In May 2013, Melbourne played host to the Australia 2013 FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie) World Stamp Expo, at the time believed to be the second largest international stamp show ever held.
Staged at the city’s Royal Exhibition Building, the event housed 91 stand holders (among which 21 postal administrations were represented) and saw more than 1,000 official participants through its doors.
As well as featuring 54,000 pages of competitive exhibits from 60 countries, the event was also host to many rare and unique collections, making it the largest collection of philatelic items on show in Australia since 1984.
The exhibition marked the Centenary of the Kangaroo and Map stamps the first national postage stamps of Australia, and as such, through the Court of Honour display, showcased rare material from the Royal Philatelic Collection and Australia Post’s National Philatelic Collection, some of which had never before been exhibited in Australia.
Australia Post stamp issues released at the event included:
- The Kangaroo and Map: 1913-2013 commemorative stamp issue
- The Australia and Israel joint stamp issue
- Centenary of the First Commonwealth Banknote commemorative stamp issue
- Pardalotes Australian Birds – the fourth stamp issue in the Australian Birds series illustrated by Christopher Pope
In addition, to celebrate the 25th consecutive win and retirement of champion Australian racehorse Black Caviar, Australia Post released a commemorative domestic (60 cent) stamp. In conjunction with the stamp release the World Stamp Expo, in partnership with the Australian Racing Museum, showcased The Perfect Run exhibition, displaying for the first time all of the trophies won by the Australian champion mare.
Read on to take a more in-depth look at some of the event’s key exhibits.
The Court of Honour exhibition
With the gracious permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Court of Honour exhibits offered Australian collectors the opportunity to view rarely seen Australian Commonwealth stamps from the Royal Philatelic Collection. Together with Australia Post’s National Philatelic Collection, this comprised the world’s most comprehensive collection of British and Commonwealth philatelic material.
The Royal Philatelic Collection is a privately held collection that chiefly comprises British and Commonwealth stamps. One album is said to have belonged to Tsarevich Alexis, the heir apparent and only son of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, who were murdered with their family in Russia in 1918.
The Royal Philatelic Collection is housed in St James’s Palace, London, with selections being loaned out for major exhibitions around the world. Portions of The Royal Philatelic Collection have been shown in Australia on only a few occasions and the 2013 Australia World Stamp Expo was the first time such an extensive display focused on Australian Commonwealth material had been exhibited.
The Royal Philatelic Collection also represents material from Australia’s most famous philatelist JRW Purves (1903–79), whose collection of Australian Commonwealth was purchased intact by His Majesty King George V in 1930.
The Australia Post National Philatelic Collection comprises two major elements: the archival items produced by the Postmaster-General’s Department/Australia Post over the years, and the 23-volume Ray Chapman Collection, which Australia Post purchased 30 years ago. To develop the Court of Honour exhibit for Australia 2013, items from both these elements were selected.
The National Philatelic Collection exhibit in the Court of Honour area commemorated the 1913 Kangaroo and Map stamp centenary and the stamp printer involved, JB Cooke, as well as the 1913–14 intaglio stamps and their printer, TS Harrison, who produced the first Commonwealth banknotes in 1913.
Rare stamps preserved by Australia Post on behalf of the Australian people were also on show, as well as “never released” proofs and colour trials used for the planning and development of Australia’s first national stamp issue – Kangaroo and Map.
In addition, the display also contained the 1934 Centenary of Victoria stamps, as well as the first Commonwealth banknote (10 shillings, 1913) and the 1813 Holey Dollar and Colonial “dump”, courtesy of Coinworks.
The Chapman Collection was purchased in 1986 by Australia Post to complement the National Philatelic Collection. The collection of Australian Commonwealth stamps was assembled by Ray Chapman over a period of 40 years and was the first collection of its kind to win a gold medal at a world philatelic exhibition.
Kangaroo and Map stamp
To commemorate the centenary of the Kangaroo and Map stamp issue, a $10 stamp was released on 10 May 2013. The Kangaroo and Map stamps were released between January and April 1913, and superseded the Australian colonial stamps used in individual states.
For many years, state stamps were only valid for postage when used within their state of origin. In October 1910, states stamps were made interchangeable for postage throughout Australia in advance of the Kangaroo and Map stamps being issued.
It is said that the Kangaroo and Map design is a combination of ideas, and not the design of one person.
Although a competition was held to determine the stamp design, ultimately it was the vision of Postmaster-General Charles Frazer that dominated the final design.
The Commonwealth Bank Note Commemorative stamp issue
The first Australian banknote – of 10 shillings denomination – was numbered on 1 May 1913. A commemorative issue of two stamps and a minisheet were released on 11 May at Australia 2013.
Stamp one – 60c Numbering Ceremony. Featured the daughter of the Governor-General, Judith Denman, holding the first banknote at the official numbering ceremony on 1 May 1913.
Stamp two – $2.60 Coat of Arms. This stamp featured the Australian Coat of Arms scanned from the actual first banknote.
Australian Birds stamps
The Pardalotidae stamp issue was the fourth in the Australian Birds series, all of which were illustrated by renowned wildlife artist Christopher Pope. The set of four stamps, released on 11 May 2013, celebrated the family of native birds known as Pardalotes.
There are only four members in Pardalotidae family and all are native to Australia: the Forty-spotted Pardalote, which is a threatened species, the Spotted Pardalote, the Red-browed Pardalote and the Striated Pardalote. Each features on its own stamp.
This article was produced at the time of publication and will not be updated.
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