Making a note downunder - Australian Banknotes Quiz

Answer: 1913

Prior to the Constitution of Australia coming into force on January 1, 1901, there was no country called Australia, but rather each state was its own entity. The 'Australian Notes Act' of 1910 provided the basis for the printing of Australian bank notes. In 1913, the largely grey-coloured One Pound note was released and featured the Australian Coat of Arms, which had been created by Andrew Fisher's 1912 Federal Government. Controversially, there was no image of the monarch, King George V. The reverse featured a mining scene. The first Australian postage stamps (The 'Kangaroo and Map of Australia' series) were first released in 1913 as well.

The other two dates are also important in Australia history: 1788 was the landing of the first fleet of British settlers and 1854 was the miner's rebellion, the Eureka Stockade.

Answer: 10 Shillings

The ten shilling note was first released in 1913. The blue-grey note featured the Australian Coat of Arms on the front (obverse) and a picture of the Goulburn Weir (Victoria) on the back (reverse). Two years later this note had an overprinted 'Half Sovereign' added. Ten shillings was half a sovereign. The note was reprinted with different designs as a Half Sovereign in 1923 and 1926, then reverted to Ten Shillings in 1933. In 1938 a new design was released featuring the new monarch, King George VI. In 1953, the obverse featured the explorer Matthew Flinders. This was the final Ten Shilling note design released.

A Five Shilling note, featuring King George V was printed in 1913 but never released into circulation.

Prior to the release of the Australian banknotes, other legal tender was issued by private banks and state governments.

Answer: $5

The Australian $5 note was released on the 29th May, 1967, fifteen months after the simultaneous release of the $1, $2, $10 and $20 notes (and the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins). The purple $5 note featured 19th century English humanitarian Caroline Chisholm on the reverse side; naturalist and botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who accompanied James Cook on many voyages including to Australia, was featured on the front. This note was eventually replaced in 1992.

Interestingly, decimal currency was first proposed (and very strongly) soon after Australian Federation but was eventually ruled out as it would cause too many difficulties with Britain, who were staunchly against decimalization at that time.

Answer: Royal

Robert Menzies was Australian Prime Minister from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1966 and was an ardent royalist. He famously said "I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till I die", referring to Queen Elizabeth II (the quote is actually from a 1607 poem by Thomas Ford).

When the push for decimalization became very strong in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Liberal Government of Menzies (with Treasurer and future PM Harold Holt) pushed the 'Royal' as the name for the new currency to reflect the close links between the two countries.

However, this met a lot of public disapproval and eventually the government relented and 'Dollar' was chosen ahead of other options, including some like 'Digger' and 'Boomer' emanating from a public poll.

Answer: $2

The green $2 note was introduced with three others ($1, $10, $20) when decimal currency became legal tender on the 14th February 1966. It remained largely unchanged until its withdrawal in 1988, when it was replaced by a $2 coin. There was a change in wording on the note in 1974 where the original 'Commonwealth of Australia' was replaced by 'Australia' and the legal tender phrase was altered to 'This Australian Note is legal tender throughout Australia and its territories'.

John Macarthur (1767-1834) was a British officer and early pioneer settler in Australia and is recognized for his major role in establishing the sheep industry (including the prized merino wool) which has been a major component of the Australian economy since the mid-nineteenth century.

The reverse of the note features English-born William Farrer (1845-1906) who was a leading agronomist. One of his greatest contributions was development of the 'Federation' wheat strain in 1903, leading to a three-fold increase in Australian wheat production over the next twenty years.

Answer: Aviation

Both the obverse and reverse of the original 1966 $20 note featured Australian aviators. On the front was 'Smithy' - Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith (1897 - 1935) - who was the first person to fly across the Pacific from the USA to Australia. He was the first to make that journey in the reverse direction and the first to fly to New Zealand. A World War I pilot, he also set a record of 10.5 days flying from Australia to England. He disappeared during a flight to Burma in 1935. The back of the note featured Lawrence Hargrave (1850-1915), an engineer and inventor. His visionary designs included box kites that could support humans and gliders. Inspiring Alexander Graham Bell amongst many others, he eschewed patenting his designs, preferring to work for the advancement of humanity.

The reverse of the 1994 $20 note features the Reverend John Flynn (1880-1951). Flynn's impact on remote Australia was profound as he established both the Presbyterian Inland Mission to tend to the spiritual needs of those far from main population centres but also the Royal Flying Doctor Service - the world's first aerial ambulance. Remote stations would have makeshift runways so planes could land with a doctor on board to tend to those seriously sick or injured.

Answer: It was made from a polymer plastic

In a world leading initiative, plastic polymer banknotes were first developed and printed in Australia in 1988. Development was through collaboration between the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the University of Melbourne in a team led by scientist Dr David Solomon.

A major imperative for this development was the level of high quality forgeries of the paper notes in circulation at that time. The plastic polymer is a derivative of polypropylene which also adds much greater durability to the notes compared to the paper analogues.

The new technology, now used for many currencies worldwide, took nearly 20 years from initial meeting in 1968 to release of this innovative $10 note in 1988.

Answer: To assist the visually impaired

The width of all Australian polymer banknotes from series III (1992) onwards is 65 mm (2.56 inches). However, the length varies from 130 mm (5.12 inches) for the $5 note steadily up to 158 mm (6.22 inches) for the $100 note. The major reason for these differences is to assist the visually impaired. One method involves, with practice, the note being placed in the hand or in the fingers and then by judging how far it wraps around, the denomination can be ascertained. More recently very small bumps have been introduced near the top edge of the notes; the number of bumps identifies the note.

Answer: A clear window from top to bottom

Since the phased introduction of polymer banknotes commencing with the bicentennial commemorative $10 note in 1988, Australia has been a world leader in incorporating anti-forgery mechanisms into its notes. The world-first introduction of a diffractive optically variable device in the clear window within the note was an image of Captain James Cook.

These optical devices cannot be accurately reproduced or replicated.

Answer: $100

The $100 note was introduced in 1984, partly to address ease of payment when taking into account the effects of inflation on prices. The first note measuring a width of 82.5 mm (3.25 inches) and length of 172 mm (6.77 inches) was Australia's largest sized note and featured polar explorer Sir Douglas Mawson and astronomer John Tebbutt. It was replaced in 1996 with a polymer banknote highlighting engineer and war hero Sir John Monash and internationally famous opera singer Dame Nellie Melba.

Interestingly, the 1000 pound note (first introduced in 1914), with a face value of $2000, remained as legal tender for the first three years after the introduction of decimal currency in 1966.

100 runs in a single innings by a batsman is considered a great feat and is usually awarded by a rapturous round of applause from the crowd. The applause is usually a little more subdued if the player is from the opposing team or country!