in Melbourne, the temporary Federal capital of Australia, until a more suitable site was found. The Federal Parliament was officially opened by the Duke of Cornwall and York, (later King George V) on 9th.May 1901, in front of 14,000 invited guests in Melbourne's Exhibition Building amongst public disquiet in regard to the sky-rocketing costs of the celebrations.
During the many conventions held prior to federation, the state Premiers had made the decision to authorise the new Federal Government to issue a uniform currency which, amongst other things, reflected our standing as an individual nation and no longer a collection of colonies subject to direct British rule.It took another nine years before the scheme actually got under way.
In 1913, the first Commonwealth of Australia Ten Shilling notes were printed in Melbourne. A further three denominations were issued in that year - the One Pound, Five Pound and the Ten Pound notes.The large denomination notes ranging from 20, 50, 100 and 1000 Pound were all in circulation by 1914 and continued until 1938 when the 20 Pound was withdrawn, followed by the 50 and 100 Pound in 1945. (The 1000 Pound note had been withdrawn from general circulation on June 30th. 1915 - all known stocks were destroyed in 1969.)
The remaining Imperial denominations were continued until the major shake-up when decimal currency arrived in 1966, and a completely new philosophy was adopted. This saw the introduction of coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and the introduction of notes in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars.
The $1 and $2 notes were eventually replaced with coins and in recent years the 1 and 2 cent coins have been removed from circulation with amounts rounded up or rounded down to the nearest 5 cents.
When the new polymer plastic technological breakthrough was announced in 1988, the eventual demise of paper currency in Australia was inevitable. The new designs feature eight Australian pioneers who had contributed a great deal to Australia, and I've included some information on who they were and why they have earned their place on our currency.
Coins
I will be including images of Australian coins some time in the future. GS 20th November 1999
Coins are minted at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, the national capital. The obverse side (or head) of all coins carries the year of issue and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, also Queen of Australia. The current portrait design, in use since 1985, is by Raphael Maklouf. This design replaced the portrait of the Queen by Arnold Machin which was standard on all coins between 1966 and '84. The standard reverse (or tail) designs are reproductions of Australian fauna and these have been designed by Stuart Devlin, except for the $2 coin which depicts the bust of an Aboriginal Elder sculpted by Horst Hahne.
The five cent coin depicts an echidna, or spiny ant-eater, one of only two egg-laying mammals. It grows to about 45 cm (17.7 inches) long and depends on its spines for protection. Echidnas live in most Australian habitats.
The 10 cent coin shows a male lyrebird dancing, its magnificent tail expanded and thrown forward over its head. A clever mimic, the lyrebird inhabits the dense, damp forests of Australia's eastern coast.
The reverse of the 20 cent piece presents the world's only other egg-laying mammal (or monotreme), the platypus. The Platypus is found on the banks of waterways on the east of the continent. It has webbed feet, rich, brown fur and uses its duck-like bill to hunt for food along the bottom of streams and rivers.
The standard 50 cent piece carries a representation of the Australian Coat of Arms which is the six state badges on a central shield supported by a kangaroo and an emu, with a background of Mitchell grass. The 50 cent piece is often minted with special designs for commemorative purposes. The 1994 coin, for example, carries a design which commemorates the International year of the Family. Other commemorative designs appeared on the 50 cent coin in 1970, '81, '82, '88 and '91.
The one dollar coin is also used to carry commemorative designs. Introduced in 1984, the standard coin depicts five kangaroos, one of Australia's most recognisable animals. Commemorative designs include the International Year of Peace in 1986, Australia's bicentenary in 1988, the 1992 Barcelona Games and, in 1993, Landcare Australia which raised awareness of water quality issues in Australia.
The two dollar coin shows an Aboriginal tribal elder set against a background of the Southern Cross and native grass trees. The design restores to Australian currency a recognition of Australia's Aboriginal heritage, a recognition which was temporarily absent when the one dollar coin replaced the one dollar note in 1984.
The one and two dollar coins are made of 92 per cent copper, six per cent aluminium and two per cent nickel. They feature interrupted milling along the edge as an aid for visually impaired people.
| $5 Note | $10 Note | $20 Note | $50 Note | $100 Note |
