A Blue Ensign defaced with the six-point Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (each star had a varying number of points: 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5—with Alpha Crucis being larger than Beta and Gamma and with Delta being smaller than Beta and Gamma[1]). It was first flown in Melbourne on 3 September 1901. That day is known as Flag Day.
A Blue Ensign defaced with the six-point Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (all stars had seven points, except the smallest star only had 5 points).
The Australian National Flag flipped on its width and rotated 90° anti-clockwise. When flown vertically, the flag appears back-to-front to observers to keep the Union Jack in the canton, the position of honour.[2]
Consists of a banner of the coat of arms of Australia, defaced with a gold seven-pointed federation star with a blue disc containing the letter E below a crown, surrounded by a garland of golden roses.
Red version of the 1901 Federal Flag Design Competition winner
A Red Ensign defaced with the six-point Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (each star had a varying number of points: 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5—with Alpha Crucis being larger than Beta and Gamma and with Delta being smaller than Beta and Gamma[8]).
1903–1909
Old Red Ensign, first version approved by King Edward VII
A Red Ensign defaced with the six-point Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (all stars had seven points, except the smallest star only had 5 points).
A version of the national flag with a white field defaced with a blue Commonwealth Star in the lower canton quarter and a blue Southern Cross in the fly.
A British Blue Ensign with the Australian White Ensign in canton and the badge of the Naval Reserve Cadets in the fly. Replaced by the Australian Navy Cadets Ensign.
A black-white-black vertical tricolor, with the badge of the Australian Federal Police in the centre of the white stripe. A black-and-white checkerboard borders the flag.
The blue and green diagonal panels represent the sea and the island's vegetation, a small map of the island is included in the centre. The main emblem is a golden bosun bird. The flag was selected from a competition held in 1986 and was approved in 2002.
The flag is green, with a palm tree on a gold disc in the canton, a gold crescent for the Cocos Malay people in the centre of the flag and a gold southern cross in the fly. The flag was designed in 2003 becoming official in 2004.
The upper triangle is red with the soaring Raggiana Bird of Paradise and the lower triangle is black with the Southern Cross of four white larger five-pointed stars and the smaller star.
Blue background divided into four quarters by a Saint George's Cross outlined in gold overlain with the Arms of the City of Adelaide. Flag bordered on three sides by diagonal blue and gold stripes.[13]
Blue background (representing the Brisbane River) bordered by a golden checker pattern (representing the Sun and Brisbane's warm climate) with the flag divided into six quarters. The upper hoist quarter contains a golden caducei superimposed on wavy white lines, representing the Brisbane River and its ties to the city's commerce. The lower hoist quarter contains two Stafford knots and a white star arranged vertically (all represent the achievements in astronomy of Sir Thomas Brisbane, for whom the city is named). The remaining segments alternate between these two designs. The flag design is based on the shield on the coat of arms of Brisbane.[15][16]
According to council policy, Darwin maintains two flags.[17] The policy reads "One flag will contain the official Coat of Arms, with its nine colours and the CITY OF DARWIN printed underneath in blue, on a yellow background flanked by red and green. The other flag will contain the City Logo and be in the colours of blue, green and white, on a white background."[18]
The flag of Hobart City Council, of Tasmania, Australia. Designed in 1951 by Hobart architect and alderman, I.G. Anderson and first flown in 1953.
The star is derived from the arms of Lord Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire (1760–1816), Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time of colonial settlement (1804), and after whom Hobart is named. The colour used on the arms Lord Hobart was, in fact, sable (black), rather than blue.
