Australian National Flag
History of the Flag
Following Federation as a new nation (the Commonwealth of Australia) on 1st January, 1901 the Commonwealth Government announced a Federal Flag design competition on 29th April, 1901. The review of Review for Australasia, a Melbourne journal, had initiated an Australian flag competition in 1900, a unique event at the time. It was agreed that the entries received by this journal would be accepted in the Government’s competition. The contest attracted 32,823 entries from men, women and children.
An expert panel of judges assessed the entries using guidelines which included history, heraldry, distinctiveness, utility and cost of manufacture, On 3rd September, 1901, a public ceremony was held at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, where Lady Hopetoun, wife of the Governor-General, opened a display of the entries in the competition. The Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Edmund Barton, announced that five entrants, who had submitted similar designs, were to share the honour of being declared the designers of Australia’s own flag. They were: Ivor Evans, a fourteen-year-old schoolboy from Melbourne; Leslie John Hawkins, a teenager apprenticed to a Sydney optician; Egbert John Nuttall, a Melbourne architect; Annie Dorrington, an artist from Perth; and William Stevens, a ship’s officer from Auckland, New Zealand. The Commonwealth Government and the Review of Reviews for Australasia provided ₤75 each and the Havelock Tobacco Company added ₤50 to this making a total of ₤200 prize money, a considerable amount at the time. The five winners received ₤40 each.
The Australian National Flag features the five stars of the constellation of the Southern Cross and the Commonwealth Star, and the combined crosses of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick. The union of crosses represents Australia’s early settlers. The Commonwealth Star with its seven points represents the unity of the six Australian states and the seventh point stands for all Australian Territories. Under the Flags Act of 1953, passed unanimously by parliament, it was confirmed that our “Stars and Crosses” design be the chief national symbol by law, custom and tradition and that it be honoured with the title “Australian National Flag”. The new status of the national flag was emphasized when the act of parliament received royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II, on Her Majesty’s visit to Australia in 1954. The Australian rules of flag etiquette are designed to ensure that the national flag is displayed with the dignity befitting its status.
The Australian National Flag identifies a free and democratic people in a nation united in purpose. Our national flag belongs equally to all Australians whatever their origins. Each of the symbols on the flag has a special meaning for Australians. The stars of the Southern Cross represent our geographic position in the Southern Hemisphere; the Commonwealth star stands for our federation of States and Territories; the Crosses represent the principles on which our nation is based, namely, parliamentary democracy, rule of law and freedom of speech.
In 1996 the Governor-General, Sir William Deane, proclaimed 3rd September as Australian National Flag Day, to commemorate the day in 1901 on which our national flag of “Stars and Crosses” was first flown. It is the right and privilege of every Australian to fly the Australian National Flag.
Australian National Flag
Historical Milestones
3 September 1901:
First official raising of the blue Australian Flag at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne.
29 April 1901
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 27 Design competition for The Flag of Australia announced by the first Australian Prime Minister, Edmund Barton.
3 September 1901
First official raising of the blue Australian Flag at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne.
20 February 1903
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 8 Proclamation that King Edward VII had approved design for the Flag of Australia.
19 December 1908
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 65 (page 1709) announced addition of 7th point to the Commonwealth Star to represent Australian Territories.
23 March 1934
Commonwealth Gazette No.18 gives descriptions and specifications of the Australian Blue Ensign and the red merchant flag of Australia.
2 December 1953
Commonwealth Government ‘Flags Act 1953’ (Hansard reports, 20/11/1953 and 2/12/1953) the status of The Flag confirmed by legislation and title to be the Australian National Flag.
3 September 1996
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. S321 Proclamation of Australian National Flag Day – (Anniversary of our Flag). Commemorating the day in 1901 on which the Australian National Flag was first flown.
24 March 1998
Flag Amendments Bill amended the Flags Act 1953 to ensure that the Australian National Flag can only be changed if the electorate approves.
20 September 2001
Commonwealth Gazette No. S382 (Special) Proclamation of the Centenary Flag Warrant. The Centenary Flag is the flag presented on 3 September 2001 to the Prime Minister by the Australian National Flag Association, being an Australian National Flag suitably inscribed with flag centenary message.
Australian National Flag
Flag Day Proclamation
3 September 1996:
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. S321 Proclamation of Australian National Flag Day – (Anniversary of our Flag). Commemorating the day in 1901 on which the Australian National Flag was first flown.
Australian National Flag
The Centenary Celebrations
The chief national symbol of Australia by law, custom and tradition, the Australian National Flag, had its 100th birthday marked by a special series of ceremonies around Australia on 3 September 2001. In particular a major event, The Festival of the First Flag, was held in Townsville. All ceremonies celebrated the importance and significance of our national symbol and brought members of the community together. The centenary of the Australian National Flag was acknowledged by the Federal parliament which agreed to the following special resolution on 30 August 2001:
Recognises the celebrates
Recognises and celebrates the centenary of the Australian National Flag which occurs on 3 September this year.
Honours national ideals
Honours the ideals for which our national flag stands including our history, geography and unity as a federated nation.
Notes world first
Notes that this is the world’s only national flag ever to fly over one entire continent.
our national symbol
Acknowledges that our flag has been Australia’s pre-eminent national symbol in times of adversity and war, peacetime and prosperity.
belongs to the Australian people
Recognises that our flag now belongs to the Australian people and has been an integral part of the expression of our national pride.
Flag as a symbol
Expresses its respect for the Australian National Flag as a symbol of our profound achievements as a federation; our independence and freedom as a people; and our optimism for a common future together.
Australian National Flag
First flying of the Flag
An Extract from the Melbourne Age on 4th September 1901
At the exhibition Building yesterday afternoon the Countess of Hopetoun formally opened the Commonwealth Flag and Seal Exhibition and announced the names of the successful competitors.
The event was timed for 2:30pm and at that hour a large number of people had assembled about the entrances, attracted by the absolutely unique occasion. Among those present were a goodly sprinkling of legislators, both Federal and State, and a number of clergymen of various denominations.
As Lady Hopetoun entered, a huge Blue Ensign with the prize design of the Southern Cross and a six pointed star thereon was run up to the top of the flagstaff on the dome and breaking, streamed out on the heavy south-westerly breeze, a brave and inspiring picture.
