POCKET GUIDE TO AUSTRALIAN BANKNOTES 4 The Reinvention of BanknotesTHE AUSTRALIAN INNOVATION OF POLYMER BANKNOTES

The Reinvention of Banknotes

The commemorative $10 note was the first banknote to be printed on polymer substrate with an integrated optically variable device; it was released on 26 January 1988, the bicentenary of Governor Arthur Phillip's naming of the colony Sydney Town. Harry Williamson, designer of the $100 decimal banknote, was chosen to lead the design team. The banknote incorporates an optically variable device that portrays Captain James Cook. It features a vessel of the First Fleet, HMS Supply, the first ship to drop anchor in Sydney Cove, and a frieze of figures across the landscape, beginning with convicts and continuing with subsequent waves of migration to Australia.

The culture of Aboriginal people is represented through layered imagery and patterns on the other side of the banknote. In its centre is an image of a youth with body decoration that was commissioned from the artist, Wayne Williams. Ancient rock paintings from Deaf Adder Gorge, Western Arnhem Land, appear behind the figure and a ceremonial Morning Star Pole, created by Terry Yumbulul (Djangu), is placed between the youth and the ancestral paintings. Different styles of art works are depicted in the background: hand stencilling; dot painting based on works acquired by the Bank from Paddy Carroll Tjungurrayi (Warlpiri; Anmatyerr); and cross-hatching or rarrk from a bark painting commissioned from George Milpurrurru (Yolgnu).

The trial of the new technology was successful, and a complete series of polymer banknotes was planned for issuance. For the production of the new series, the focus shifted from the optically variable device to less expensive alternatives that had become available. The introduction of a clear window replaced the device as it was equally effective in hindering counterfeiting. With the introduction of the New Note Series, issued between 1992 and 1996, Australia became the first nation to convert successfully its paper-based currency to polymer banknotes.