Australian 5-dollar notes will no longer feature Queen Elizabeth II
It has been five months since Britain lost its longest ruling monarch Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022. But it looks like the late Queen is still part of the daily news. Guess what happened now? Turns out, the Central Bank of Australia announced recently that the country’s newly printed five dollar banknotes will no longer contain the image of the former monarch. To top it off, the bank has also said that it will neither feature King Charles III on the banknotes.
Are you wondering why is Australia suddenly taking such measures? Well, it is because they are re-evaluating their connections to the monarchy in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II’s demise. As per Australia’s Reserve Bank, the brand-new design will no longer carry the watermark of British monarchy but will instead celebrate and honour the culture and history of indigenous Australians (also called First Australians) and Australia itself. While the general public has hailed this move, the nation’s opposition party has widely criticised it.
Since July 1992, to mark the former monarch’s 40th anniversary of accession, the earlier five dollar polymer notes of Australia had a portrait of Queen Elisabeth on one side and the image of the Australian Parliament on the other. While the latter will be retained, Her Majesty Queen will no longer appear.
Both the Reserve Bank and the Central Bank of Australia have revealed that this decision was taken after a series of exchanges and long-drawn consultations with members of the Australian Parliament. As known so far, the banks will consult the descendants of First Australians before designing the new five dollar currency note. However, they believe that the process will take years to get executed. Okay, does this mean that the existing five dollar notes with the picture of Queen Elizabeth II will continue circulation? Yes! What’s more interesting is that even when the new notes are designed, printed and released into the market, then also the previous notes will continue to be in use.
Now, for those unaware, First Australians refer to the people having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origins, who make up the native population of Australia, better known as the First Nations people. Interestingly, they are said to have descended from the world’s most ancient continuous culture and have survived on the continent for over 65,000 years.
As for the role of the British monarch, he or she serves as the Head of Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth Nations outside the UK, all of which were former British colonies.
Another significant fact for you to know here is that the five dollar note is the only Australian currency to have an image of a British monarch.