[press release]
Australia marks 100 years since WWI
Australia Post is marking 100 years since the end of the Great War ahead of Remembrance Day with the release of five commemorative stamps in the series Centenary of WWI: 1918.
Australia Post Philatelic Manager, Michael Zsolt said this is the final issue in a five-year program commemorating World War I, with each issue looking back 100 years on war efforts at home and abroad.
“In this issue, we used the image archive of the Australian War Memorial to focus on and highlight significant events and themes associated with the end of the war in 1918.”
Australian War Memorial Senior Historian Dr Aaron Pegram worked with Australia Post throughout the five-year program to help bring these stamps to life.
“We have tried to tell the story of Australia during World War 1 and the impact it had on Australian society. Australia Post’s five-year commemorative stamp program has been comprehensive. It has covered all theatres of fighting, the major campaigns fought by the Australian Imperial Force, and both the victories and losses during the war. This final issue looks at the momentous events of 1918, the Armistice signed on 11 November, and loss of around 60,000 Australians during more than four years of fighting,” Dr Pegram said.
The five domestic rate $1 stamps are:
Last 100 days: Represents the last months of hostilities on the Western Front and features Lieutenant Rupert Frederick Arding Downes MC addressing his platoon from B Company, 29th Battalion, during a rest before the advance onto Harbonnières.- Lieut
Gen. Sir John Monash: Depicts our most celebrated leader during the war. Monash was promoted to lieutenant general in May 1918, and made commander of the Australian Corps. The background image shows his knighthood ceremony. 
Armistice declared: Represents the Armistice signed on 11 November 1918. The image in the background reflects the spirited as citizens rejoiced at the news the war had finally come to an end.
Return home: Represents the families waiting for the arrival of their loved ones. It took more than a year to bring the last of the Australian troops home from the war.
Honouring the fallen: Pays homage to the lives lost on foreign soil and depicts the French children at Adelaide Cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux, who tended the graves of Australian soldiers who died in the surrounding area throughout the fighting of 1918.
The products available with this commemorative stamp issue include a minisheet, stamp pack, first day cover, maxicards, three postal numismatic covers, prestige booklet, prestige cover, medallion cover, medallion collection, and stamp medal.
The Centenary of WWI: 1918 stamp issue will be available from 2 October at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps, while stocks last. 
Australia Post has released a special edition Drought Relief stamp to help raise funds for Rural Aid, the charity behind the Buy a Bale campaign, with the aim of raising $200,000.
This month Australia Post continues its humorous commemorative stamp series, Fair Dinkum Aussie Alphabet, which takes a light-hearted look at Australia through cultural icons, places, characters, flora, fauna and more. In part four of the series, Gavin Ryan illustrates five stamps for the letters E, O, X, Y and Z.
recreation and even fashion to take a snapshot of things that are iconic to our country,” Mr Zsolt said.
$1 O is for Oilskin, opal opera house, oar and …
Australia Post will release a commemorative stamp to celebrate [18 August’s] record breaking 26th consecutive race win by Australian racehorse, Winx.
This August for Stamp Collecting Month, Australia Post is calling on Australians to go on a Reef Safari with the release of five beautiful stamps showcasing some of the diverse and threatened species found on the Great Barrier Reef.
“In the International Year of the Reef, we’re encouraging children to learn more about the environment and biodiversity of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef through the special Reef Safari stamp issue. The five stamps highlight the beauty and diversity of species living in the largest coral reef system in the world – the Grey Reef Shark, Green Sea Turtle, Nautilus, Olive Sea Snake and Emperor Angelfish,” said Ms Cohen.
“As one of the world’s seven natural wonders and one of our most popular tourist locations, the Great Barrier Reef is home to billions of organisms, corals, and marine life. Sadly, climate change has placed the reef under pressure like never before, and we hope these stamps can highlight the things we can do to make a difference.”
“Urgent protection is needed to save the reef, or Australia and the world risk losing a global treasure that provides enormous economic, social, and environmental benefits to hundreds of millions of people. Time and time again, we are seeing devastating impacts on coral reefs when sea temperatures warm even for short periods. If average global temperatures increase by 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial period – a point just decades away – many scientists think that most coral reefs will become unviable. We must put the brakes on climate change for the sake of coral reefs,” he said.
The stamps and associated products will be available from 1 August in participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794, and online at auspost.com.au/stamps while stocks last.
Australia Post is celebrating the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge with the release of a new commemorative stamp.
commissioned in Brim, Victoria as an initiative of artist Guido van Helten, silo owner GrainCorp and local community organisation Brim Active Group. The 30-metre-tall artwork depicts three men and one woman, wearing hats to shield their faces from the midday sun, and was completed over a three week period. The success of the mural as a tourist attraction encouraged the Yarriambiack Shire to commission five additional GrainCorp silo murals, now known as the Wimmera-Mallee Silo Art Trail.
metre-wide silos in Thallon were painted as part of a co-initiative between the artists (Drapl and The Zookeeper), the Thallon Progress Association and GrainCorp. Entitled “Watering Hole” the mural depicts aspects of Thallon, including the spectacular sunsets, the picturesque Moonie River, a scarred tree acknowledging the community’s indigenous history and sheep to reference the wool industry.
commissioned by FORM agency on behalf of silo owners CBH Group to paint their three silos located in Ravensthorpe. Titled Six Stages in Banksia baxteri, the mural depicts local flora and fauna, with each side of the three silos showing a different stage in the flowering cycle of the banksia, an endemic species to the area.
created in New South Wales can be found in the Central West town of Weethalle. Inspired by Victoria’s silo trail, the Bland Shire Council called for applications from artists Australia-wide to undertake the project. Heesco Khosnaran was the successful artist selected by the council and community representatives; drawing inspiration for his murals from photographs representing the district’s main agricultural activities: shearing and wheat growing.
Australia Post is releasing a stamp issue to commemorate 150th anniversary of the sporting achievements of the 1868 Aboriginal XI – the first cricket team from Australia to tour internationally.
Australia Post Philatelic Manager, Michael Zsolt said: “This was an extraordinary achievement by these players, all of whom, aside from the captain, had only been playing the game of cricket for a few years”.
Most players returned to the restrictions of station life following the tour, with few continuing to play cricket. In 2002, the 1868 Aboriginal XI was posthumously recognised in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as the first cricket team from Australia to tour England. In 2004, each player was posthumously assigned an official Cricket Australia number, to honour their ground-breaking achievements.
The domestic stamp also features a close-up photograph of the ‘Queen Elizabeth’ (also known as ‘Queen of England’)
– a tall grandiflora rose introduced in 1954. The Queen Elizabeth rose was named to recognise the Queen’s ascension to the British throne in 1952 and subsequent coronation in 1953.
The Queen’s Birthday 2018 stamp issue is available from 17 April 2018 at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps, while stocks last. Please visit 
