Reserve Bank of Australia: New $10 banknote design
The Reserve Bank of Australia released the newly designed $10 banknote on Friday featuring famous Australian writers Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson and Dame Mary Gilmore. The celebrated writers were also part of the banknote when it was first issued in November 1993.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe said that the works of the two writers were recognised in several design elements on the banknote. He said that excerpts of their poetry in microprint were included alongside the images. Paterson's poem "The Man from Snowy River" would be included through Australiana illustrations. Images such as billabong, horseman and homestead were added. Gilmore's "No Foe Shall Gather Our Harvest," excerpt appeared on the banknote's left-hand side.
"Each banknote in the new series will feature a different species of native Australian wattle and bird. The $10 banknote features the Bramble Wattle (Acacia victoriae) and the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)," Lowe said in a statement.
The new banknote would come with security features to avoid counterfeiting. The security features include the patch with a rolling colour effect and a top-to-bottom clear window. The complex holograms and some specified areas were visible only under UV light. These features were also present in the $5 banknote issued in 2016.
"The Bank has been working closely with various parties in recent years to ensure that the new banknotes can be used in a broad range of typical day-to-day transactions across the country, including in machines that take or dispense banknotes," Lowe said. The new banknote would be in circulation from September 2017.
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson was a solicitor before he became a famous writer in his thirties. His famous works included "Waltzing Matilda" and "The Man from Snowy River." Paterson's first book "The Man from Snowy River" was sold out in a week for its first edition. In six months from the time of its first release, it went through four editions. During his time, it was Rudyard Kipling who held the position as the most famous living poet writing in English. He was next to Kipling's rank.
Dame Mary Gilmore
Dame Gilmore was born in 1865 in NSW. She was a poet and journalist but she was famous for campaigning a wide range of economic and social reforms. Among the reforms she advocated for included improved treatment of returned servicemen, the poor and Aboriginals, votes for women, child endowment and old-age and invalid pensions.
