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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ003105S
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00:29 Wouldn't you just love to have a license to make money? Well the 00:33 people here do. The actually have a license to make money. 00:39 The Royal Australian Mint produces up to two million coins 00:44 a day. Each coin is a work of art featuring imagery of the 00:49 queen on the adverse or hit side and iconic symbols of Australia 00:53 on the reverse or tail side. Each Australian currency note 00:59 also features the head of various iconic Australian 01:02 figures along with other symbols of the nation. Most of us think 01:08 of currency as a means of facilitating transactions, 01:13 buying and selling and doing business. But did you know that 01:19 currency has another important role. Money talks. In fact, it's 01:25 a public announcement in your pocket talking to you about 01:29 important figures in the history of your nation and letting you 01:32 know what they used your nation holds dear. Yes, every coin, 01:38 every note tells a story. The idea of currency as a story 01:44 teller isn't a new concept. It dates back as far as 400 B.C. 01:50 when portrait coins were first minted in Asia minor. In the 01:54 dark ages before television and social media Romans used coins 02:00 as a way of letting their subjects know what they looked 02:03 like, what titles they held and also what their goals were. Soon 02:10 after being named perpetual dictator of the Roman republic 02:15 Julius Caesar minted coins to commemorate the occasion. The 02:19 adverse or front face of the coin carried his profile and 02:24 title while the reverse carried an image of the Roman goddess 02:29 Ceres widely believed to be the guardian of the plebes or common 02:33 people. Caesar's message to the Romans was simple; he was now 02:38 in charge of the republic and his goal was to operate as the 02:42 guardian of the common people. The coin acted like a tweet, one 02:48 with images and limited words instead of the standard 280 02:52 characters and one that was retweeted every time it was used 02:58 in a transaction. Similarly Australian currency acts as a 03:03 storyteller to the Australian people as well, as does New 03:07 Zealand currency to New Zealanders. Each coin and bank 03:11 note carries images that are designed to educate the people. 03:17 Today we're going to explore the stories etched into our currency 03:21 and as we do so we'll catch a glimpse of our national values 03:25 as well. And there's a coded message that says a lot to 03:29 you and me. 03:31 ♪ ♪ 03:54 The Royal Australian Mint is the sole producer of all of 03:57 Australia's circulating coins. It was officially opened in 04:01 February of 1965 by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, 04:06 and is located in the Australian capital of Canberra. Prior to 04:10 the opening of the mint all Australian coins were struck by 04:14 branches of the Royal Mint in London, located in Sidney, 04:18 Melbourne and Perth. But the Royal Australian Mint is 04:22 independent of the Royal Mint in London and is owned by the 04:25 Commonwealth of Australia. Shortly after it was opened 04:29 Australia began to circulate decimal currency in February of 04:34 1966. The mint cost the Commonwealth five million 04:40 Australian dollars to build and another four million dollars to 04:44 equip. After it was established, the new mint began producing 04:49 coins in conjunction with the Melbourne mint until there 04:52 was enough coins in circulation, at which point the Melbourne 04:56 mint was closed in 1967. Interestingly though, it wasn't 05:01 until the early 1980s that the Australian mint was able to 05:06 sustain solitary production of all circulating Australian coins 05:13 In addition to that, the Royal Australian Mint has produced 05:17 coinage for several Asian and South Pacific island nations. 05:21 Some of these nations include New Zealand, which relied on the 05:25 services of the Royal Australian Mint in 1969, Papua New Guinea, 05:30 Toma, Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Malaysia, 05:35 Thaliand, Bangladesh, Israel and the Philippines. Australian 05:42 currency notes are printed Note- Printing Australia Limited 05:47 in Melbourne. 05:48 In October 2018 the Reserve Bank of Australia announced that they 05:53 would introduce a new $50 bank note into circulation on the 05:58 18th of October. According to the Reserve Bank the $50 note 06:03 is the most widely circulated bank note and is the 06:07 denomination primarily used by ATM machines across the country. 06:13 The Reserve Bank introduced 46 million $50 notes into general 06:17 circulation in 2018. Unfortunately all 46 million 06:24 notes have a spelling mistake on them. On the side of the bank 06:29 note which features Edith Cowen the first female member of the 06:33 Australian parliament, there's a section of the speech given in 06:37 parliament by Cowen herself. The sections begins, "I stand here 06:42 today in the elite position of being the first woman in an 06:46 Australian parliament. It's a great responsibility. Now the 06:52 word responsibility is missing the final i, a mistake that 06:57 recurs throughout the micro printed speech on the bank note. 07:01 Australia is the first country to use polymer or plastic bank 07:07 notes first introduced into circulation in 1988. Compared 07:13 to paper notes, polymer notes are cleaner, more durable, allow 07:18 for greater security against counterfeiting, are easily 07:22 recyclable and better for visually impaired users. 