Kangaroo and map series

The Kangaroo and Map series was the first uniform definitive postage stamp series issued for the Commonwealth of Australia by the Postmaster-General's Department. Following the federation of the six Australian colonies in 1901, colonial postage stamps had remained in circulation as de facto Commonwealth issues. The Kangaroo and Map series debuted on 2 January 1913, marking the release of the first definitive stamps to be inscribed with the name "Australia".

The introduction of a national stamp followed a design competition launched by the Postmaster-General's Department in 1911, which drew more than one thousand entries. The release of a uniform issue had been delayed for years by political wrangling over the design, particularly due to strenuous opposition from republicans within the Fisher Labor Government against incorporating the British monarch's profile or royal symbols. Charlie Frazer, the postmaster-general, inspired the central elements of the chosen motif, which was partly adapted from the competition winner, and local watercolour artist Blamire Young was commissioned to execute the final artwork.

The 1913 definitive series comprised fifteen values, extending from one halfpenny (½d) up to two pounds (£2), led by a red one-penny stamp. Although a subsequent administration introduced stamps depicting King George V later that year, the postal authorities retained the Kangaroo and Map design on issue concurrently for thirty-eight years. All pre-decimal postage stamps from this period, including the Kangaroo and Map issues, remained officially valid for postage until 14 February 1966, when decimal currency was introduced.