The red lion is from the Tasmanian flag – and its location at the top of the shield signifies Hobart's position as the Capital City.[19]
The Launceston flag design is based on the city's coat of arms granted by the College of Arms, London, on 11 June 1957.[20] The Brisbane Street Mall, the War memorial at Royal Park, the original Queen Victoria Museum (now the Art Gallery) building, atop the Council Chambers and on top of the Albert Hall are places in the city where the flag is regularly flown. The three intersecting lines in the flag represent the city's three rivers (North Esk, South Esk and Tamar) and the two rectangles in the lines represent tin ingots. The strip across the top with the jagged edge is green to represent the city's parks, gardens and surrounding countryside. Waratah flowers at the top symbolise all flowers and similar beauties of nature. The ingots are included because Launceston used to be a large tin smelting centre. The little circle at the river junction is Launceston.
White background divided into four quarters by a Saint George's Cross outlined by a concise and overlain with St Edward's Crown. Quadrant features represent the main activities of the economy of the City of Melbourne in the mid 19th century and are, in a clockwise direction from top left, a fleece hanging from a red ring (wool), a black bull standing on a hillock (cattle), a three-mast ship in full sail (shipping), and a spouting whale in the sea (whaling). The flag design is identical to the shield on the coat of arms of Melbourne.[21]
The colours are brown over green, taken from the shoulder patch of a Battalion raised in the Newcastle/Hunter region. The shield has a gold chief, containing a black diamond, a white sheep's fleece banded gold and a black wheel, representing the principal pursuits of the area: coal mining, farming and grazing, and industry and trade. Below this, the field is green, with a blue downward pointed triangle (pile) bordered gold, portraying a port with the waters of the sea thrusting into the green land. Fertility is emphasised by the gold border. The crest is a lighthouse, for the Nobby's Head lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour, and sits on a helmet with mural crown (city status) and blue, green and gold mantling. The arms stand on a compartment depicting the golden sand and white waves of the city's beaches (with a scroll inscribed "Enterprise") and are supported by two seagulls with mural crowns (the setting and nature of the city).[22]
The flag is a horizontal triband of three colours – white, gold and blue. The top third features three designs. In the top left the arms belong to Thomas Townshend, Viscount Sydney, after whom the city was named. The English Naval Flag in the centre acknowledges the role Arthur Philip played in Sydney's foundation. The red cross is overlaid with a globe and two stars – the principal features of James Cook's Arms, which were granted as a posthumous honour for his service in mapping Australia. The arms in the top right belong to the first Lord Mayor of Sydney, Thomas Hughes. It was during his term of office that the title of Mayor became Lord Mayor, and the official coat of arms for the city was granted. The remaining field of the flag features a ship under full sail, an allusion to the prominence of Sydney as a maritime port.[24]
The flag of Toowoomba city is a violet coloured ensign which makes reference to the city's floral emblem of the day, the Toowoomba Violet (aka the sweet violet, Lat. 'Viola odorata').[25]
Notable is the city's coat of arms[26] in the centre of the ensign and the city's name on the left of the flag, lettered from top to bottom.[27]
A new Toowoomba flag was created in 2007 and became the official flag of the Toowoomba Region on 15 March 2008 with the amalgamation of 8 councils; The councils were Clifton Shire, Crows Nest Shire, Cambooya Shire, Jondaryan Shire, Millmerran Shire, Pittsworth Shire, Rosalie Shire and Toowoomba City.[28]
The predominant colours are white and teal. The three white rings in the flag intersect to create eight spaces from their loops and exterior, symbolising the unity of the eight amalgamated former councils. The colour of teal also represents unity.[29]
Officially, the Wagga Wagga City Flag is square.[30] The upper quarter of the flag contains eight stalks of wheat positioned so as to form two capital lettersW on a vert (green) field. The lower quarter of the upper half of the flag contains a wavy blue line on gold (yellow) representing the river winding through the wheat fields. The lower half of the flag contains the head of a ram positioned centrally on a vert (green) field.
Flown by vessels on the upper reaches of the Murray River, predominantly in Victoria. The blue bars are said to represent the four major rivers that form the Murray-Darling River system and their dark hue represents the darker colour of the Murray River's darker waters in Victoria and NSW.
