Australia's First Commemorative

Opening of Parliament House

Australia's first commemorative stamp was released on 9 May 1927 on the occasion of the opening of Parliament House in Canberra (in A.C.T Australian Capital Territory. The A.C.T is Australia's capital, not Sydney). A competition was held for the design and there were over 1,000 entries. The winning design was composed by Mr Ronald A. Harrison, an artist at the Note Printing Branch of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It depicts a seated female figure representing Australia. She is holding in her right hand a shield bearing the southern cross. In her left hand she is carrying a palm branch, which is extended as a greeting to the new parliament house, the building in the middle ground...

This is one of the unadopted designs for the Australia 1927 Opening of Parliament House commemorative stamp. The chair of the Speaker of the House (House of Representatives)...

This is another unadopted design. It has similarities with the chosen design, but it is in portrait format and it has the head of George V at the top. I don't mind this one...

All things considered I think the best choice was made. The Opening of Parliament House is a very stylish debut for Australia into commemorative stamps.

Technical details:
Designed by R.A. Harrison
Engraved by J.A.C. Harrison (Waterloo & Sons, Ltd.)
Recess-printed on unwatermarked paper and issued in sheets of 80, perf. 11, single line.
Total number of stamps issued: 32,.213,680.
(a) 31,058,480 in sheet form. 18,800 punctured 'OS'.
(b) 1,155,200 in booklets of 16 stamps.

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