National Colonial Flag Australian Federation Flag

The Flag

Before 1901, Australia was a collection of British colonies. The Union Flag, as the flag of the British Empire, was often used to represent them collectively; and each colony also had its flag based on the Union Flag.

Two attempts were made throughout the nineteenth century to design a national flag. The first such attempt was the National Colonial Flag created in 1823-1824, by Captain John Nicholson and Captain John Bingle. The flag never achieved public support. The most popular " national" flag of the period was the 1831 Federation Flag, also designed by Nicholson.

National Colonial Flag Australian Federation Flag

On 1st January 1901, six separate British colonies federated as a new and independent country. A nationwide competition to design a new flag was held.

The design was born from a competition first launched in November 1900 by a Melbourne journal called the " Review of Reviews for Australasia", a prize of 50 Pounds was offered for the winning design. The criteria set down was to incorporate both the Union Jack and the Southern Cross into the design. In April 1901 the Commonwealth Governmentalso announced it would run a flag competition with a prize of 75 pounds, it was agreed to combine the entry submissions of both competitions and the prize money was boosted to 200 Pounds (which was equivalent in those days to four years' wages - a great deal of money indeed) by the Havelock Tobacco Company.

Over 30 000 entries were submitted worldwide, the prize money was divided amongst 5 people, who all submitted designs which were very similar. The winners were announced by the Australian Prime Minister of the time, Mr Edmund Barton, and the flag flown for the first time on the 3rd of September 1901.

One of the designers was Ivor Evans, a fourteen year old schoolboy. Ivor had very clear ideas about what his flag meant and what he intended it to say about Australia and Australians. He believed that the Southern Cross, the brightest constellation in the Southern Hemisphere, was representative of Australia's bright future as a leading nation. However there was another reason for his choice of the Southern Cross. The poet, Dante, wrote about four bright stars which symbolised the four moral virtues of justice, prudence (благоразумие, рассудительность), temperance (сдержанность, умеренность) and fortitude (сила духа, стойкость) - principles that Australians should live up to.

The Commonwealth Star was another significant symbol. Its six points represented the six newly federated states. In 1908 a seventh point was added to represent all the Federal Territories which, today, include the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, The Cocos Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Ivor believed that the flag of the United Kingdom, of Great Britain, had a place on Australia's flag because of the historical links between Australia and the British isles. Australia had been colonised by the British in 1788, and one of the first things they did on Australian soil was raise the Union Jack. The flag has been part of Australia's history ever since. Ivor believed that its " honourable place" on the Australian flag recognised this fact - a new nation paying respect to its origins.

" We've the stars to show where we're going and the old flag to show where we've been." (From a poem by Robin Northover)

The Aboriginal Flag was designed by Harold Thomas, an Aboriginal rights activist and artist from Central Australia., in 1971.

The flag was designed to be an eye-catching rallying symbol for the Aboriginal people and a symbol of their race and identity. The black represents the Aboriginal people (alternative explanation - the night sky), the red the earth and their spiritual relationship to the land, and the yellow the sun, the giver of life.

The Aboriginal flag was first raised in Victoria Square in Adelaide on National Aboriginal Day in 1971, but was adopted nationally by Aborigines in 1972.

The Aboriginal flag is increasingly being flown by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. In view of its increasing importance in Australian society, the Government initiated steps in 1994 to give the flag legal recognition. After a period of public consultation, the Government made its own decision in July 1995 that the flag should be proclaimed a " Flag of Australia" under section 5 of the Flags Act 1953. (section 5: Other flags: The Governor-General may, by Proclamation, appoint such other flags and ensigns of Australia as he thinks fit.)