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POCKET GUIDE TO AUSTRALIAN BANKNOTES 2 Change & Stability AUSTRALIAN BANKNOTES FROM THE 1930s TO 1950s

The Decades of Change and Stability

The 1930s was a decade that witnessed dramatic change, mainly stemming from the effects of the Great Depression. In 1932, Australia departed from the gold standard, which fixed the value of the nation's currency to that of gold. As a result, the Bank was not required to retain gold reserves, and the Commonwealth Bank Act of 1932 made its banknotes no longer convertible into gold. ‘Frozen gold, in vaults in the Bank is a luxury we cannot afford …’ wrote Sir Robert Gibson, chairman of the Bank's board of directors, to Montagu Norman, Governor of the Bank of England.1

The first series of banknotes from the 1930s appeared between 1933 and 1934. Together with the Commonwealth coat of arms and portrait of the monarch, King George V, the series contained a sequence of vignettes that depicted the major activities of income in the Australian economy. Whereas previous series had identified the country's means of prosperity through general scenes and landscapes, the new banknotes focused on figures engaged in contributing to the economy through their labour and skill, an optimistic forecast during a period of debilitating unemployment.

Detail from Frank Manley, wash drawing of a scene representing manufacturing, reproduced on the back of the 10 shillings banknote, first issued in July 1933.

Reserve Bank of Australia Archives, NP-003137

A new series of the banknotes with the same vignettes was printed between 1938 and 1940, owing to the need to portray the new monarch, King George VI.

More than a decade passed before a new series was designed and issued in 1953 and 1954. It became the first series of Australian banknotes to portray identities related to the country's history. The selection of the banknotes' portraits was contested between colonial navigators and explorers, and more recent identities who were closely related to Australia as a federated nation, such as its early prime ministers. The decision favoured the colonial figures and a broader range of historical identities needed to wait for the decimal currency series, launched in 1966.

Detail from the front of the £10 banknote, showing Arthur Phillip, first issued in June 1954.

Reserve Bank of Australia Archives, NP-003818.

The banknotes of the 1930s focused on figures contributing to the economy through their labour, an optimistic forecast during a period of debilitating unemployment

Frank Manley, wash drawing of a scene representing commerce, based on Paul Montford's bas-relief sculpture.

Reserve Bank of Australia Archives, NP-003168.

References

1. Sir Robert Gibson, cablegram to Montagu Norman, Bank of England, London, 10 June 1932. Reserve Bank of Australia Archives, BM-P-101.

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