97-769: The Australian National Flag Association (ANFA) was inaugurated at a public meeting held in Sydney on 5 October 1983 to oppose suggestions that the existing Australian National Flag is not appropriately representative of the nation, and should be changed, with Sir Colin Hines elected as founding president of the New South Wales branch. There are also autonomous, state-based incorporated associations still operating as ANFA chapters in Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. There have been informal meetings between
194-747: A Deputy First Sea Lord , was added to the Board who would administer operations abroad and deal with questions of foreign policy. In October 1917, the development of the staff was carried one step further by the creation of two sub-committees of the Board—the Operations Committee and the Maintenance Committee. The First Lord of the Admiralty was chairman of both committees, and the Operations Committee consisted of
291-801: A 1924 agreement that the Union Jack should take precedence as the National Flag with state and local governments henceforth able to use the blue ensign. As the Union Jack was recognised as the national flag, it was considered disloyal to fly either ensign without the Union Jack alongside, and it was the Union Jack that covered the coffins of Australia's war dead. In 1940 the Victorian government passed legislation allowing schools to purchase Blue Ensigns, which in turn allowed its use by private citizens. Prime Minister Robert Menzies then recommended schools, government building and private citizens to use
388-650: A burnt flag display by a Melbourne artist, Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop introduced the Protection of the Australian National Flag (Desecration of the Flag) Bill 2006 . This bill sought to make it an offence to desecrate the flag by "wilfully destroying or otherwise mutilating the Australian National Flag in circumstances where a reasonable person would infer that the destruction or mutilation is intended publicly to express contempt or disrespect for
485-666: A convict settlement at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788. He first raised the Union Jack on 7 February 1788 when he proclaimed the Colony of New South Wales. The Union Jack at that stage was the one introduced in 1606, which did not include the Saint Patrick's Saltire ; it was included from 1801 after the Acts of Union 1801 . The second version post-1801 is depicted on the Australian flag. Each colony also had its own flag based on
582-414: A government approved constitution. The stated aims and objectives are: Amongst other activities ANFA NSW has successfully proposed that 3 September be proclaimed as Australian National Flag Day and holds annual commemorations along with other state branches. ANFA NSW produced a video "Our National Flag … since 1901" which tells the story of the flag. This was presented to every Australian school as part of
679-407: A lot of bureaucracy followed with the merger. In 1860 saw big growth in the development of technical crafts, the expansion of more admiralty branches that really began with age of steam that would have an enormous influence on the navy and naval thought. Between 1860 and 1908, there was no real study of strategy and of staff work conducted within the naval service ; it was practically ignored. All
776-533: A marine ensign and favouring King's Regulations that specified the use of the Union Jack. After being approached by the Department of Defence, Prime Minister Chris Watson stated in parliament that he was not satisfied with the design of the Australian flag and that implementation of the 1904 resolution could wait until consideration was given to "adopt another [flag] which in our opinion is more appropriate". In 1908, Australian Army Military Order, No 58/08 ordered
873-763: A matter of protocol. The Blue Ensign replaced the Union Jack at the Olympic Games at St Louis in 1904. In the same year, due to lobbying by Richard Crouch MP, it had the same status as the Union Jack in the UK, when the Australian House of Representatives proclaimed that the Blue Ensign "should be flown upon all forts, vessels, saluting places and public buildings of the Commonwealth upon all occasions when flags are used". The government agreed to fly
970-532: A number of other official flags representing its people and government bodies. The original version of the flag first flew as the Commonwealth blue ensign on 3 September 1901, after being selected alongside a red version (the Red Ensign ) in a competition held following Federation . A slightly simplified version as approved by King Edward VII was officially adopted in 1903. It was later modified to
1067-525: A professional military staff . In May 1917, the term "Admiralty War Staff" was renamed and that department and its functional role were superseded by a new " Admiralty Naval Staff "; in addition, the newly created office of Chief of the Naval Staff was merged in the office of the First Sea Lord. Also appointed was a new post, that of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff , and an Assistant Chief of
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#17327911523671164-475: A red cross on a white background, with an eight-point star on each of the four limbs of the cross, while incorporating a Union Jack in the canton. The most popular national flag of the period was the 1831 Federation Flag , also designed by Nicholson. This flag was the same at the National Colonial Flag, except that the cross was blue instead of resembling that of St. George. Although the flag
