Australian Flag
AUSTRALIAN FLAG

Red Ensign
 
 
Design of the Flag
 

The Australian flag is composed of three parts:

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The Union Jack (British flag) in the top left corner,
The 'Star of Federation' in the bottom left corner, and
The Southern Cross, taking up the right half of the flag.


The Union Jack shows that the first colonisation by Europeans was by Britain. In case you didn't know, Australia started as a penal colony. The Star of Federation is a seven pointed star. They came to the number seven, by giving each state (six in all) a point on the star, and having one more point for Australia's territories (of which there are several). There are two mainland territories, and several overseas, including two in Antarctica. The Southern Cross is a constellation that can be seen from all of Australia's states and territories.

All the stars have an inner diameter (circle on which the inner corners rest) of 4/9 the outer diameter (circle of outer corners), even the 5-point star. The positions of the stars are as follows:

 

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commonwealth star - centred in lower hoist,
alpha - straight below centre fly 1/6 up from bottom edge,
beta - 1/4 of the way left and 1/16 up from the centre fly,
gamma - straight above centre fly 1/6 down from top edge,
delta - 2/9 of the way right and 31/240 up from the centre fly,
epsilon - 1/10 of the way right and 1/24 down from the centre fly.

The positions of alpha-epsilon are given with respect to the centre of the square fly, and distances in terms of hoist width of the flag.

 

History of the Flag

Chronology
  1900:
Competition held by the Evening Herald in which entries are required to contain the Union flag and Southern Cross.*
October 1900: A broader competition launched by the Review of Reviews in response.*
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 (at the announcement of the winning design*).
8 February 1902:

Prime Minister requests Governor General to send the design (and the 'Federation flag' design) to London for Imperial Approval.* King's Approval given between 21 August and 3 September 1902.*
6 October 1902: Telegram to Governor General advising that design has been approved.*
20 February 1903:


Proclamation that King Edward VII had approved design for the Flag of Australia together with the warrant for Australian registered ships to fly the red ensign. (the design approved by the King differed from the original design in the number of points on the stars and the warrant was republished in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 8*)
2 June 1904:

Federal Parliament passes a resolution to fly the flag in all public places whenever flags were used, giving the flag the same status as the Union Jack in Britain.*
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.
14 April 1954:

Commonwealth Government 'Flags Act 1953' (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No 24*) 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.

 
Red Ensign

The Admiralty Warrant of 4 June 1903 authorised the Australian Red Ensign for vessels registered in Australia. In 1932 it was realised that this did not include the majority of private non-commercial vessels, which were rarely registered. Technically they were liable to a substantial fine if they did not fly the British Red Ensign. An Admiralty Warrant of 5 December 1938 replaced that of 1903 and authorised all ships and boats owned by British residents in Australia and New Guinea Mandated Territory to fly the Australian Red Ensign. [Public Record Office ADM 1/8760/224 and ADM 1/9477]

Initially, the Red Ensign was the only flag private citizens could fly on land. In 1941 Robert Menzies, the Prime Minister, announced that there should be no restriction on flying the Australian Blue Ensign, and in 1947 the Prime Minister, who was then Joseph Chifley, issued a press statement that actively encouraged its use by private citizens. [The Australian Flag [fol96] by Carol Foley] After the 1953 Flags Act, the situation was reversed, the 'blue ensign' became the only flag private citizens could fly on land, while the use of the Red Ensign on land were prohibited. This is still true today.

Under Section 30 of the 1981 Shipping Registration Act, an Australian merchant ship can fly only the Australian Red Ensign, but other Australian vessels can fly either the Australian Red Ensign or the Australian National Flag, but not both at the same time.