A special 5c stamp will be issued on 11th February, 1970, to mark the completion of the standard guage railway between Sydney and Perth. The stamp will be on sale at all post offices for about three weeks.
The stamp was designed by Mr. Brian Sadgrove, of Melbourne, and is in the usual large commemorative size (34.5 mm x 22 mm, printed area). It was printed by four-colour photogravure, in sheets of 100 on unwatermarked paper containing helecon, at the Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne.
The design shows coloured lines representing the 4 ft. 8½ in. guage track routes linking Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with Perth. A diesel locomotive is pictured in the background. The colours are violet, orange, red and black.
It is expected that philatelic mail will be carried on the inaugural train, scheduled to leave Sydney for Perth on 23rd February, 1970.
Details
- Date of Issue: 11 February 1970
- Withdrawn Date: 31 March 1971
- Invalidated:
- Designer: Brian Sadgrove, Melbourne
- Printer: Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia
- Process: Photogravure
- Cylinders:
- Violet (I) – Orange – Red – Black
- Violet (II) – Orange – Red – Black
- Paper: Unwatermarked paper containing helecon
- Watermark: None
- Perf: 13.25 x 13.5 (comb)
- Sheet: Printed in two panes of 50 stamps (R10 x 5) divided by vertical gutter.
- Quantity: 26,609,000
The violet cylinder was replaced when the original became damaged about two-thirds during the print run.
Sheet Numbers
