Marine Emblems - International

Overview

States and territories of Australia have several official emblems or symbols. These include birds, flowers, mammals, fish and gem or mineral and tartan. Not all states and territories have all symbols. This issue featuring marine or fish emblems is a sequel to the bird emblem issue of 2020.

This international post issue is the second of a two-part issue. The first, featuring domestic stamps, was issued on 26 March 2024.

The stamp illustrator, Roger Swainston, is a renowned painter, naturalist and zoologist. Based in Western Australia, he is one of the world’s most recognised artists of the underwater environment. His work has been exhibited in Australia, Europe and USA.

Technical specifications

Issue date: 1 July 2024
Issue withdrawal date: To be announced
Denomination: $2.85 x 1, $3.30 x 1, $4.55 x 1
Stamp & product design: Simone Sakinofsky, Australia Post Design Studio
Paper: gummed: Tullis Russell 104gsm Red Phosphor
Paper: self-adhesive: Domain Securpost / Red Phosphor MC90 / C Print / P10P
Printer: RA Printing
Printing process: Offset lithography
Stamp size (mm): 37.5 x 26
Minisheet (mm): 135 x 80
Perforations: 13.86 x 14.6
Sheet layout: Module of 50 (2 x 25 no design)
FDI Postmark: Ocean Grove VIC 3226
FDI withdrawal date: 30 July 2024

Stamps in this issue

$2.85 Northern Territory – Barramundi Lates calcarifer

The Barramundi can be found across tropical northern Australia and is the fish emblem of the Northern Territory. This large, carnivorous, silver fish can grow to more than a metre in length and more than 40 kilograms in weight. It has an average lifespan of around 20 years. An excellent eating fish, Barramundi are often fished for their economic, health and cultural importance. The lifecycle of the Barramundi takes place in both fresh and salt water. In wet season, eggs and larvae are washed from the ocean into wetland and mangrove habitats, where the young develop. After three to five years, the mature fish migrate from freshwater to estuaries and saltwater coastal shallows to spawn.

$3.30 Victoria – Weedy Seadragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus

The Weedy Seadragon was nominated as Victoria’s marine emblem in 2002. Named for its leaf-like appendages, this reddish, yellow and purple seadragon can be very difficult to see within its habitat of seagrass beds and kelp forests. The Weedy Seadragon is endemic to Australian marine temperate waters, where it occurs in depths to 50 metres, from the central New South Wales coast around the south coast of Australia to south-western Western Australia. In Victoria, it is found from Gippsland and Wilson’s Promontory to Queenscliff and Portland. This seadragon reaches around 45 centimetres in length.

$4.55 Western Australia – Whale Shark Rhincodon typus

The Whale Shark was proclaimed Western Australia’s marine animal emblem in 2013. The largest non-cetacean animal in the world, this huge dappled-grey fish can reach around 14 to 20 metres in length. Whale Sharks present no danger to humans and are filter feeders, with a diet that includes plankton, krill, fish eggs and copepods. Whale Sharks are found in all tropical and warm seas in both coastal and ocean habitats. Western Australia is one of the best places in the world to observe these giants of the deep, which from March to August congregate to feed along the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.