Postage stamps and postal history of Australia
Section 51(v) of the Australian Constitution empowered the Commonwealth to make laws in respect of "postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other like services".
The first of these, the design of which was based on the current New South Wales postage due stamps, was issued in July 1902.
The first definitive series, issued on 2 January 1913, comprised fifteen stamps, ranging in value from ½d to £2.
[3][1] The Kangaroo and Map design was ordered by the Fisher Labor Government, which included a number of republicans who strenuously opposed the incorporation of the monarch's profile on Australian stamps.
One of the first acts of the Cook Liberal Government, sworn in on 14 June 1913, was to order a series of postage stamps with the profile of George V. On 8 December 1913, the first of those, an engraved 1d carmine-red, appeared.
However, particularly in the late 1950s, the depiction of the monarch on Australian definitives became confined to the base domestic letter rate and the preceding minor values.
The last base domestic letter rate definitive stamp featuring the monarch appeared on 1 October 1971.
Since then, the designs of all Australian definitive values have focused on fauna, flora, reptiles, butterflies, marine life, gemstones, paintings, handicrafts, visual arts, community and the like.
The first Australian multicoloured stamps appeared on 31 October 1956 as part of the Melbourne Olympic Games commemorative issue.
The first Australian-printed multicoloured stamp, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Australian Inland Mission, was issued on 5 September 1962.
From 1993, in October of every year, Australia Post has commemorated Stamp Collecting month with special issues, typically featuring topics that are of interest to children such as pets, native fauna and space.
Prior to 1997, the official policy of Australia Post was to not depict living persons on stamps other than members of the royal family.
[7] Since 1997, Australia Post has formally adjusted its policy and has issued stamps commemorating living Australians.
Australia Post has also used tabs to commemorate themes and individuals not considered significant enough for a stamp issue of their own.
Since the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, separate stamps were introduced for domestic and international postage in 2001.
From the 1913 to 1930, Commonwealth and State Government agencies used stamps (perfins) punctured with OS ("Official Service").
The OS overprinted stamp was sold over post office counters to prevent speculation and was valid for all types of mail.
Australia has had joint stamp issues with New Zealand (1958, 1963 and 1988), the United Kingdom (1963, 1988 and 2005), some of its external territories (1965), the United States of America (1988), the U.S.S.R. (1990), People's Republic of China (1995), Germany (1996), Indonesia (1996), Singapore (1998), Greece (2000), Hong Kong (2001), Sweden (2001), France (2002) and Thailand (2002).
At the end of World War II, in 1945, stamps of Australia were used in mandate of New Guinea and in Papua until 1 March 1953.
[15][16] Between October 1946 and February 1949, in occupied Japan, the Australian stamps used as such by the military post offices were overprinted "B.C.O.F.
