• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Institute of Australian Culture

Heritage, history, and heroes; literature, legends, and larrikins

  • Home
  • Articles
  • Biographies
  • Books
  • Ephemera
  • Poetry & songs
    • Recommended poetry
    • Poetry and songs, 1786-1900
    • Poetry and songs, 1901-1954
    • Rock music and pop music [videos]
    • Early music [videos]
  • Slang
  • Timeline
    • Timeline of Australian history and culture
    • Calendar of Australian history and culture
    • Significant events and commemorative dates
  • Topics

Commonwealth stamp: The new design [4 April 1912]

2 January 2023 · Leave a Comment

[Editor: This article, regarding the Kangaroo and Map stamps, was published in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 4 April 1912.]

Commonwealth stamp.

The new design.

Kangaroo and Map stampSince federation successive Postmasters-General had kept in view the utility of issuing a uniform Commonwealth stamp, but the bookkeeping system stood in the way. It was not till the end of the bookkeeping period that practical steps could be taken.

Designs were called for by Mr. Thomas, then Postmaster-General, from all parts of the world, and prizes of £100 and £50 were offered for the best and second best designs. The prizes were allotted, but neither Mr. Thomas nor his successor, Mr. Frazer, cared for any of the designs.

Mr. Frazer was, however, struck by the simple assertiveness of the figure of a kangaroo on one of the designs, while the outline of the map of Australia on another also captivated his Spartan taste. He called the Victorian Artists’ Society to his aid, and Mr. Blamire Young pictured the idea that was in the Minister’s mind — a kangaroo in the outline of the continent with a little kangaroo grass adjacent. The stamp is therefore essentially Mr. Frazer’s, and officers of the department disclaim all credit for the design. It is estimated that about a year will be occupied in preparing for the issue, as dies will have to be cut.



Source:
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 4 April 1912, p. 6

Also published (with some minor differences) in:
The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.), 16 April 1912, p. 8
The Week (Brisbane, Qld.), 19 April 1912, p. 25

Editor’s notes:
Blamire Young = William Blamire Young (1862-1935), artist; born in Londesborough (Yorkshire, England) in 1862, and died in Lilydale (Vic.) in 1935 (lived in Australia 1885-1893, 1895-1912, 1923-1935)
See: 1) Elly Fink, “Young, William Blamire (1862–1935)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Blamire Young”, Wikipedia

Commonwealth = the Commonwealth of Australia; the Australian nation, federated on 1 January 1901

die = an engraved, patterned, or shaped block or device made of metal which is used to cast, cut, forge, form, mould, press, shape, or stamp metal into a particular design or shape (such as is used for stamping coins and medals); a machine used for punching holes or otherwise shaping metal pieces (such as sheet metal); a steel device made for cutting the threads of bolts, screws, etc.; a device used for cutting, forming, or stamping material (such as metal or plastic)

federation = the federation or union of the Australian colonies into the Commonwealth of Australia (which occurred on 1 January 1901)

Frazer = Charles Edward Frazer (1880-1913), engine driver, politician, Postmaster-General (1911- 1913); he was born in Yarrawonga (Vic.) in 1880, and died in Melbourne (Vic.) in 1913
See: 1) Ross McMullin, “Frazer, Charles Edward (1880–1913)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Charlie Frazer”, Wikipedia

kangaroo grass = a tall perennial tussock-forming grass with seed heads, widespread in Australia (original scientific name: Themeda australis; although, due to a lack of significant differences with similar grasses, it has been reclassified as Themeda triandra)
See: 1) “Themeda australis”, Gardens Online
2) “Themeda australis”, Provincial Plants & Landscapes
3) “Species profile — Themeda australis”, Department of Environment and Science (Queensland Government)
4) “Themeda triandra: Kangaroo Grass”, Yarra Ranges Shire Council
5) “Themeda triandra: Kangaroo Grass”, Australian Plants Society NSW
6) “Themeda triandra: Previously called Themeda australis: Kangaroo Grass”, Australian National Botanic Gardens (Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research)
7) “Themeda triandra”, Wikipedia

Spartan = austere; having very little comfort or luxury (derived from the Spartans of ancient Greece, who were renowned for their austere, disciplined, and militaristic way of living)

Thomas = Josiah Thomas (1863-1933), miner, politician, Postmaster-General (1908-1909, 1910-1911), Minister for External Affairs (1911-1913); born in Camborne (Cornwall, England), came to Australia in the mid-1880s, and died in Croydon Park (Sydney, NSW) in 1933
See: 1) Bruce Pennay, “Thomas, Josiah (1863–1933)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Josiah Thomas (politician)”, Wikipedia

As the image of the stamp (on the Trove site) in the article in The Argus (4 April 1912) was of poor quality, the image was instead sourced from the duplicate article published in The Week (19 April 1912).

