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The
Centenary Medal is an award created by the
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of
Federation of AustraliaThe Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government. Nominations were assessed by a panel chaired by the historian Professor
Geoffrey BlaineyGeoffrey Norman Blainey AC , is a prominent Australian historian.Blainey was born in Melbourne and raised in a series of Victorian country towns before attending Wesley College and the University of Melbourne. While at university he was editor of Farrago, the newspaper of the University of...
.
Award
The obverse of the medal features a seven-pointed
Commonwealth StarThe Commonwealth Star is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901....
representing the six Australian states, with the seventh point representing Australia's territories. At the centre of the star is an Indigenous styling of Aboriginal traditions at the heart of the continent. Around the rim are 100 dots depicting 100 years of federation. The reverse features a seven pointed star, with the words "For Contribution Made to Australian Society" around the rim.
Bar and Ribbon
The colours in the ribbon are crimson, which represents federation, and blue and gold for the beginning of the 21st Century. The seven gold and red lines signify the states' pathways to federation. The bar and ribbon are the same so that a recipient can be identified as such.