07:30 Australian currency features people who have contributed to 07:35 the light of the country. Men and women who have made a 07:38 difference and helped shape the country into what it is today. 07:42 These are stories of faith, courage and self-sacrificing 07:47 service. We're going to look at a handful of these stories 07:51 and explore the common thread that runs through them all. Our 08:00 first stop is the $50 note and the story of David Unaipon. 08:04 David was the son of one-eyed James Ngunaitponi and his wife 08:10 Nymbulda. They both belonged to the Ngarrindjeri people from the 08:13 lower Murray River region. James was brought up on the 08:18 traditional aboriginal way and had lost his eye during a tribal 08:22 fight. When James was 26 he was baptized and became a member of 08:28 the Scottish Free Church. The missionaries taught James to 08:32 read and write using the Bible as a textbook. David Unaipon 08:37 was the fourth of James' nine children and was born on the 08:41 28th of September 1872 at the Point McLeay Mission in South 08:47 Australia about 80 kilometers southeast of Adelaide. When 08:52 David was seven he joined the mission school and learned to 08:56 read and write just as his father had done using the Bible 09:00 as a textbook. In 1895 David left school to work in the home 09:07 of C. B. Young who noticed David's avid interest in 09:11 philosophy, 09:12 science and music. David read widely, played the organ and 09:17 learned boot making as a trade. Interestingly he was also a 09:22 nonsmoker and a teetotaler. He never touched alcohol. In the 09:27 early 90s David took a job as a store man for a bookmaker. He 09:33 was frustrated at the lack of work for educated aborigines at 09:37 the mission settlements and saw this employment in Adelaide as 09:41 an opportunity for meaningful work. Later he returned to the 09:46 Point McLeay settlement to work as a bookkeeper in the local 09:50 general store. David was always something of a restless inventor 09:55 and innovator. In 1909, he improved and patented a hand 10:01 tool for shearing sheep. You'll see the design featured on the 10:05 $50 note. He went on to invent a centrifugal miter, a multi 10:10 radial wheel and a mechanical propulsion device. He was 10:15 obsessed with discovering the secret of perpetual motion and 10:19 in 1914 his work on the development of polarized light 10:25 and helicopter flight were publicized and he became now as 10:29 Australia's Leonardo, a reference to the great 15th 10:33 century Italian innovator, Leonardo DaVinci. Unaipon's 10:37 predictions about helicopter flight came long before the 10:41 first helicopter was invented. In many ways, Unaipon was a 10:47 trail blazer. A Unicorn of sorts, in that he was the first, 10:51 only and unique in so many areas. He was cultured, 10:57 articulate, intelligent and polished. This coupled with his 11:01 aboriginal identity completely shattered every stereotype of 11:05 his generation. For 50 years he traveled across Australia 11:10 writing, preaching and lecturing in churches and cathedrals. 11:16 His faith was an integral part of his life. David Unaipon was 11:22 also a spokesman for the aboriginal community. He acted 11:25 as an advocate for aboriginal advancement championing 11:30 aboriginal interests in Parliament and before civil 11:33 royal commissions. For his contributions to the nation, he 11:37 received a coronation medal in 1953. The second stop on our 11:46 story-telling currency tour is the $20 note and the Reverend 11:50 John Flynn. He was Presbyterian minister, who founded what we 11:54 now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service, an aerial medical 11:59 service providing emergency medical assistance and transport 12:04 to the most remote communities in the Australian outback. John 12:09 Flynn was born in Moliagul, Central Victoria on the 25th of 12:13 November 1819. After the death of his mother when he was just 12:18 two years old, John was shuttled between relatives but his 12:23 difficult childhood didn't stop him making a significant 12:27 difference in the lives of those around him. When he was a 12:32 teenager, John Flynn decided to follow the teachings of Jesus 12:36 in the Bible. John went on to become a minister choosing to 12:40 work among white settlers and aborigines living in remote 12:44 parts of the Australian outback. He recognized that his work 12:48 embraced not just the spiritual wellbeing of those he worked 12:52 for, but also their physical wellbeing. In 1911, Flynn went 12:59 to work at the Smith and Dunness mission in Beltain just 13:01 north of Adelaide in south Australia. While working there 13:07 he began laying the foundation for a medical service. He set up 13:10 bush hospitals stocked by nurses in remote areas. Then in 1912 13:16 Flynn prepared a report detailing his work in the 13:20 Australian outback. He presented the report to the general 13:24 assembly of the Presbyterian church in Australia, which led 13:28 to the creation of the Australian Inland Mission. 13:31 Flynn was appointed to oversee the work of the mission. 