[Editor: The original text has been separated into paragraphs.]

Filed Under: articles Tagged With: 500x500, graphic replacement, Kangaroo and Map stamps, SourceTrove, year1912

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

The Institute of Australian Culture
Heritage, history, and heroes. Writers, workers, and wages. Literature, legends, and larrikins. Stories, songs, and sages.

Search this site

Featured books

The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, by Banjo Paterson A Book for Kids, by C. J. Dennis  The Bulletin Reciter: A Collection of Verses for Recitation from The Bulletin The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, by C. J. Dennis The Complete Inner History of the Kelly Gang and Their Pursuers, by J. J. Kenneally The Foundations of Culture in Australia, by P. R. Stephensen The Australian Crisis, by C. H. Kirmess Such Is Life, by Joseph Furphy
More books (full text)

Featured lists

Timeline of Australian history and culture
Significant events and commemorative dates
A list of significant Australiana
Australian slang
Books (full text)
Australian explorers
Australian literature
Recommended poetry
Poetry and songs, 1786-1900
Poetry and songs, 1901-1954
Rock music and pop music (videos)
Folk music and bush music (videos)
Early music (videos)
Topics
Links

Featured posts

Advance Australia Fair: How the song became the Australian national anthem
Brian Cadd [music videos and biography]
Ned Kelly: Australian bushranger
Under the Southern Cross I Stand [the Australian cricket team’s victory song]

Some Australian authors

Barcroft Boake
E. J. Brady
John Le Gay Brereton
C. J. Dennis
Mary Hannay Foott
Joseph Furphy
Mary Gilmore
Charles Harpur
Grant Hervey
Lucy Everett Homfray
Rex Ingamells
Henry Kendall
“Kookaburra”
Henry Lawson
Jack Moses
“Dryblower” Murphy
John Shaw Neilson
John O’Brien (Patrick Joseph Hartigan)
“Banjo” Paterson
Marie E. J. Pitt
A. G. Stephens
P. R. Stephensen
Agnes L. Storrie (Agnes L. Kettlewell)

Recent Posts

  • Died on Active Service / Heroes of the Empire [Australian military personnel (WW1, WW2), 24 April 1943]
  • Flooded house on Villiers Street, Grafton (NSW) [postcard, circa 1950]
  • Fossicker’s claim, Daylesford [postcard, circa 1905-1912]
  • The Bathing Beach Flinders [postcard, early 20th Century]
  • The Lass of Yackandandah [poem, 11 June 1857]

Top Posts & Pages

  • Australian slang, words, and phrases
  • Rommel’s comments on Australian soldiers [1941-1942]
  • No Foe Shall Gather Our Harvest [poem by Mary Gilmore, 29 June 1940]
  • The Man from Snowy River [poem by Banjo Paterson]
  • The Man from Ironbark [poem by Banjo Paterson]

Archives

Categories

Posts of note

The Bastard from the Bush [poem, circa 1900]
A Book for Kids [by C. J. Dennis, 1921]
Click Go the Shears [traditional Australian song, 1890s]
Core of My Heart [“My Country”, poem by Dorothea Mackellar, 24 October 1908]
Freedom on the Wallaby [poem by Henry Lawson, 16 May 1891]
The Man from Ironbark [poem by Banjo Paterson]
Nationality [poem by Mary Gilmore, 12 May 1942]
The Newcastle song [music video, sung by Bob Hudson]
No Foe Shall Gather Our Harvest [poem by Mary Gilmore, 29 June 1940]
Our pipes [short story by Henry Lawson]
Rommel’s comments on Australian soldiers [1941-1942]
Shooting the moon [short story by Henry Lawson]

Recent Comments

  • IAC on Those Names [poem by Banjo Paterson]
  • Paul on Those Names [poem by Banjo Paterson]
  • Floyd Black on Eurunderee [poem by Henry Lawson]
  • Warren fahey on The Institute of Australian Culture: An introduction
  • Julia Sweet nee Mooney on Laughing Mary [poem by John O’Brien]

For Australia

Copyright © 2025 · Log in