Gunnedah’s Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society will host the launch of three special edition 50-cent coins next Thursday that celebrate the life of Gunnedah’s Dorothea Mackellar, with Royal Australian Mint Executive Manager Jennifer Sullivan making her way up from Canberra for the launch.
Dorothea is the third Australian poet to be honoured in coin, following on from the release of the Banjo Paterson set in 2020 and the Henry Lawson set in 2022.
“We’ve done a series of Treasured Australian Poetry Coins every two years,” a spokesperson from the Royal Australian Mint told New England Times today.
“These will be gold-coloured, they’re really pretty, made in aluminium bronze instead of cupro-nickel.”
The launch will take place at Dorothea Mackellar Memorial on South Street in Gunnedah next Thursday, the 13th of March at 10AM, which will feature Gunnedah children reciting Dorothea’s poem “The Colours Of Light”.
For die-hard numismatists out there, sets of coins will be available on the day.
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