The Royal Australian Mint in Canberra was decimalisation’s greatest single expenditure. The federal government had been printing notes since 1913 but to produce enough coins for decimalisation it was necessary to build an entirely new mint. The Royal Australian Mint soon after completion in 1965Īn important feature of the new currency was that its coins and notes would be entirely produced in Australia by Australian organisations. Research had shown that decimalisation would save the Australian economy more than £11 million a year, which would quickly offset the £30 million cost of conversion. This wasn't just a question of personal convenience but of national productivity.
The Australian pound, like its British counterpart, was divided into 20 shillings of 12 pence each, making the arithmetic of financial transactions unnecessarily difficult. The argument for switching came down to a simple practical consideration. It wasn't until the late 1950s that the Menzies government finally recognised the economic importance of converting Australia's currency to a new decimalised one, in keeping with those of many of its trading partners and the overwhelming majority of the world. Various post-Federation Australian governments had considered decimalisation from as early as 1901, but they ultimately took their lead from Britain, which remained firmly against the idea.
It is interesting that it took Australia so long to make the switch to decimal currency. Economic need for change to decimal currency
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