Annual Competition

Annual Competition

The annual competition for Society members was inaugurated in 1943, and since then has taken place very year. Selected submitted exhibits are displayed at the first June Society meeting.

Two award medals are available for distribution by judges, either silver or bronze.

Silver-Plaquette
Bronze-Plaquette

2025 Exhibits & Winners

Silver-Plaquette
The Postal History of Van Diemen's Land to 1825
By Stephen Browne
Bronze-Plaquette
The Queen's Man - Study of the Governor-General's Frank Stamps
By Mark Diserio
Bronze-Plaquette
4 Pence Beaded Oval Stamps of Victoria
By Bill Clark
View List of All Past Winners
View Competition Rules

Competition Rules

  • Entries shall be restricted to financial members of the Society.
  • Silver and Bronze medals may be awarded to the winner and runner-up respectively whenever the majority of judges consider a sufficient degree of merit has been shown to warrant the making of such award, or awards as the case may be.
  • Entries shall consist of a maximum of sixteen (16) sheets, of which the lead sheet must be a title page and describe the entry. Entries shall contain philatelic material of any one selected country or group of countries, or shall illustrate one subject or several subjects. Only sheets having a size of A3 or less shall be used. For Interstate and International entrants entries can be submitted as high resolution scans of the entry for judging. The scans must be in colour at 600 DPI (dots per inch).
  • Entrants may submit an entry by email or by other electronic means to the Secretary. Entries submitted electronically may be PDF files of at least 300 dpi or JPG scans of at least 600 dpi.
    Secretary's email: bill@cattani.com.au
  • An entrant claiming original research shall submit to the Secretary a notice of intention to submit an entry, giving brief particulars in order to facilitate the work of the judges. A paper for the purpose, whose reading time is more that four minutes and less than five minutes (300 to 400 words) may be submitted to the judges, and subject to direction of Council this paper will be read by the writer at the Annual Competition.
  • All entries shall be the bona fide property of the exhibitor. Annotation which is not the personal work of the exhibitor shall be clearly indicated.
  • The owner shall, at his own expense, ensure the Secretary receives his exhibit not later than the first May meeting of the Society. The Society shall bear the expense of returning the exhibits as soon as possible after the display.
  • No competitor shall submit more than one entry in any one year.
    a) No part of any exhibit which has previously won a silver medal in this competition shall be eligible for future competitions unless it has been substantially altered and reconstructed.
    b) The winner of the silver medal shall not be eligible to enter the competition in the following two years.
  • The Council shall be the sole arbiter as to whether the exhibit is, or is not, admissible under these rules.
  • The Council shall appoint a minimum of three judges of the competition in May of each year. Their names will not be divulged.
  • All entries shall be examined by all judges who shall in their discretion confer together in relation thereto at such time(s) and place(s) as they deem fit. In making their recommendations to Council, they shall always have regard to the following factors:
    a) Philatelic knowledge;
    b) Philatelic Interest, by which term is understood the appeal an exhibit would possess for an intelligent adult collector;
    c) Condition/Rarity, making due allowance for the nature of the display and difficulty, or otherwise, of acquisition;
    d) Presentation and setout of the display.
  • The Society shall take every care of the exhibits whilst in its possession, but will accept no responsibility for any loss or damage thereto, whether in transit or otherwise.
  • Every entrant shall be deemed to have agreed to abide by these rules.