Australian States Archives - Smoke Tree Manor

Northern Territory

Flags / Australia, Australian States, flags, geography, history

The current state flag of the Northern Territory was officially adopted by the Northern Territory, Australia, in 1978. The Northern Territory has been in existence since 1911, but did not hoist its first flag until self-government in 1978.

The flag of the Northern Territory was officially acknowledged and raised for the first time in a ceremony celebrating self-government, on the esplanade in Darwin, the Territorial capital, on 1 July 1978. The ceremony was further acknowledged by a 19-gun salute from HMAS Derwent. As the Northern Territory never had colonial status or a prior flag, it was decided that an original design would be created. The flag was designed by Robert Ingpen, a prominent artist originally from Drysdale, Victoria. Ingpen used a number of designs suggested by the public as a basis for his final design.

The flag differs from the flags of the Australian states as it does not include the British Blue Ensign. The flag of the Australian Capital Territory adopted 15 years later is similar in design. The flag’s colours consist of the official Territorian colours of black, white and ochre (making it the only flag among Australia’s states and territories not to feature the colour blue). The Southern Cross appears as five white stars on a black panel at the hoist. In the fly of the flag is a stylised Sturt’s Desert Rose, the territory’s floral emblem since 1961, with seven white petals and a black seven-pointed core. The seven white petals represent the six Australian States and the Northern Territory.

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Western Australia

Flags / Australia, Australian States, flags, geography, history, islands, states

The current state flag of Western Australia was officially adopted by the government of Western Australia in 1953.

The flag is based on the defaced British Blue Ensign with the state badge located in the fly. The badge is a gold disc with a native black swan, the swan is facing towards the hoist. The black swan has long been a symbol of Western Australia. The original colony was called the Swan River Colony at the location which is now Perth.

The first flag of Western Australia was adopted in 1870 and is almost identical to the current flag of Western Australia. The only difference is that the swan was facing the opposite direction towards the fly rather than towards the hoist. The direction of the swan was changed to conform to the vexillological guideline that animals on flags must face the hoist, so when carried on a pole, the animal faces the same direction of the bearer.

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Victoria

Flags / Australia, Australian States, flags, geography, history, islands, pacific ocean, Pacific Ocean Islands, states

The flag of Victoria, symbolising the state of Victoria in Australia, is a British Blue Ensign defaced by the state badge of Victoria in the fly. The badge is the Southern Cross topped by an imperial crown, which is currently the St Edward’s Crown. The stars of the Southern Cross are white and range from five to eight points with each star having one point pointing to the top of the flag. The flag dates from 1870, with minor variations, the last of which was in 1953. It is the only Australian state flag not to feature the state badge on a round disk.

The first flag of Victoria was adopted in 1870 .and was first flown from HMVS Nelson on 9 February 1870. It too was a defaced British Blue Ensign with the Southern Cross located in the fly. The stars of the Southern Cross were white and had 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 points with only the leftmost and rightmost stars having one point pointing to the top of the flag. The adoption of the flag came about when Victoria became the first Australian colony to acquire a warship, and thus under the British Colonial Naval Defence Act of 1865 Victoria needed a flag to distinguish its ships from other British ships.

Victoria then adopted the current flag in 1877 with the stars of the southern cross from then on having 5, 6, 7, 7 and 8 points. The depictions of the crown have varied in accordance with heraldic fashion and the wishes of the monarch of the time. During Queen Victoria’s reign, the crown had slightly dipped arches. From c. 1901–1952, during the reigns of Kings Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI the depiction of the crown known as the “Tudor Crown”, with domed arches, was used. In 1953 the Tudor Crown was replaced with the St Edward’s Crown.

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Tasmania

Flags / Australia, Australian States, flags, geography, history, indian ocean, islands, pacific ocean, states

The current state flag of Tasmania was officially adopted following a proclamation by Tasmanian colonial Governor Sir Frederick Weld on 25 September 1876, and was first published in the Tasmanian Gazette the same day. The governor’s proclamation here were three official flags, they being the Governor’s flag, the Tasmania Government vessel flag, and a Tasmania merchant flag. Up until 1856 when Tasmania was granted responsible self-government, the Union flag and the British ensign were primarily used on state occasions.

The flag consists of a defaced British Blue Ensign with the state badge located in the fly. The badge is a white disk with a red lion passant in the centre of the disk. There is no official record of how the lion came to be included on the flag. Where this design originated from is unknown, but it is assumed that the red lion is a link with England. This flag has remained almost unchanged since 1875, with only a slight change of the style of the lion when the flag was officially adopted by the government in 1975.

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South Australia

Flags / Australia, Australian States, flags, geography, history, indian ocean, islands

The current state flag of South Australia, was officially adopted by the government of South Australia in 1904.

The flag is based on the defaced British Blue Ensign with the state badge located in the fly. The badge is a gold disc featuring a piping shrike with its wings outstretched. The badge is believed to have been originally designed by Robert Craig, a teacher at the School of Arts in Adelaide, and officially gazetted on 14 January 1904.

The first flag of South Australia was adopted in 1870. It too was a defaced British Blue Ensign, but with a black disc in the fly containing the Southern Cross and the two pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri).

South Australia then adopted a second flag in 1876, also a Blue Ensign, with a new badge. The badge design was an artistic rendition of the arrival of Britannia (a woman in flowing garb and holding a shield, representing the new settlers) meeting an Aboriginal sitting with a spear on a rocky shoreline. A kangaroo appears to be carved into the rocks behind the Aboriginal. This flag was adopted after a request from the Colonial Office for a new design over the old one due to its similarity to the flags of New Zealand and Victoria.

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Queensland

Flags / Australia, Australian States, flags, geography, history, islands, pacific ocean, states

The state flag of Queensland is a British Blue Ensign defaced with the state badge on a white disc in the fly. The badge is a light blue Maltese Cross with an imperial crown in the centre of the cross. The flag dates from 1876, with minor variations, and the badge was designed by William Hemmant, the Colonial Secretary and Treasurer of Queensland in 1876.

On 10 December 1859, “a light blue flag with a red St George’s Cross and union in the corner” (now known as the Queensland Separation Flag) was flown in Brisbane to mark Queensland’s separation from New South Wales.

The State Flag was first created in 1870 with the Union Jack upon the royal blue background; however, no Badge was present. In its place was a profile of Queen Victoria on a blue disc surrounded by a white annulus on which the word “Queensland” was inscribed in gold.

The next alteration occurred in 1876 as there were many complaints that the reproduction of Victoria’s head was too difficult and a replacement was called for. The Maltese Cross impaled with the Crown was chosen out of four proposed designs to replace Victoria’s head.

The final official alteration occurred in 1901 with the death of Queen Victoria. The change was in relation to the crown impaled upon the Maltese Cross; as Victoria and Edward VII had chosen different coronation crowns, the crowns upon the Badge also had to change. However over the years the monarchs of Australia have chosen differing coronation crowns and therefore, the crowns have unofficially kept up with each change.

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