Effigies of British sovereigns will disappear from Australia’s banknotes, where the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will be replaced on the new five-dollar bill with an image that honors indigenous culture rather than an image of Charles III, the central bank has announced. of the country, reports Le Figaro, which is quoted by Rador.

Currently, the five-dollar bill is the only one in Australia that features an effigy of the British monarch.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said Indigenous people would be consulted on the new design, which “respects the culture and history of First Australians”. According to her, the development of the design and printing of the new banknote will take “several years”. Banknotes bearing the image of the late Queen, which are already in circulation, will remain legal tender.

The death of Queen Elizabeth on September 8 was marked by a day of national mourning in Australia, a Commonwealth member country whose official head of state is King Charles III in the person of the Governor-General. But some indigenous groups denounced the destructive effects of British colonization, demanding the abolition of the monarchy.

The central bank said its decision was supported by the centre-left Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which favors a possible move to the Australian republic. The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) welcomed the disappearance of the sovereigns’ stuffed animal, which noted that indigenous peoples predated British colonization by 65,000 years.

“Australia believes in meritocracy and the idea that someone can appear on our currency because of their blood right is irreconcilable, as is the idea that they can be our head of state by birthright,” said ARM chairman Craig Foster.

“To think that an unelected king should be on our coins instead of First Nations chiefs and elders and distinguished Australians is no longer justified in an hour of truth, reconciliation and ultimately peace, formal independence, culture and intellectuality,” he added.

British sovereigns appeared on Australian banknotes from 1923 and until 1953, the year of Elizabeth II’s coronation, were present on all denominations. The Queen’s face graced the one pound note and then the new one dollar note in 1966.

This first dollar bill also featured images of Aboriginal rock paintings, carvings and designs inspired by David Malangi Daimirringu’s indigenous bark painting.

Since 1992, Australians have been able to admire the Queen’s features on the polymer $5 bill. Three months ago, the head of the central bank, Philip Lowe, said he had started discussions with the government to see if it should abandon replacing the Queen’s image with a portrait of King Charles III.