Stamp Desk / People and places
Australia, 1913 (5d, brown)
A kangaroo standing on the outline map of a continent.
Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
AUSTRALIA across the top, and a kangaroo on the map of the continent.
- 1AUSTRALIA
- 2FIVE PENCE
- Inscription
- AUSTRALIA · POSTAGE · FIVE PENCE
- Meaning
- The country name across the top and the value in words, five pence.
- Issued by
- Commonwealth of Australia
- Today
- Australia Flag of Australia
- Year
- 1913. The Kangaroo and Map design and this value were first issued in 1913; the specimen may be a later printing.
- Made by
- Blamire Young (designer); Commonwealth Stamp Printing Office under J. B. Cooke (printing organization)
One fact
The postmark on this brown fivepence reads SYDNEY; the design was the same for every value from ½d to £2.
Source and public-domain rule
Australia, Crown copyright, more than 50 years. A government (Crown) stamp of 1913: Crown copyright in Australia lasts 50 years, so it ended long ago. Copyright in a work made or first published by or under the direction or control of the Commonwealth or a State (the Crown), such as a government postage stamp, lasts 50 years (Copyright Act 1968, ss. 176, 177 and 180). The colonial issues of Tasmania and New South Wales are older still. Applies to issuers au, ts and nw, published before 1976. Legal sources: Copyright Act 1968 (Australia), compilation of 2 April 2026, ss. 176–180.
Scan: 1914 5d chestnut Australia Sydney Yv7 wmk W2 SG8.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 952733181), licence templates {{PD-Australia}}, {{PD-old-80}}. Downloaded 2026-10-21, sha256 36f51fca4008…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-22 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a second check of these rights by a person is planned, and a stamp that turns out not to be free to use will be removed. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
