National Heritage Australia

Overview

The Australian National Heritage List was established in 2003 to recognise places of outstanding heritage significance to the nation, including architectural and cultural sites, natural landscapes and places of Indigenous significance. The list was created through an amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and replaced the former Register of the National Estate.

Sites are assessed against nine criteria, which include importance to Australia’s natural or cultural history as well as the possession of rare, uncommon or endangered aspects or aspects that are important to a community or cultural group.

The Australian National Heritage List currently comprises 120 places, of which three historic places are represented in this stamp issue.

Technical specifications

Issue date: 10 May 2021
Issue withdrawal date: 30 November 2021
Denomination: $1.10 x 3
Stamp design: Jason Watts, Australia Post Design Studio
Product design: Jason Watts, Australia Post Design Studio
Paper: gummed: Tullis Russell Red Phos
Printer: Ego
Printing process: Offset lithography
Stamp size (mm): 26 x 37.5
Perforations: 14.6 x 13.86
Sheet layout: Module of 50
FDI Postmark: Capital Hill ACT 2600
FDI withdrawal date: 8 June 2021

Stamps in this issue

$1.10 Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is recognised around the world as one of Australia’s iconic landmarks. Construction of the bridge commenced in 1924 and the official opening took place on 19 March 1932. One of the largest single-arch steel bridges in the world, in 2007  the Sydney Harbour Bridge was inscribed on the National Heritage List as an important economic and industrial feat in Australia's history, a pivotal step in the development of modern Sydney, and a symbol of the aspirations of the nation. 

$1.10 Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne

Queen Victoria Market occupies seven hectares in the heart of the city of Melbourne. Constructed in stages from the 1860s and officially opened on 20 March 1878, the market is the largest open-air market in Australia and the most intact of Melbourne’s Victorian-era markets. The site is also significant as Melbourne’s first cemetery from 1837 to 1854. In 2018 the Queen Victoria Market was added to the National Heritage List because of its links to the early colonial population of Melbourne and its ability to demonstrate the principal characteristics of a 19th-century metropolitan produce market. Today, the bustling Queen Victoria Market is a renowned tourist attraction. 

$1.10 Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House in Canberra was the seat of the Parliament of Australia for 61 years, from 1927 to 1988. During this time, its chambers and corridors witnessed many of the events that shaped our modern nation, from declarations of war to constitutional and social reform, including progress that enabled Aboriginal voting and recognition of land rights. Old Parliament House, which now houses the Museum of Australian Democracy, was inscribed on the National Heritage List in 2006 and stands as the symbol of the nation's political heritage, where the foundations of Australia’s journey to becoming one of the world’s most vibrant and multicultural democratic nations were laid.  