cash

Australian Notes

All of Australia’s banknotes have many security features. These include micro-printing, which is the printing of tiny words that can only be seen with a magnifying glass. Each banknote also has a transparent window in which a symbol related to the note can be seen. Each note also features an optically variable device - a seven-pointed star thtat can only be seen when the note is held up to the light. Intaglio (raised) printing is used in the main parts of the design of each banknote.

Security Features

Printing

Old Notes

Security

It took a long time for paper money to be used together with coins in Europe. People wrote notes for certain amounts of money, promising to pay the amount at a later date to the person to whom they had given the note. However, these were not really banknotes. The first official banknotes in Europe were issued in Sweden in 1660. Soon, private banks began to issue banknotes , both in Europe and the USA, until eventually governments decided to control the printing of money. This job became the responsibility of a country’s treasury or central bank. This change occured in 1862 in the USA and in 1910 in Australia.

Australian Banknotes

In April 1817 Australia’s first bank, the Bank of New South Wales (now Westpac), opened in Sydney.

Banknotes in Europe

Australia’s first bank, the Bank of New South Wales, was founded in 1817. The bank issued banknotes because coins were in short supply. Eventually, banks in other parts of Australia began to issue banknotes as well. In 1910, the Australian Government decided that it should be in carge of issuing banknotes and passed a law that stopped banks from issuing them. Banknogtes could only be issued by the government after this time.

The first banknotes were issued in China approximately 1,300 years ago. At first they were notes that simply showed how much money in coins the owner had. This was necessary because coins were too heavy to carry around. Eventually, these notes came to have a value of their own.

When all the design features have been decided and the images produced using computer-aided design (CAD), the note is ready to be printed. Separate printing plates and printing processes are used for the banknote's background colours and patterns and the main design on each side of the note. The main design has slightly raised print that you can feel with your fingers. This feature is called intaglio.

After the portraits and other elements have been printed, serial numbers are added. You can tell when a banknote was printed by looking at the first two digits of the serial number. The banknotes are then coated in protective ink and cut into individual notes. The individual banknotes are counted by a machine and any faulty notes are removed. Finally, the banknotes are shrink-wrapped and stored in a secure room before being transported by armoured vehicle to various locations.

The Process Begins

Australia develoed the technology to produce polymer or plastic banknotes. Australia produces polymer banknotes for 18 nations, including Papua New Guinea, THailand, Romania and New Zealand, at its note-printing plant in Craigieburn in Melbourne.

The process for making a banknote is complex and involves many people. To decide who should appear on each banknote, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) listens to the opinions of various experts, as well as the public. The people chosen to appear on a banknote have all made an important contribution to Australian life. Once the person is chosen, the design of the note begins. Each banknote features a portrait of the person as well as symbols of his or her achievement. The design includes important security features. One of these is that each denomination is a different colour. There is also a lot of variation in colour on the note. This helps to make the notes difficult to counterfeit.

Printing

Final Stages

Old Parliament House can be seen at the bottom of this note, sitting underneath new Parliament House. It was opened in 1927. It was meant to be a temporary building. From 1901 to 1927, the Australian Parliament sat in Melbourne, beacuse there was no Parliament House in Canberra.

The Note

The design features eucalyptus leaves. Eucalypts are Australia’s most common species of tree.

The $5 polymer banknote was first issued in 1992. It was designed by Bruce Stewart, a senior designer at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The front of the note features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Australia’s head of state. The back of the $5 banknote features both Old and New Parliament Houses in Canberra.

The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is based on a photograph taken in 1984. The Queen has to give permission before her image can be used on coins, banknotes and stamps.

New Parliament House was opened in 1988, the year of the bicentenary of European settlement in Australia. The design shows the front of New Parliament House, with the Australian flag flying on the flagpole. To the right, are drawings based on the architectural plans for the building.

In the transparent window is a gum flower. There is also micro-printing of the words ‘five dollars’ above the euclyptus leaves on the front.

Other images on the banknote reflect Gilmore’s life and writings. In the yellow section is a woman wearing a hat, and on the sides are small buildings that suggest the landscape Gilmore wrote about. There is also a bullock team, carting wool, which is a reference to Gilmore’s writing.

The words ‘Waltzing Matilda’ appear on the note, as well as the opening lines of ‘The Man from Sonwy River’ in Paterson’s handwriting.

A.B (Banjo) Paterson is one of Australia’s best loved poets. Among his most famous poems are ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘Clancy of the Overflow’. He also wrote the words for the popular Australian song ‘Waltzing Matilda’.

In the transparent window is a windmill. There is also micro-printing of the words from Paterson’s poem ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and words from Dame Mary Gilmore’s poem “No foe shall gather our harvest’.

This is an extract in Gilmore’s handwriting that reads ‘No foe shall gather our harvest / or sit on our stockyard rail’.

The $10 polymer banknote was first issued in 1993. It was designed by Max Robinson. The front of the note features a portrait of A.B (Banjo) Paterson (1864–1941), one of Australia’s best-known poets. The back of the note features a portrait of the Australian writer and poet Dame Mary Gilmore (1865–1962).

Dame Mary Gilmore wrote about the rights of women and fair treatment for Aboriginal people. This image of Gilmore as an older woman is based on a portrait painted by the great Australian artist William Dobell.

Images of brumbies appear on the front of the banknote, as well as an image of a horseman cracking a whip

The main portrait on the banknote is based on a photograph taken when Gilmore was in her twenties.

