Though there have been fears that King Charles III will not receive the same support from the Commonwealth as his mother, there have been few indications since the September death of Queen Elizabeth II that any big changes are afoot among the 15 countries that still call the British monarch their head of state. But on Thursday, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced the country will replace the image of the late queen with an indigenous design on its five dollar bills.
“The Reserve Bank has decided to update the 5 dollar banknote to feature a new design that honors the culture and history of the First Australians,” the bank said in a statement, adding that they plan to consult on the design with cultural representatives. “The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature the Australian Parliament. This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian Government, which supports this change.”
Australia’s 9 News reports that Charles will feature on the country’s coins, which will begin to circulate later this year. The queen has appeared on the nation’s coins since her coronation in 1953 and her portrait was also featured on its one-dollar notes from 1966 to 1984, when it was discontinued in favor of a coin. However, she has only been featured on the Australian five dollar banknote since 1992, when her image replaced a portrait of aid worker and early feminist Caroline Chisholm on the country’s redesigned polymer notes.
In September Andrew Leigh, the government’s assistant minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, noted that she was on the bill as a sign of personal admiration, not because of her position as monarch. “The decision to include the Queen’s face on the $5 note was about her personally rather than about her status as the monarch so that transition [to Charles on the note] isn’t automatic,” he said.
Reserve Bank treasurer Jim Chalmers told reporters that he thought the change was “good balance” but added that it reflected his personal feelings about the nation’s future. “It’s an important opportunity to recognize, on the A$5 note, more of our indigenous heritage and history and culture going back tens of thousands of years,” he said. “And you know, it’s no secret that I would like to see Australia become a republic.”
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