Flown by vessels on the lower reaches of the Murray River, predominantly in South Australia. The blue bars are said to represent the four major rivers that form the Murray-Darling River system and their light hue represents the lighter colour of the Murray River's lighter waters in South Australia.
A red St. George's Cross bordered in white, on a field of dark blue, with four white eight pointed stars in each of the four quarters. In the centre is a gold bishop's mitre.
An orange ensign with the Australian flag in the canton and an open book surmounted by a Saint Edward's Crown in the lower fly.
Flag of the Loyal Orange Institution of Victoria
An orange ensign with a Saint George's Cross in the canton, and a Southern Cross with a Saint Edward's Cross above it and an open book below it in the fly.
The flag of Murray Island is made of three vertical stripes, red-white-black. In canton, a brown leaf is placed in a white disk. Eight white six-pointed stars surround the disk.
A rectangle diagonally divided by a yellow wavy line. (Heraldic) The right side is ocher with the 7 stars arranged into the constellation of the Pleiades, the left side is black.[39]
A white swallow-tail fly, with a crest featuring the Rose of England, the thistle of Scotland and the shamrock of Northern Ireland supported by an emu and kangaroo. The design was an inspiration for Australia's national coat of arms.
A British White Ensign, featuring the Cross in Azure with five Argent Stars often varying between 5–8 Points. It was the de facto flag of Australia from 1 January 1901 to 3 September 1901. It was widely used in New South Wales as a local shipping ensign until 1883 when the Admiralty banned its continued use at sea. The Australian government received approval to fly the Blue Ensign in 1903—but the Australian Federation Flag was still commonly unofficially used by members of the populace as late as the 1920s.
The battle flag of the Eureka Stockade featured the five stars of the constellation Crux Australis in white on a white cross and blue field
1859
Queensland Separation Flag
The Queensland Separation Flag, flown on 10 December 1859 to mark Queensland becoming a separate colony from New South Wales. A red cross on a light blue field, with the Union Jack in the canton.
An unofficial flag of the British Empire featuring its constituent dominions and India. The Australian coat of arms are featured in the bottom right. It was flown by civilians as a display of patriotism on special occasions such as Empire Day. The flag was flown at the official unveiling of the Dangarsleigh War Memorial in 1921, and again at the centennial in 2021.[42]
^ abcThe rendition of the crown has changed according to the monarchs' wishes. In c. 1901 it was changed to the Tudor Crown, and in 1963 to the St Edward's Crown.
References
^Thomson, Jeff (10 November 2015). "Construction Details of the Australian Flag". FOTW Flags Of The World website. Jon Radel. Retrieved 21 November 2023. The 1901 Southern Cross star-points ranged from nine (Alpha) to five (Epsilon) and inner diameter of each was 4/9 of their outer diameters. Beta, Gamma and Epsilon were the same outer diameter as today, Alpha was 1/6 and Delta 1/10 of the fly width. In 1903 Alpha, Beta and Delta were altered to the same design as the Gamma Star (1/7 fly width, seven points) thus making the Southern Cross the same as on the current flag.
^Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2022). Australian Flags(PDF) (3rd ed.). Australian Government. p. 11. ISBN978-0642471345. Archived(PDF) from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
^PMC. "Flags Act 1953". www.legislation.gov.au. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
^Cabinet, Prime Minister and (27 June 2016). "Australian flags". www.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
^ABC Television show "Auction Room", 11 November 2012
^Thomson, Jeff (10 November 2015). "Construction Details of the Australian Flag". FOTW Flags Of The World website. Jon Radel. Retrieved 21 November 2023. The 1901 Southern Cross star-points ranged from nine (Alpha) to five (Epsilon) and inner diameter of each was 4/9 of their outer diameters. Beta, Gamma and Epsilon were the same outer diameter as today, Alpha was 1/6 and Delta 1/10 of the fly width. In 1903 Alpha, Beta and Delta were altered to the same design as the Gamma Star (1/7 fly width, seven points) thus making the Southern Cross the same as on the current flag.