This Is A Cool Website

What an absolute mine of information about just about anything you could think of related to the Aussie Defence Forces!

Also quite a bit for US readers to keep them busy interested as well.

For anyone with an interest in this topic, you could spend years reading this site & still not get to the end. Certainly worth bookmarking it.

I can not tell a lie
I have a fair amount of Australian militaria.

When I was in Canberra last November I was asked by and had the opportunity to donate some items and pictures to the National War Memorial.

We were told the items and photos we had they did not have in their collection and they were grateful to get them.

The photos were taken during WWII on board different ships my my Father in law during different actions and in different ports.

Wide range of items donated went from personal issue first aid kits to Naval police uniform parts including all the buttons, and a few other fun items from our family military history.

I have kept copies of all of these and of course all of the metals.

Part of the collection I kept were coins and banknotes obtained in many of the ports and some nice Aussie pre decimals

(see I brought it back to coins)

I have been in the ADF for 24 years so have obviously hoarded many items during this period (many clothes that did fit me a few decades ago - lol). A great sight indeed. Thanks very much for the link Scoutjim

Unfortunately, I do not have the security capacity to have my coins at home so no pics from me. They are all well secured in a bank vault and I get to visit and enjoy every month or two.

I stole this from the web but it explains the term "Digger" and it's origin very nicely:

Digger is New Zealand and Australian military slang term for soldiers from New Zealand and Australia. It originated during World War I.

There are numerous theories about the origin of the term. Before the war, the term "digger" had been widely used in Australasia to mean a miner, or a Kauri gum digger in New Zealand. On 25 April 1915, General Sir Ian Hamilton sent a message to the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), General William Birdwood, following the landing at Gallipoli. It contained the postscript: "P.S.—You have got through the difficult business, now you have only to dig, dig, dig, until you are safe." However, there is no hard evidence to support the theory that Hamilton's message is the reason why digger was applied to ANZAC troops in general. W. H. Downing, in Digger Dialects (1919), a glossary of words and phrases used by Australian personnel during the war, says that Digger was first used to mean a New Zealand or Australian soldier in 1916. It appears to have become popular among New Zealand troops, before being adopted by Australians. The word was not in wide use amongst soldiers until 1917.

While New Zealanders would call each other "Digger", all other nationalities, including Australians, tended to call them "Kiwis". The equivalent slang for a British soldier was "Tommy" from Tommy Atkins. However, while the Anzacs would happily refer to themselves as "Diggers", British soldiers generally resented being called "Tommy".

Throughout Australia when one refers to "digger", one is referring to the Australian Army.

Between 1998 and 2003, the term was used in the name of a team in the Victorian Football League, the Bendigo Diggers. This was partly in reference to Bendigo's history as a centre of the gold-mining industry. The team changed its nickname to "Bombers" when it became a feeder club for Essendon. In 2001, Athletics Australia suggested that it would use "Diggers" as the nickname of the Australian athletics team. The proposal was withdrawn after a public outcry and protest from the RSL (Returned and Services League of Australia).

John Campbell Ross (born March 11, 1899) is the last surviving Digger from World War I.

G'day, "Digger" seems to be the preferred term of the media in Oz. Whenever they need a headline, the word used is "Digger".

I have the 1990 revised edition of W. H. Downing's "Digger Dialects" (1919), which dates it back to 1916, but without much provenance.

Another site with a lot of information on these topics is -
www.awm.gov.au corrected

Back to coins:
in 1904, the "basic wage" for an Australian worker was set at 42 shillings per week. At that time, this was sufficient for a worker to support a non-working spouse and three children.
Throughout WW1 the pay for a Digger was 6 shillings per day. Of this, 1s was "deferred" (akin to our modern concept of superannuation). Of course, this equates to the basic wage.
A "Tommy" at this time received one shilling per day, of which half was deferred.
At the start of WW2, a soldier's pay was the same as in WW1, but this was soon increased.

Australia's military heritage is well represented in our circulating coins and notes.

Captain Matthew Flinders RN (1774 - 1814) was one of the most accomplished navigators and cartographers of his age. Prisoner of War 1803~1810. He was depicted on the Australian ten-shilling note 1954~66; and together with George Bass, on the 50-cent coin of 1998.

Admiral Sir John Franklin RN FRGS (1786 - 1847) was a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. He appeared on the 5-pound notes of 1954~66.

Admiral Arthur Phillip RN (1738 - 1814) was a veteran of the Seven Years War. He also served Portugal in the War against Spain. He appeared on the 10-pound notes of 1954~66.

Air Commodore Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC (1897 - 1935), featured on the 1966 $20 (paper) note, and the 1997 $1 coin.

Douglas Mawson OBE FRS (1882 - 1958) was a Major in WW1. He appeared on the $100 paper note of 1984.

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson (1864 - 1941) was a famous Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He was a war correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald during the Second Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion, and World War I. He served as a Major in WW1. He appears on the $10 note of 1993.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, AC, CMG, OBE, KStJ (1907 - 1993) was an Australian surgeon, renowned for his leadership whilst being held prisoner by the Japanese during WW2. He appears on the 50-cent coin of 1995.

Edith Cowan (1861-1932) worked with the Red Cross and other organisations during WW1. In 1920, this work was recognised with the award of an OBE. She appears on the $50 note of 1995.

Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931) worked tirelessly to raise funds for war charities. She also gave wartime concerts in North America. For her services to the war effort, Melba was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918. She appears on the $100 note of 1996.

Sir John Monash (1865-1931) had a distinguished military career from 1884 to 1919, rising to the rank of General. He appears on the $100 note of 1996.

The 20-cent, 50-cent, and $1 "Dancing Man" coins of 2005 commemorate the 60th Anniversary of cessation of hostilities in WW2.