First Notes

In 1920, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia became responsible for issuing all Australian banknotes. The notes issued to the public were; 10 shillings, £1, £5, £10, £20l, £50 and £100. In 1960, the job of issuing legal banknotes passed to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which is Australia’s central bank. The RBA remains responsible for the printing of all Australia’s banknotes. They are printed in Craigieburn, a suburb of Melbourne.

The first Australian banknote was the 10-shilling note. It was issued in 1913 and printed in Melbourne.

Reserve Bank of Australia

To the left of Reibey is an image of The Mercury, a ship she owned.

Reverend John Flynn (1880–1951) is remembered for setting up the Royal Flying Doctor Service. He worked tirelessly to provide people in the outback with what he called ‘a mantle of safety’ in the form of good radio communication and an aerial ambulance service. The first official flight took off from Cloncurry in Queensland in 1928. Radio communication was made possibly by Alf Traeger’s pedal radio in 1929. The portrait of Flynn is based on a photograph held by the National Library of Australia.

The buildings were owned by Reibey in George Street, Sydney.

The $20 polymer banknote was first issued in 1994. It was designed by Garry Emery, a well-known Australian designer. On the front of the note is a portrait of Mary Reibey (1777—1855), a former convict who became a successful businesswoman. On the back of the note is a portrait of Reverend John Flynn (1880—1951). Flynn is remembered for setting up the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The aircraft above the transparent window is the Victory, which made the first Flying Doctor flight in 1928. Beneath its tail is Alf Traeger’s pedal radio. Beside that is the famour ‘Where does it hurt?’ diagram developed for people in remote areas, so they could indicate over the wireless the location of their injury or pain.

Mary Reibey was transported to Australia as a convict in 1972. She married Thomas Reibey in 1794, and they started a shipping business. Thomas was often away at sea, so Mary ran the business. In 1811, Thomas died, leaving Mary with seven children. Under her management, the business went from strength to strength, and she became very wealthy. The portrait on the banknote is based on the only known image of Mary.

In the transparent window is a compass as well as the number 20 embossed into the plastic. There is also micro-printing of the words ‘twenty dollars’ on Mary Reibey’s cap, and to the left of the pedal radio on the back.

On the right-hand side of the note is a man on a camel. This is a reference to Flynn’s Patrol Padres, who travelled to places where there were no roads, as part of Flynn’s Australian Inalnd Mission.

Under the drawings, in Unaipon’s handwriting, is an extract from his book Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines.

In 1921, Edith Cowan was elected to the Western Australian Parliament. She was active in women’s rights and welfare, and was a great supporter of free state education for all. She believed in equal rights and worked to provide day-are nurseries for working mothers. She was particularly interested in the welfare of children. The Edith Cowan University in Western Australia is named in her honour. The portrait on the note is based on a photograph taken in 1929.

The $50 polymer banknote was first issued in 1995. It was designed by Brian Sadgrove, another well-known Australian designer. On the front of the note is a portrait of David Unaipon (1872–1967), a writer and inventor. The back of the note features a portrait of Dame Edith Cowan (1861–1932), the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament.

David Unaipon was the first Aboriginal person to be published internationally. His books were about the legends of Aboriginal people. In 1909, he invented an improved handpiece for use by shearers. His portrait is based on a photograph taken in 1938.

To the right of the portrait are examples of Unaipon’s drawings for his shearing handpiece.

On Unapion’s left is the mission church at Point McLeay, South Australia, with an aboriginal couple standing before it. Point McLeay is the area where David Unaipon’s people live.

At the top left of the note is the Western Australian Parliament House as it looked when Cowan was an elected member.

In the transparent window is the Southern Cross, as well as an embossed number 50. There is also micro-printing of the words ‘fifty dollars’ above and beneath the church on the front, and behind the building on the right and the standing figure on the back.

To the right of the note is a foster mother and children, symbolising Cowan’s concern for both women’s and children’s welfare. To the right of these people, Cowan stands at a lectern, delivering a speech.

The $100 polymer banknote was first issued in 1996. It was designed by Bruce Stewart. The front of the note features a portrait of the great Australian opra singer Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931). The back of the note features a portrait of Sir John Monash (1865–1931), one of Australia’s great military leaders.

She became the most famous soprano in the world. The portrait of Melba is based on a photograph taken in 1909.

In the transparent window is a lyrebird and the embossed number 100. There is also micro-printing of the words ‘one hundred dollars’ at the top of Melba’s head. on the front and beneath the transparent window on the back.

Beneath the Rising Sun Badge are Simpson and his donkey, a reference to the herolism and sacrifice that took place at Gallipoli.

To the left of the portrait is a smaller image of Melba, and the interior of Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney in 1903. On top of this image are the words ‘Australian Concert Tour’, which refer to Melba’s first tour of Australia in 1902 after she had become famous in Europe.

The note features a monogram, designed by Melba, with the letters NM. It also includes a copy of her signature.

John Monash led Australian soldiers first at Gallipoli and then in Europe during World War I (1914–1918). As General Monash, his leadership helped bring an end to the war with Germany. When he returned to Australia, he became head of the State Electricity Commission (SEC) in Victoria. He was a great Australian hero. Monash University in Melbourne is named in his honour. The portrait is based on a photograph taken in 1912.

Around the portrait are Australian World War I soldiers on horseback, and soldiers manning a cannon.

Nellie Melba was born Helen Porter Mitchell in Melbourne, Victoria. When she began to achieve success overseas, she changed her name to Nellie Melba in honour of her hometown.

In the orange section of the note is the Rising Sun Badge, which is worn by Australian military forces.