A Squared Down Under: Reserve Bank Museum and Parliament House

The other day I decided to explore around the CBD (Central Business District). There are a lot of places I hadn't been to, but have seen. The buildings here are architecturally quite amazing. I was randomly walking by the New South Wales Parliament House when I saw there was an art exhibit there that was open to the public. So I decided to check it out. I walked in, and there were about 4-5 police officers. Had to put my backpack through the scanner and walk through a metal detector. These officers were quite friendly. Once I got through there, I had no clue where to go so I was looking for signs. I saw a sign that said public entrance, so naturally I went there. The door ended up being locked and another police officer sort of scolded me for trying to go through that door. I told him all I want to do is see the art exhibit. He told me that I have to go in and sign in with the front desk, etc. So I go inside and find a man at a desk and tell him what I was told. He laughed and said you can just walk right in...the art is right here. Found out later that door I tried to go in leads into the actually room where Parliament takes place (who knew!!!)

View of the Parliament House from the street
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_House,_Sydney.jpg

The whole reason I came was for the NSW Parliament Plein Art Paining Prize which is an acquisitive art prize of $20,000, awarded for the best 'plein air' painting of NSW subject. The NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize is an annual event and is recognized by plein air artists throughout Australia. The Parliament of NSW encourages all artists to enter this landscape painting prize, with finalists and semi-finalists exhibited at the Parliament of NSW, Sydney in October 2017.

The term 'en plein air' refers to the practice of painting out of doors, in direct engagement with nature, where the transitory effects of light can be observed and recorded. It has a history in Europe of several hundred years, the most famous exponents including Salvator Rosa and Claude Lorraine in the 17th Century and Corot and the Barbican school painters in the 19th. In the Australian context, the Impressionists of the late 19th century, including Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts were devoted to paining out of doors, and thus brought a new understanding of Australian light and landscape to the public through their work. Fred Williams, Australia's great master of landscape painting in the 20th century, used studies painted out of doors as the foundation of his work. These artists and others established a strong tradition of painting 'en plein air' in Australia that continue to this day.

Contemporary Australian artists paint 'en plein air' both in the bush and the city. For many it is a private aspect of their work, rarely exhibited, which provides a complement to their studio work. For others it is their principal method of working. Australia's climate and landscape has long proven conducive to working out of doors and continues to fascinate the public.

The winning painting of the Plein Air Art Prize is acquired by NSW Parliament as a condition of entry and joins a significant body of public artwork in the NSW Parliament Collection. The landscape painting prize is a wonderful way for the NSW Parliament to acquire wonderful artworks that depict the diversity of scenes that NSW has to offer.
This photo below is the 2017 winner.

Rachel Ellis
‘Bentinck St, Bathurst’
Oil on board
30 x 40 cm
from NSW Parliament website

This was my favorite piece of artwork shown.

There was a cool fountain in the middle of this area which is called "Fountain Court".

I didn't want to take too many photos since I had no clue if I was allowed to take photos and didn't feel like getting yelled at anymore by cops.

I went across the street and ended up at the Reserve Bank of Australia Museum. "The Museum was established to educate visitors about Australia's banknotes which are an everyday symbol of our nation, mirroring who we are and how we have seen ourselves over the years."

So the inside of this building actually leads you to the Reserve as well as the museum. Luckily the people at the front desk were super friendly and directed me the right way.

Entrance to the actual Reserve for employees is just to the left

Gold scales and entrance to the museum on the right.

Gold scales used in the old days

"The new $5 banknote is the first of the next generation of Australian banknotes. The new banknote, issued from September 2016, contains significant innovations in design and security. It is the first Australian banknote to have a clear top-to-bottom ‘window’ that includes sophisticated security features. It also introduces a tactile feature that can be used by people who are blind or have low vision to determine the value of their banknotes."

Back of bill
http://museum.rba.gov.au/displays/a-new-vision-for-banknotes/

"On the back side, the banknote depicts Parliament House, Canberra, denoting the role of parliament. The forecourt mosaic based on the painting, Possum and Wallaby Dreaming, 1985 by Michael Nelson Jagamara is shown, along with an aerial plan view of the building."

Front of bill.
http://museum.rba.gov.au/displays/a-new-vision-for-banknotes/

"On the other side, a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is shown, denoting the role of the monarch within the system of constitutional monarchy. Since 1923, Australian banknotes have portrayed the reigning monarch. Queen Elizabeth II first appeared on an Australian banknote in 1953 when she was portrayed on the £1 banknote. A new portrait was commissioned for the $1 banknote, first issued in 1966, and a third portrait was drawn for the $5 banknote issued in 1992, based on a photograph from 1984. The portrait of the Queen on the new banknote has been redrawn from the same photograph. Technological advances mean more detail can be achieved in the design and the portrait on the new banknote more closely resembles the original photograph.

Other images on the banknote include a representation of Prickly Moses wattle (Acacia verticillata subsp. ovoidea) and an Australian native bird – the Eastern Spinebill."

This banknote was first issued in 2016. I think what is crazy is that when the Queen passes away, a lot of the money here will have to be redone with King Charles on it. Seems pretty tedious.

Here is a video on how the new polymer bank notes are created. It's actually pretty interesting. https://youtu.be/zAArB5wYtA0

The newest banknote out is the $10 bill. "The design of the new $10 banknote celebrates Australia’s literary heritage. This bank note was issued in 2017.

The $10 banknote retains the portraits of two of Australia’s most celebrated writers - Dame Mary Gilmore and Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson who were both featured on the previous banknotes. The two portraits derive from drawings based on original photographs. The work of the two writers is recognised in several design elements on the banknote, including images of a pen nib in two of the clear windows and excerpts in microprint of Mary Gilmore’s poem No Foe Shall Gather Our Harvest and Banjo Paterson’s popular ballad, The Man from Snowy River. Images illustrating the writers’ themes are featured. A bush hut is shown on the side portraying Gilmore, while a horseman appears on the side depicting Paterson.

Each denomination of the next generation of banknotes features a different species of wattle and native Australian bird. Bramble wattle (Acacia Victoriae) and the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo appear on the $10 banknote."

http://museum.rba.gov.au/displays/a-new-vision-for-banknotes/

So it is also interesting to note that Australia didn't switch to the decimal system until February 1966. They created a jingle that was played on TV and radios to help educate people on the change. Here's the link for the jingle...you have to watch it. https://youtu.be/5ZTeWLA1LAs

Currency Conversion Jingle

‘Out with the old and in with the new’(Lyrics by Ted Roberts)

In come the dollars and in come the cents
to replace the pounds and the shillings and the pence.
Be prepared folks when the coins begin to mix
on the 14th of February 1966.

Clink go the cents folks
clink, clink, clink. Changeover day is closer than you think.
Learn the value of the coins and the way that they appear
and things will be much smoother when the decimal point is here.

In come the dollars and in come the cents
to replace the pounds and the shillings and the pence.
Be prepared folks when the coins begin to mix
on the 14th of February 1966.

One last thing that is quite interesting is that here they got rid of $1 and $2 bills. Instead they have coins for these. This change happened in 1984 and 1988 respectively.