22/03/2001
The Royal Australian Mint today announced the winner of the South Australian section of the national Centenary of Federation coin design competition.
The winning design was prepared Lisa Murphy, a student at Yankalilla Area School.
Lisa's design will be officially launched in Adelaide towards the end of August. This is the first time that a set of coins has been issued specially for the South Australia. These will initially be available in collector sets and then later in the year as circulating currency.
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 SA design is the seventh 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 are being 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 Yankalilla Area School by the Royal Australian Mint. Naracoorte High School in SA's south-east and Yankalilla Area School, 75km south of Adelaide, will receive runner-up awards of $1,000, thanks to the efforts of students James Drew and Emma Irvine respectively.
Mr Graeme Moffatt, Controller of the Mint, said he was very impressed with the quality of the entries and looked forward to revealing the elegant winning design. He expressed special thanks to the many school principals and teachers in SA who pitched in to enable their students to submit designs. In total 111 SA schools submitted entries to the Mint, with most schools putting forward at least three designs.