First student coin design winner announced
10th January 2001
The Royal Australian Mint today announced the winner of the NSW section of the national Centenary of Federation coin design competition.
The winning design was prepared by Joseph Neve, a student at Bellingen High School in northern NSW.
Joseph's design will be officially unveiled by the Minister for Financial Services & Regulation, The Hon Joe Hockey MP, on 1 February 2001 in Sydney during a special presentation hosted by the Royal Australian Mint.
Background
Late last year the Royal Australian Mint conducted a nation-wide competition to find a school student from each Australian State and self-governing Territory whose Centenary of Federation design will appear on a nationally-circulated 20c coin. The competition is a key element of the Mint's Centenary of Federation Coin Program, and supports the aim of involving Australians from every corner of our country in the Centenary of Federation celebrations.
The NSW design is the first of nine to be revealed during 2001. Each State and self-governing Territory will have its own student-designed 20 cent coin, as well as a 50 cent coin bearing its official coat of arms. The student designs will be unveiled close to the time of the official Centenary of Federation celebrations in every State and Territory. The coins will be released in both collector and circulating form during the course of the year.
A cheque for $5,000 will be presented to Bellingen High School, by the Royal Australian Mint. Macarthur Girls High School in Parramatta and Henry Kendall High School in Gosford will receive runner-up awards of $1,000, thanks to the efforts of students Amarinder Kaur and Kylie Fernance respectively.
Mr Graeme Moffatt, Controller of the Mint, said "it was gratifying to see the strong response to the design competition and the quality of the entries submitted". He expressed special thanks to the many school principals and teachers in NSW who pitched in to enable their students to submit designs.