Posted on 01/21/2015 11:34:47 PM PST by naturalman1975
Monday is Australia Day (the anniversary of the beginning of European settlement in Australia in 1788) and every year since 1997 around this time, Australia Post releases of stamps called 'Australian Legends' - designed to honour prominent Australians - a different group each year (Doctors were honoured in one year, musicians another, etc). Ex-soldiers have appeared once before - in 2000, Australia last three surviving veterans of the 1915 Gallipoli campaign were the subject.
This year, the stamps have just gone on sale, honouring Australia's four living Victoria Cross recipients (Keith Payne VC, who received his Victoria Cross for actions in Vietnam; and Mark Donaldson VC, Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG, and Dan Keighran VC, who all received their Victoria Crosses for actions in Afghanistan. Cameron Baird VC (Deceased) is also appearing on one of the stamps, having received his Victoria Cross posthumously for his last actions in Afghanistan.
These stamps are the only Australian stamps that living people who are not members of the Royal Family appear on. They were specifically created to honour living Australians. I believe the inclusion of Cameron Baird VC MG is the first time a deceased person has appeared on the Australian Legends stamps at the time of their release - I assume (quite rightly) it was simply decided that it was wrong not to honour him alongside his comrades-in-arms.
I we ‘elect’ another trainwreck as president, Australia in the Pacific and Canada near the Atlantic will find their stature increasing exponentially, as more business move out of the United States.
How will I know when America is truly and officially lowered on the World Scale of Significant Countries? When the United Nations gathers all their marbles together and ‘sorrowfully’ relocates to Sydney or Montreal. Countries in the EU will continue to canibalize themselves through enforced taxation, reducing their own significance.
Are you telling me the Dame Edna/Barry Humphries strip of stamps was part of the Legends series? There was also a release of Rock/Pop music acts a couple of years ago which I also assume is part of the Legend series. This was one of the reasons I gave up stamp collecting new issues and eventually the whole hobby btw.
Yes, Barry Humphries was the subject of the 2006 Australian Legends series, and Legends of Australian Music were 2013. (Cold Chisel, Men At Work, INXS, The Seekers, AC/DC, Kylie Minogue, John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, Paul Kelly, and Molly Meldrum).
I actually think Barry Humphries was worthy of inclusion, although I was surprised he got the entire year to himself (Sir Donald Bradman, Arthur Boyd, and Slim Dusty were the only others who got a whole year themselves, rather than being included in a group - and with the exception of Bradman who was the first so the concept was still new, I've never understood why some years that do a single stamp, and others they do a group).
That sounds about right. I just checked and my last annual collection was 2006. Since then Australia Post’s sales pitches have fallen on deaf ears with me. I was their perfect customer in a way. Overseas with no possibility the stamps would ever be used. Everyone stops collecting at some point though.
God bless these brave men.
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