It’s not often you can send your bonsai collection around the world, but thanks to the latest stamp series from Australia Post, the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia (NBPCA) can do just that!
Bonsai are the feature of a new stamp issue released by Australia Post! The issue includes three stamps as well as a medallion cover and other collectables. The Australian native species featured on the stamps are a bottlebrush, fig, and paperbark, each crafted in a different style.
The National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia is extremely proud to be involved in this stamp issue that highlights the beauty and art of Australian native plants as bonsai. Leigh Taafe, Curator of the NBPCA assisted Australia Post by providing access to the Collection and advice about bonsai, and he features on the medallion cover photograph. Read Australia Post’s interview with Leigh here.
Australian Native Bonsai Medallion cover
From the late 1960s, the practice of bonsai gained wide popularity and Australian artists started experimenting with Australian native species as bonsai. An emerging Australian style inspired by our landscape, materials and plant species is now recognised globally. The Association of Australian Bonsai Clubs established in 1980 represents 58 bonsai clubs across the country which reflects the popularity of the art.
Thanks to Australia Post for highlighting the beauty of bonsai and the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia at the National Arboretum Canberra.
Australian Native Bonsai minisheet
$1.10 Stamp Callistemon viminalis
This stamp design features a bottlebrush as bonsai, in an informal upright style (some bend or lean in the trunk). The bottlebrush is the cultivar ‘Captain Cook’, a dwarf form of Callistemon viminalis, which has a weeping appearance. Bonsai artists Derek and Sue Oakley kindly donated this bonsai to the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia. The stamp photograph is by Leigh Taafe.
$1.10 Stamp Ficus rubiginosa
This stamp design presents a fig as bonsai, in a formal upright style (no bend or lean in the trunk, and the trunk does not go all the way to the top of the tree). The fig is a Port Jackson Fig (Ficus ribiginosa), known for its thick trunk and long, twisted roots that tend to grow along the trunk’s surface. Bonsai artist Max Candy kindly donated this bonsai to the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia. The stamp photograph is by Ben Kopilow, Fusion Photography.
$2.70 Stamp Melaleuca linariifoliaThis stamp design showcases a paperbark (or honey myrtle) as bonsai, in a slanting style (where the apex of the trunk falls between 10 and 45 degrees to the left or right). The tree is a dwarf form of Melaleuca linariifolia, known as ‘Claret Tops’ – a cultivar named for the reddish new growth that appears on the leaf tips. The bonsai artist is David Willoughby and he kindly lent this bonsai to the Collection for display. The stamp photograph is by Ben Kopilow, Fusion Photography.
Australian Native Bonsai stamps and collectables include: a minisheet; first day cover; stamp pack; set of maxicards; self-adhesive booklet of 5 ($2.70); and a medallion cover (a limit of one cover per customer applies).
Stamps and collectables are available at participating Post Offices, while stocks last, or online at www.auspost.com.au/stamps.