13:35 It kicked off with one preacher, one nurse and a nursing hospital 13:41 in Udmadata. This grew into a network of roving missionaries 13:46 on camels traveling across the remote areas of the Australian 13:50 outback, providing spiritual and medical assistance. But Flynn 13:55 saw a need for something more than medical assistance on foot. 13:59 There was a need for an aerial operation that could provide 14:03 medical services to remote areas quickly and efficiently. in 1926 14:10 one of Flynn's childhood friends left him a considerable amount 14:14 in his will and this gave Flynn the money he needed to start 14:18 up the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Today the Royal Flying 14:24 Doctor Service flies millions of kilometers each year servicing 14:28 over 300,000 patients through their clinics, aerial transports 14:33 and other services. The next stop on our currency tour is 14:44 the $10 bill and the story of a much loved Australian hero 14:48 Banjo Paterson. Paterson was born Andrew Barton on the 17th 14:55 of February 1864 near Orange, New South Wales. As a child the 15:01 family nicknamed him Barty. Barty lived in the Australian 15:06 bush for most of his childhood and in many ways his acclaimed 15:11 poetry is his love letter to the Australian bush and the variety 15:15 of vivid characters that are all part of it. In October of 1896, 15:23 Paterson's first poem was published in the Bulletin. By 15:25 this time Paterson was working in Sydney as a solicitor. He 15:30 signed his poetry as The Banjo in an attempt to preserve 15:35 anonymity and the name stuck. Over the following years he 15:40 published more and more poetry written in his characteristic 15:44 style of narrative bush ballads. Then in 1895 Paterson published 15:53 his first book of poetry. The Man From Snowy River and Other 15:57 Verses. It sold out in a week breaking Australian publishing 16:01 records and making Paterson a household name overnight. But 16:07 his identity was also revealed and Paterson retreated to the 16:11 Dagworth Station in Queensland for a reprieve. While at the 16:16 Dagworth Station Paterson wrote his most iconic bush ballad, 16:21 Waltzing Matilda which was later set to music and became the 16:26 unofficial national anthem of Australia. Shortly after this 16:30 Paterson left his work as a solicitor and became a 16:35 journalist traveling to South Africa to cover the Bull war. 16:38 In 1915 Paterson traveled to Egypt as an Australian army 16:44 captain in World War I. Here he was a member of the remount unit 16:51 which trained and cared for the horses used by the mounted 16:52 cavalry units in the war. During the war Paterson cared for a 16:57 total of 50,000 horses and 10,000 mules. After faithful 17:02 service to his country he returned home in 1919 and 17:07 continued his work as a journalist in writing. 17:15 The final stop on our story telling trail is the story of 17:19 Caroline Chisholm who was featured on the $5 bank note 17:23 issues between 1967 and 1990. Caroline Chisholm was brought up 17:30 in a strong Christian home in England where she was surrounded 17:33 by acts of service. Her mother would regularly visit the 17:38 sick and poor in their local neighborhood and Caroline would 17:42 often go along with her to help. In 1938, Caroline arrived in 17:50 Australia with her husband and two children. One of the first 17:54 things she noticed was the plight of many immigrant single 17:59 women. Most of them arrived in Australia without any money or 18:02 any prospects of employment. They were forced to live on the 18:06 streets and were continuously in danger of being attacked. The 18:13 government at the time showed little interest in these women 18:17 and they struggled to find decent jobs and sanitary 18:21 accommodation. Initially Caroline used her own resources 18:25 and offered many of these women shelter in her own home. But 18:30 soon she realized the enormous scale of the work in front of 18:33 her and appealed to the governor of New South Wales 18:37 for help. She was given a run down, rat infested government 18:43 building to use as a shelter and she set to work restoring 18:47 it and preparing it for use. On Easter Sunday 1841 Caroline 18:53 Chisholm knelt down and dedicated herself completely to 18:58 God, asking him to help her support the immigrant community 19:01 in Australia. Within six years of making this commitment to God 19:07 she had settled over 11,000 immigrants. She also help to 19:13 reunite families and set up an organization in England to help 19:16 skilled British workers migrate to Australia. Within the first 19:21 four years of being established the program sponsored 3,000 19:28 immigrants. The stories of each of these people featured on our 19:36 currency are varied and colorful but there is a single thread 19:41 that binds them all. Each of them, in some way or another, 19:46 gave themselves for the service of others. Their stories 19:51 highlight an important principle self-sacrificial giving. In 2011, 19:57 Michael Norton, a professor of business administration at the 20:01 Harvard Business School carried out a study. He was interested 20:06 in answering the frequently asked question, can money buy 20:10 happiness. The first testing ground was the University of 20:15 British Columbia in Canada. The researches approached random 20:20 college undergrad students and asked them if they were 20:23 interested in participating in an