On Monday (17 March) the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced that the theme for the reimagined $5 banknote should “honour the enduring emotional, spiritual and physical connection of First Nations peoples to Country”.
In a formal statement, the RBA described its reasoning for this theme’s selection: “An important context for this connection is the overturning of the concept of terra nullius. This action recognised the existence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s relationship to Country for thousands of years.”
The RBA’s stance pays a deep nod to the High Court’s decision to recognise native title in the 1992 Mabo case, and comes at a time when the First Nations community in Australia is still recovering from the failed Referendum vote for a voice in Parliament in 2023.
The $5 banknote – which has sported a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II since July 1992, when she usurped the place of immigrant, humanitarian Caroline Chisholm – will be the first in its history to not feature a portrait.
Rather, a call for artwork submissions has been launched to embody these future ideals for our nation. The decision now lies in the hands of Australians.
RBA Assistant Governor (Business Services) Michelle McPhee added: “The theme encompasses the deep connection First Nations peoples have to the land, the waters and the sky,” adding that, “key to this theme is the recognition of First Nations communities’ contribution to the restoration and conservation of our environment.”
“The artist is invited to reflect how this decision has shaped a positive future for First Nations peoples,” the RBA continued.
It is hoped that the banknote will offer an opportunity “for all Australians to learn from Australia’s original stewards on how to nurture and protect our fragile world,” said the redesign panel in a formal statement.
Understanding the process and timeline
In February 2023, the RBA announced King Charles would not feature on the banknote following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. This week’s news, then, may feel long in coming.
Over that ensuing period, the RBA has consulted with First Nations organisations to encourage submissions for the note’s redesign, and established the $5 Redesign Imagery Selection Panel, which includes First Nations representatives and representatives from the RBA and Note Printing Australia.
That theme has been firmed up with the announcement this week. The new design will reflect the chosen theme and incorporate artwork from a First Nations artist, explains the RBA. The design sought is for only one side of the banknote, with the current image of Parliament House, including the forecourt mosaic based on a Central Desert dot-style painting by Michael Nelson Jagamara, remaining on the verso of the redesigned note.
This is a fantastic opportunity for First Nations artists to make an enduring statement.
Next? Submitted designs will be assessed after the deadline, and it is expected the new design will be announced by the end of the year.
The new banknote will take a number of years to be designed and printed. Until it is launched, the current $5 banknote will continue to be issued.
First Nations first
While it may be a first not to have the image of the monarch on Australian currency, it is not the first time Australian First Nations people will be celebrated.
Unfortunately, that history was a bit wobbly to begin with. The £1 banknote (first issued in June 1923) celebrated Captain James Cook’s landing at Botany Bay, faced by Gweagal warriors and their spears. It was derived from a painting by colonial artist E Phillips Fox.
Things continued to go sideways in 1966, when an Aboriginal artwork was used for new $1 note, created by Arnhem Land artist David Malangi. It was the first copyright case in Australia for an Aboriginal artist.
More positively, the current $50 banknote, first issued in October 1995, features author, inventor, activist and musician, David Uniapon, a Ngarrindjeri man from South Australia.
The current $5 redesign further addresses this imbalance and errors of the past.
