Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is celebrated by Australia Post
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is celebrated by Australia Post, with its recently released Floral Festivals Australia stamp issue.
The five 60c stamps feature colourful photographic depictions of popular flower species - the gerbera, jacaranda, Australian everlasting, violet and tulip - representing five floral festivals.
"Toowoomba's Carnival of Flowers has become an iconic Queensland event, and as the years have passed it has come to attract Queensland, interstate and international tourists. This wonderful festival which has become part of the fabric of the community is represented on the stamp by the violet," said Australia Post's Philatelic Manager, Mr Michael Zsolt.
"We anticipate that the beautiful designs in this stamp issue will appeal to a great number of people and we expect to see many 'flowers' travelling through the post now that these stamps are available," said Mr Zsolt.
Since its inception in 1949, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has flourished. The brainchild of Essex Tait and the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce, the carnival was established to increase economic activity after World War II. In 2009, some 80,000 spectators lined the city streets to experience the Grand Central Floral Parade and to visit the many other associated events. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will run from 16 to 25 September 2011.
The flowers featured in the stamp issue represent festivals in urban and regional areas across the country. These festivals draw attention and participation nationally and internationally and are important to the culture and economy of their communities.
Floral Festivals Australia includes the gerbera, representing the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show; the jacaranda for the Grafton Jacaranda Festival; the Australian everlasting for Perth's Kings Park Festival; the violet for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers; and the tulip for Canberra's Floriade.
Adam Crapp of the Australia Post Design Studio designed the stamp issue. Adam's previous stamp designs include Australian Antarctic Territory: Macquarie Island (2010).
The stamp issue products for Floral Festivals Australia are a stamp pack, set of five maxicards, prestige booklet, aerogramme, self-adhesive booklet of 20 x 60c stamps, self-adhesive roll of stamps and international postage-paid envelopes. The stamp issue is available from participating Australia Post retail outlets, via mail order on 1800 331 794 or online at auspost.com.au/stamps while stocks last.