experiment. If they answered 20:28 yes, they were given an envelope The envelope had money in it 20:33 ranging from $5 to $20 and a short set of instructions. Some 20:38 recipients were instructed to spend the money inside their 20:42 envelope on themselves by 5 p.m. that day, while others were 20:51 instructed to spend the money inside their envelopes on 20:53 someone else rather than themselves by the same time. 20:55 Researchers called participants later that evening to ask them 21:00 a few questions about their spending experience. What they 21:06 found was that those who spent the money on themselves didn't 21:09 report a difference in how happy they felt afterwards, but those 21:13 who spent money on others reported an increase in 21:17 happiness. A 2010 Gallup pole surveying 153 countries found 21:24 that charitable giving is closely correlated to the level 21:28 of happiness experienced by those who give. Interestingly, 21:33 the 2018 world giving index, which surveyed the charitable 21:38 giving patterns of 146 countries ranked Australia as second in 21:44 overall rankings. It's revealing that as a nation we have chosen 21:49 icons who among other things are known for their spirit of giving 21:55 Giving plays an important role in the health and wellbeing of 22:00 individuals, communities and nations. Giving is also at the 22:05 very heart of the Bible. John chapter 3 and verse 16 tells us: 22:23 God is the greatest giver of all time. The heart of God is most 22:28 clearly revealed in the life and work of Jesus. When we look at 22:33 the life of Jesus we see that through Him God gives us a whole 22:38 host of invaluable gifts. Let's take a look at some of the gifts 22:42 that Jesus offers us. First, and most importantly, Jesus laid 22:48 down His own life to save us from sin. That is what he says 22:52 in Matthew chapter 20 and verse 28... 23:05 Secondly, He came to give us an abundant life. Jesus said this 23:11 in John chapter 10 and verse 10. Here's what He said... 23:27 The opportunity to live life at its best is one of the many 23:31 gifts He longs to give us. Thirdly, He gives us peace. 23:36 In John chapter 14 and verse 27, Jesus says this... 23:53 Today we live in a world filled with so much turmoil, violence 23:58 and hate. Peace is something we all crave and yet it's something 24:02 that seems to elude our grasp at every turn. But Jesus offers 24:08 us peace, the kind of peace that we won't find anywhere else in 24:12 this world. And finally, Jesus gives us strength. In Isaiah 24:19 chapter 41 and verse 10 it says this... 24:36 Often in life it seems that the trials and sorrows we face 24:41 threaten to overwhelm us. But Jesus promises to strengthen and 24:47 uphold us, even in our darkest moments. In Jesus we have 24:52 salvation, strength, life and peace. If giving is one of the 24:59 most cherished values of our nation, then we can take comfort 25:03 in knowing that in this we are closely aligned with the heart 25:08 of God. And while some of the most illustrious figures in 25:11 Australian history have given their time, talents and energy 25:15 to build up those around them we see that this spirit of 25:19 giving is a reflection of the heart of God. When God gives 25:25 He gives abundantly and without measure. He gives us gifts that 25:31 the world cannot give us, gifts that we deeply long for and yet 25:35 struggle to lay hold of. Would you like to experience the joy 25:40 of receiving the precious gifts that God has in store for you 25:44 today? Gifts that no amount of money can buy. Gifts that we all 25:49 need today. If so, I'd like to recommend the free gift we have 25:55 for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. It's a popular 26:00 book, Steps to Christ. This small 83-page book is our gift 26:06 to you and is absolutely free. I guarantee there are no costs 26:11 or obligations whatsoever. Steps to Christ has enriched the lives 26:17 of thousands of people around the world and I can personally 26:21 testify that it strengthened my faith and brought me peace. 26:26 It's a book that could change your life forever. So make sure 26:30 you take this opportunity to receive the gift we have for 26:34 you today. 26:36 Phone or text us at 0436333555 in 26:42 Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand. Or visit our 26:48 website TIJ.tv to request today's free offer and we'll 26:54 send it to you totally free of charge and with no obligation. 26:57 Write to us at: or 27:12 Don't delay. Call or text us now. 27:18 If you've enjoyed today's journey to Canberra and our 27:21 visit to the Royal Australian Mint along with our reflections 27:24 on Christ-like giving and the happiness it brings, then be 27:29 sure to join us again next week when we will share another of 27:32 life's journeys together. Until then, let's pray for a giving 27:37 spirit like that displayed in the lives of David Unaipon, 27:40 John Flynn, Banjo Paterson and Caroline Chisholm. 27:45 Dear heavenly Father, we are grateful for the lives of the 27:50 illustrious individuals we focused on today and for their 27:54 gift of service to others, but above all, we want to think you 27:59 for your gift to us, the greatest gift of all, Jesus, who 28:04 offers us forgiveness, peace, happiness and eternal life. We 28:09 thank you, in Jesus' name Amen. 28:13 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-05-21