Banknote Database made by collectors, for collectors
Caroline's Revenge
February 12, 2023 @ 23:52
Australia was ahead of the curve on banknote design and innovation after the 1960s. After a disastrous situation with counterfeiting immediately after the release of a new series of banknotes, the country developed polymer notes and released the first* polymer note in 1988 as a commemorative issue. After that, the country began replacing each denomination with polymer notes. Innovation continued in that each side of the new notes would feature a woman on one side, and a man on the other (except for the one we're talking about here). The first gender equality on a banknote series, at least that was done on purpose. This brings us to the controversy surrounding the country’s first regular polymer issue note, the 1992 5 dollar. For historical context, Queen Elizabeth II first appeared on Australian notes on the 1966 one dollar, the lowest denomination. The reverse featured aboriginal artwork. Released in 1967, the 5 dollar note featured Caroline Chisholm on the reverse side. For this 1960s series, she was the only female on the series other than the Queen. Fast forward to the new polymer releases taking place in the 1990s, the 1 dollar note had been discontinued making the 5 dollar note the new lowest denomination.
It was assumed that the Queen would be retired from the new banknotes, relegated to coins, and Caroline Chisholm (shown above on the old 5 dollar note) would maintain her position on the new 5 dollar note. During the late 80s, Australia was questioning republicanism and their own national identity. There were major public discussions about things like changing the flag and becoming fully independent of the UK. Migrant welfare champion Caroline Chisholm remained a popular historical figure. In this context, there was a massive public outcry in May 1990 when it was announced the 5 dollar note would feature the Queen and the new Parliament House. Australia’s most eminent historian at the time, Manning Clark stated “I think it is most deplorable, a really retrograde step. I was hoping that [the Royal Family] would gradually fade away like old soldiers.” The outcry even overshadowed the fact that the country was introducing the world’s first series of polymer banknotes. Another quote closer to the release of the new $5 came from the national coordinator for the Women’s Electoral Lobby Julie McCarron-Benson was scathing. “The Queen really isn’t a woman, she’s a monarch… she isn’t an Australian.” The controversy reached a head close to the note’s release and Parliament was forced to get involved. Astonishingly, every major political party in the country agreed to leave Caroline Chisholm on the fiver. Prime Minister Paul Keating, Opposition Leader John Hewson both agreed on the matter. Labor backbencher in Parliament Rosemary Crowley called for banknote iconography choices to be removed from the Reserve Bank to a board of eminent Australians. Parliament went so far as to introduce several motions to force the Reserve Bank to put Chisholm on the new $5. They ended up simply condemning the Bank. Astonishingly, were no congratulatory parties or political speeches on the revolution in banknote design the country had pioneered.
At this point, the Reserve Bank had to make a statement. Bank spokesman John Colditz told Parliament they had no power to tell the Bank who or what would be on the banknotes and the bank was not an ‘arbiter of community views’ further enraging elected officials. Besides, they had already printed most of them. PM Keating went on to call the removal of Chisholm in favor of the Queen a “national disgrace”. Probably in an attempt to smooth things over, the Bank stated future banknotes would feature equal representation among historical male and female figures. When the new polymer 5 dollar note was released in the summer of 1992 shop owners began reporting to the Reserve Bank that people had been removing the Queen’s face using nail polish. The note had to be updated in 1995 to have thicker and stronger ink to prevent the easy removal of the Queen (and to make the note more durable). The engraving of the Queen was updated in 2016 ever so slightly so that her gaze is more directly facing the viewer, a symbol of trust.
After the Queen’s death in 2022, the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to remove her from the banknotes and not feature her successor King Charles III - instead opting for Aboriginal themes. You might call this "Caroline's Revenge" at the monarchy. Unlike 1992, the reaction was muted but some had strong opinions. Opposition leader Peter Dutton called the removal of the monarch “woke nonsense”.
As an aside, the reverse of Australia’s first one dollar note depicts Aborginial art, including on the left a copy of 'Gurrmirringu’s Mortuary Feast' by Aboriginal artist David Malangi. No one told David his artwork was to be used on the banknote because at that time Aboriginal people were wards of the state... so his art belonged to the government. Eventually Malangi received $1,000 from the government (and a medal and a tackle box) and set off a string of indigenous copyright rulings. Malangi was forever after known as “Dollar Dave”.
*Australia was not the first country to have polymer banknotes, they love to say they are - but that's for another blog post