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Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Flags / Australia, Australian Territories, flags, geography, history, indian ocean, islands, territories

The flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands was created in 2003 and adopted on 6 April 2004.

The flag consists of a green field, with a palm tree on a gold disc in the canton, a gold crescent in the center of the flag and a gold southern cross in the fly. The palm tree represents the islands’ tropical flora; the colors are Australia’s national colors; the crescent represents Islam, the religion of the Cocos Malays who make up a majority of the population; and the Southern Cross is a symbol of Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.

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Christmas Island

Flags / Australia, Australian Territories, flags, geography, history, indian ocean, islands, territories

The flag of Christmas Island was unofficially adopted in 1986 after being chosen the winner in a competition for a flag for the territory. It was designed by Tony Couch of Sydney, Australia. The flag was made official on Australia Day, 2002 when the administrator of the territory, Bill Taylor, presented the flag to the Christmas Island Shire.

The flag of Christmas Island consists of a green and blue background, split the top left corner to the bottom right. These colours are intended to represent the land and sea respectively. The Southern Cross constellation appears in the bottom left of the flag in the same manner as it appears on the flag of Australia. In the top right, the golden bosun bird (Phaethon lepturus fulvus, one of six races of the white-tailed tropicbird) appears. It is considered to be a symbol of the Island. The last motif appears in the centre of the flag on a golden disc is the map of the island in green. The disc itself was originally only included to offset the green colour of the map, but has become linked to the mining industry.

In 1986, the Christmas Island Assembly announced a competition to design both a flag and a coat of arms for the territory. There was a prize fund of $100, and some 69 entries were submitted. The winning submission was created by Tony Couch, a resident of Sydney but who had previously worked on Christmas Island. The new flag was announced on April 14, 1986 by the Christmas Island Assembly.

The first attempt to make the flag official occurred in 1995 when the Minister of the Islands at the time took the view that implementation could take place on Australia Day 1996 via a formal announcement by the Administrator rather than an amendment to the Christmas Island Act 1958. Although this was agreed, the declaration never took place.

Subsequently, Christmas Island official Gary Dunt revived the issue in 2001 and the flag was formally declared the official flag of Christmas Island on Australia Day 2002 (January 26), by the administrator of the territory, Bill Taylor. Councillor Mariam Kawi accepted the flag as a representative of the Shire of Christmas Island.

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Australian Capital Territory

Flags / Australia, flags, geography, history, pacific ocean, territories

The current flag of the Australian Capital Territory was officially adopted by the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in 1993.

The flag differs from the Australian state flags as it is not a modified (technically defaced) British Blue Ensign. It is similar in design to the flag of the Northern Territory. The flag uses the Canberra city colours of blue and gold (which also happen to be the heraldic colours of Australia). The Southern Cross appears as five white stars on a blue panel at the hoist, whilst in the centre of the goldfield in the fly is the modified coat of arms of the Australian Capital Territory. The flag was designed by Ivo Ostyn.

Even though the Australian Capital Territory has existed since 1909 and was given self-government in 1989, it had never had a flag of its own. Consequently, the government decided that the Territory should adopt a flag. In 1988 and 1992 competitions for a proposed new flag were held, in which artists and residents of the ACT could put forth their designs for the new flag. Subsequently, the current flag won the competition. The ACT Legislative Assembly then officially adopted this flag in 1993.

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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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New South Wales

Flags / Australia, economy, flags, geography, history, indian ocean, islands, pacific ocean, states, transportation

The current state flag of New South Wales was officially adopted by the government of New South Wales in 1876.

The flag is based on the defaced British Blue Ensign with the state badge located in the fly. The badge, based on the coat of arms, is a white disc with the cross of St George, a golden lion passant guardant in the centre of the cross and an eight-pointed gold star on each arm of the cross.

This flag was adopted due to criticisms from the British Admiralty that the previous design was too similar to the design of the Victorian flag.

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Australia

Flags / Australia, flags, geography, history, indian ocean, pacific ocean, states

The flag of Australia is a defaced Blue Ensign: a blue field with the Union Jack in the canton (upper hoist quarter), and a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter. The fly contains a representation of the Southern Cross constellation, made up of five white stars – one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars. There are other official flags representing Australia, its people and core functions of government.

The flag’s original design (with a six-pointed Commonwealth Star) was chosen in 1901 from entries in a competition held following Federation, and was first flown in Melbourne on 3 September 1901, the date proclaimed as Australian National Flag Day. A slightly different design was approved by King Edward VII in 1903. The seven-pointed commonwealth star version was introduced by a proclamation dated 8 December 1908. The dimensions were formally gazetted in 1934, and in 1954 the flag became recognized by, and legally defined in, the Flags Act 1953, as the “Australian National Flag”.

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