stamp bulletin - Australia Post Shop

253 bulletin
In this Bulletin...
Face of Australia 3
CI Lunar New Year 8
Australian Legends 10
Arts Festivals 11
Australia Post stamp designs and philatelic
products are subject to copyright and may
not be reproduced without permission. All
applications for the reproduction of Australian
stamps should be made in writing to:
The Manager – Philatelic Group
Australia Post
GPO Box 1777Q
MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Fax: 03 9204 7744
The Australian Stamp Bulletin is produced by
the Australia Post Philatelic Group and printed
by Canberra Press Moorabbin.
All information contained in this Bulletin has
been included in good faith, on the basis that
the products will be available for sale, until
stock sold out, at the prices stated, and in the
manner described.
To the best of Australia Post’s knowledge,
all information contained in this Bulletin was
correct at the time of printing. Australia Post
will not, however, be held responsible for any
inadvertent errors or oversights, or any change
to information which may occur after publication.
Cover: Stacy Coull, Northern Territory
(Photograph - Kathy Roberts)
Find out more about stamps by
visiting Australia Post’s web site:
www.auspost.com.au/stamps
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Dear Collectors,
The year 2000 is a time of national celebration and two of
our January issues seek to capture and promulgate the spirit of
our nation.
We at Australia Post aim to reflect the spirit of our nation in
our annual stamp issue programme. But that is sometimes easier
said than done. The concept of our national spirit is somewhat
elusive, sometimes controversial and always evolving.
Australia covers a huge area and our population has a diverse
range of backgrounds. Our national spirit is as wide and varied
as our land and the peoples that inhabit it. Nevertheless, our
January issues, Face of Australia and Australian Legends, capture
the spirit of Australia in a readily identifiable and uniquely
Australian way. I am proud to be associated with them and I
hope you will share my pride in the values and sentiments these
stamp issues represent.
In a formal sense the Face of Australia issue (on 1 January)
is Australia Post's celebration of the year 2000. Other nations
are celebrating 2000 philatelically by issuing historical series
covering the last 100 or 1000 years; others are using special
features such as limited editions or gold foil. Our approach was
to celebrate our greatest national asset, the people of Australia.
The Face of Australia issue presents a cross section of our
nation; young and old, male and female, city and rural, old and
new arrivals. It is a time capsule of Australians in the year 2000.
This issue gives us a glimpse of our past, our present and our
future. The people whose faces appear on the stamps are not
being honoured as individuals. They were chosen to represent
all of us, and in that way this stamp issue honours all of us.
Yes, it is a large stamp issue but necessarily so, in order to
represent effectively a cross section of our community. The year
2000 is a special time warranting a special form of commemoration.
Our second January issue, for Australia Day, will also stir
the national spirit. As in past years, the subject of this issue is a
closely guarded secret. Until it is released, all I can say is that the
Australian Legends issue for the year 2000 is destined to touch
the heart, spirit and national pride of every Australian.
Until next time,
David Maiden,
Manager, Philatelic Group
Face of Australia 1 January 2000
To celebrate the beginning of the year 2000,
Australia Post is issuing a sheetlet of 25 stamps.
Each stamp features a photograph of an
Australian resident. As a group the stamps give
us a snapshot of the nation at this moment in
our history.
Australia in the year 2000
As we begin the year our estimated population
exceeds 19 million, almost five times the size
of the population at the time of Federation.
The most populous State is New South Wales,
followed by Victoria, Queensland, Western
Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. In
1911, 43 percent of Australians lived in rural
areas. Through the century this percentage has
dropped to its current level of about 14 per cent.
Despite this, the image of our rural identity
remains strong.
The tendency for Australians to have fewer
children, along with an increased life expectancy,
has contributed to an ageing population. In 1971
the median age was 27.5 years, in 1991 it was 32.5
and in 1996, 34 years. Throughout the years,
improved nutrition, a higher standard of living
and reduced incidence of many diseases brought
a longer life expectancy. In 1890 an Australian
male’s life expectancy at birth was 47 years, a
female child’s was 51 years. For children born in
Australia in 1994-96 life expectancy at birth was
75 years for males and 81 years for females.
In the past 50 years our society has become
more diverse. Our nation is made up of people
from many cultural backgrounds and religions,
combining to create an interesting and dynamic
community. Population estimates for 1997
identified 23 per cent of the population
as overseas born. A further 27 per cent were
second generation Australians. Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people make up just
under 2 per cent of our population.
It is difficult to generalise about a people. We
like to characterise Australians by their easy-going
tolerance, lack of pretension, and their strong
belief in a ‘ fair go’ for all. But perhaps what
binds Australians is the simple fact that, despite
our differences, we all like living here.
Finding the faces of Australia
The project started with a national search.
Members of the public submitted photographs
of people whom they believed encapsulated a
face of Australia. The community responded
enthusiastically with many thousands of entries.
Australia Post staff made the initial selection.
These were given to state selection committees,
which further narrowed the field to 25 finalists
in each state. These images were sent to the
Stamp Advisory Committee, where the images
you see were selected. The aim was to reflect the
Australian community as closely as possible,
with respect to age groups, ethnicity, gender
balance, national distribution, and so on,
while at the same time creating an interesting,
balanced sheetlet.
The final selection was announced publicly
in November 1999 in Sydney. You will find a
brief description of each individual on the
following page.
The Face of Australia Book
Australian author Thomas Keneally has written
an inspiring foreword to the Face of Australia
book. The book includes more than 170 photos
which reflect the many faces of Australia.
Face of Australia book
$24.95
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