Thread: The Australian Flag

Hmmm this is a touchy one isnt it, did you know our flag was as we know it was from a born from a compettion , which stipulted that it had to have the union jack and the sothern cross displayed on it- i actualy think this competition was thought of by a tabacoo comapny, which one i dont know.

Most of our soldiers who fought four our country prior to ww2 fought under a british flag as we were fighting for the mother country(england that is) some our boys even fought under a white or red flag back then we had no real flag of our own

No correct me if im wrong but if you look closely at some fottage of the whitlam disisal you will even see the red ensign flying on the front of parliment building, so what is our real flag

I am australian 3rd gen and i love this country but do we need the unoin jack in the corner? as for this hannigan guy - well i wont loose any sleep over him

The Australian National Flag was first flown in September 1901 at the Exhibition Building in Melbourne which was the seat of Federal Government at the time. The flag changed in some minor ways between 1901 and 1908 (changes to the number of points on some stars). I doubt very much that the Red Ensign was flying in front of Old Parliament House on 11 Nov 1975 (the Whitlam dismissal) as the pivotal role of the blue flag had been confirmed by the Flags Act 1953.

Just to remind people of that momentous day in Australian contemporary history, here is Norman Gunston's coverage of the event:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9hZ7kjgFh4"]YouTube - Norman Gunston at 'The Dismissal'[/ame]

Cheers
KarlB

I am a real supporter of the republican cause but I do not see the need to change the flag at all - as others have indicated the flag as we know it did not just come into existence overnight but was the result of just over 50 years evolution. Each change in the flag reflects the thinking of white Australia at the time - including how the design of the initial version was decided. The only unfortunate aspect is that indigenous considerations were never taken into account.

Happy for the flag to continue to evolve as society changes but I do not support revolutionary change in the flag.

Garry

I have a personal preference for the Eureka Flag ... as do many others in the Australian diaspora, few would know however that the Eureka flag was actually designed by a Canadian!

Tiki.

Originally Posted by garrycol

I am a real supporter of the republican cause but I do not see the need to change the flag at all - as others have indicated the flag as we know it did not just come into existence overnight but was the result of just over 50 years evolution. Each change in the flag reflects the thinking of white Australia at the time - including how the design of the initial version was decided. The only unfortunate aspect is that indigenous considerations were never taken into account.

Happy for the flag to continue to evolve as society changes but I do not support revolutionary change in the flag.

Garry

I agree with you entirely Garry. I am a staunch republican, but would like to see the flag unchanged.

Cheers
KarlB

I am a true republican as well, I would like to a new flag, but until someone can design one that looks better than our current flag, then no thanks, some of the flags preposed so far are down right ugly, it needs to be simple and reflect us, like the Canadian flag, or the Eureka flag (shame it was tarnished by the BLF, it will never get used now)

Baz.

Like it or not, England (and hence the Union Jack) is a part of our history. Our current flag reflects this history. When we salute our flag, we salute the entire flag, it is ours and it represents us and our history better than most flags in my opinion.

Originally Posted by wardy1

Like it or not, England (and hence the Union Jack) is a part of our history. Our current flag reflects this history. When we salute our flag, we salute the entire flag, it is ours and it represents us and our history better than most flags in my opinion.

I agree, the Union Jack is part of our history but lets get that history correct. The Union Jack is the flag of the United Kingdom, not the flag of England. The Union Jack (probably more correct to call it the Union Flag) is a composite of three flags: Scotland's St Andrew's Cross; England's St George's Cross; and Ireland's St Patrick's Cross.

Cheers
KarlB