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Transition to the decimal systemIn 1963, Australia initiated the change to decimal currency. More than 1000 submissions were made about the name of the new currency unit. The Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, proposed the ‘royal’. The ‘dollar’ was eventually chosen as the name, and decimal currency was introduced on 14February 1966. Shortly after the changeover, substantial counterfeiting of $10 notes was detected. This provided an impetus for the Reserve Bank of Australia to develop new note technologies jointly with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. The revolutionary polymer notes were first introduced in 1988 with the issue of a commemorative $10 note, marking Australia’s bicentenary by featuring the theme of settlement. The note depicted on one side a young Aborigine in body paint, with other elements of Aboriginal culture. On the reverse side was the ship Supply from the First Fleet, with a background of Sydney Cove, as well as a group of people to illustrate the diverse backgrounds from which Australia has evolved over 200 years. Australia’s notes
The $100 note features world-renowned soprano Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931), and the distinguished soldier, engineer and administrator General Sir John Monash (1865–1931). The $50 note features the Aboriginal writer and inventor David Unaipon (1872–1967), and Australia’s first female parliamentarian, Edith Cowan (1861–1932). The $20 note features the founder of the world’s first aerial medical service (the Royal Flying Doctor Service), the Reverend John Flynn (1880–1951), and Mary Reibey (1777–1855), who arrived in Australia as a convict in 1792 and went on to become a successful shipping magnate and philanthropist. The $10 note features the poets AB ‘Banjo’ Paterson (1864–1941) and Dame Mary Gilmore (1865–1962). This note incorporates micro-printed excerpts of Paterson’s and Gilmore’s work. The $5 note features Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Parliament House in Canberra, the national capital. Australia's banknotes are printed by Note Printing Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Note Printing Australia prints polymer banknotes primarily for the the Reserve Bank of Australia and has some business with New Zealand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Brunei. Along with being printed on polymer, Australia's banknotes include a range of other security features designed to combat counterfeiting. Australia’s coins
The $2 coin, which replaced the two dollar note in 1988, depicts an Aboriginal tribal elder set against a background of the Southern Cross and native grass trees. The $1 coin, which replaced the $1 note in 1984, depicts five kangaroos. The standard $1 design, along with the 50, 20, 10 and 5 cent designs, was created by the Queen’s official jeweler, Stuart Devlin. The 50 cent coin carries Australia’s coat of arms: the six state badges on a central shield supported by a kangaroo and an emu, with a background of Mitchell grass (see fact sheet on Australia’s coat of arms). The 20 cent coin carries a platypus, one of only two egg-laying mammals in the world. It has webbed feet and a duck-like bill that it uses to hunt for food along the bottom of streams and rivers. The 10 cent coin features a male lyrebird dancing. A clever mimic, the lyrebird inhabits the dense, damp forests of Australia’s eastern coast. The 5 cent coin depicts an echidna, or spiny anteater, the world’s only other egg-laying mammal. The 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are made of cupro-nickel (75percent copper and 25percent nickel). The one and two dollar coins are made of aluminium bronze (92percent copper, 6 per cent aluminium and 2 per cent nickel). The one dollar, 50 and 20 cent circulating coins occasionally feature commemorative designs. Australia’s coins are produced by the Royal Australian Mint, which is located in the nation’s capital, Canberra. Since opening in 1965, the Mint has produced more than 14billion circulating coins, and has the capacity to produce more than two million coins per day, or more than 600million coins per year. The Royal Australian Mint has an international reputation for producing quality numismatic coins, and won an international award for ‘Best Silver Coin 2006’ for its Silver Kangaroo coin design. Key facts: - The Australian dollar, which divides into 100 cents, is the national currency. - Decimal currency was introduced on 14 February 1966. - In 1988, Australia introduced its first polymer bank note and in 1996, Australia became the first country in the world to have a complete series of polymer notes. Polymer note technology was developed by Australia, and Australia prints polymer notes for a number of other countries. - Australia’s colourful banknotes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollars.
TASKS I. Read the text. Find the words that match the definitions below: 1) a legal agreement which allows you to use a building, car, land, etc. for a period of time, in return for rent; 2) a company or person that provides a service; 3) a product that is sold to another country; 4) a product that is brought from one country into another so that it can be sold there, or the business of doing this; 5) the activity of buying, selling, or exchanging goods within a country or between countries; 6) things that are done to keep a person, building, or country safe from danger or crime; 7) an old British coin or unit of money. There were 20 shillings in one pound; 8) the system or type of money that a country uses; 9) an influence that makes something happen or makes it happen more quickly; 10) a company that is owned or controlled by another larger company; 11) copying something exactly in order to deceive people; 12) a piece of paper money worth a particular amount of money; 13) a place where coins are officially made; 14) a piece of metal, usually flat and round, that is used as money; 15) the value shown on a coin, paper money, or a stamp. Date: 2016-03-03; view: 898
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