1261-575: A request from the British government to design a new flag, the new Commonwealth Government held an official competition for a new federal flag in April. The competition attracted 32,823 entries, including those originally sent to the Review of Reviews . One of these was submitted by an unnamed governor of a colony. The two contests were merged after the Review of Reviews agreed to being integrated into
1358-762: A separate Navy Board responsible for the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy, the Army Board and the Air Force Board , each headed by the Secretary of State for Defence . In the 20th century the structure of the Admiralty Headquarters was predominantly organized into four parts: Board of Admiralty When the office of Lord High Admiral was in commission, as it was for most of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, until it reverted to
1455-464: A ship's officer from Auckland , New Zealand . The differences to the current flag were the six-pointed Commonwealth Star, while the components stars in the Southern Cross had different numbers of points, with more if the real star was brighter. This led to five stars of nine, eight, seven, six and five points respectively. The Inner Diameter of the six-pointed Federal Star in the lower Hoist
1552-586: 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 inspiriting picture. The report carried by the Argus newspaper was also celebratory in nature, stating, In years to come the flag which floated yesterday in the Exhibition building over Her Excellency the Countess of Hopetoun, who stood for Great Britain, and
1649-468: Is a committee of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom . This Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board (not to be confused with the historic Navy Board ). It is common for the various authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to as simply 'The Admiralty'. The title of Lord High Admiral of
1746-466: Is a national election or referendum. Government ships, fishing vessels, pleasure craft, small craft and commercial vessels under 24 metres in tonnage length, can fly either the Red Ensign or the Australian National Flag, but not both. The British Blue Ensign can be flown on an Australian owned ship instead of the Australian flag if the owner has a warrant valid under British law. The Department of
1843-699: Is similar in design to the present National Flag. The differences were that there was no Commonwealth Star, while the components of the Southern Cross are depicted with eight points and in gold. This flag was only briefly in usage, as two years after the formation of the Anti-Transportation League in 1851, the colonial authorities decided to stop the intake of convicts, so the ATL ceased its activities. The Eureka Flag has become an enduring symbol in Australian culture and has been used by various groups and movements. The Murray River Flag , popular since
1940-538: Is still Britain's little boy. What more natural than that he should accept his father's cut-down garments, – lacking the power to protest, and only dimly realising his will. That bastard flag is a true symbol of the bastard state of Australian opinion. As the design was basically the Victorian flag with a star added, many critics in both the Federal Government and the New South Wales government objected to
2037-606: Is used. For this reason the Collingwood Football Club had to reverse its logo, which previously featured the flag until a logo refresh at the end of 2017. There have been several attempts to make desecration of the Australian flag a crime. In 1953, during the second reading debate on the Flags Bill, the leader of the Opposition , Arthur Calwell , unsuccessfully called for provisions to be added to
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#17327911523672134-529: The Melbourne Herald conducted a design competition with a prize of 25 Australian pounds (A$ 4,400 in 2021 terms). The competition conducted by the Review of Reviews for Australasia —a Melbourne-based publication— suggested that entries incorporate a design based on the British ensigns and around the Southern Cross, noting that designs without these emblems were unlikely to be successful. After Federation on 1 January 1901, and following receipt of
2231-654: The British Admiralty required a flag based on the Blue or Red Ensign for maritime use. The Commonwealth Star , also known as the Federation Star, originally had six points, representing the six federating colonies. In 1908, a seventh point was added to symbolise the Territory of Papua , and any future territories. Another rationale for the change was to match the star used on the coat of arms, which
2328-642: The Kingdom of Great Britain . The Admiralty was among the most important departments of the British Government , because of the Royal Navy's role in the expansion and maintenance of the English overseas possessions in the 17th century , the British Empire in the 18th century , and subsequently. The modern Admiralty Board , to which the functions of the Admiralty were transferred in 1964,
2425-601: The Liberal Party . The Prime Minister, John Howard , rejected the calls, stating that "in the end I guess it's part of the sort of free speech code that we have in this country". In 2003, the Australian flags (Desecration of the Flag) Bill was tabled in Parliament by Trish Draper without support from Howard and subsequently lapsed. In 2006, following a flag-burning incident during the 2005 Cronulla riots and
2522-756: The Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State . For much of its history, from the early 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty , who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty , rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of
2619-663: The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and the judges took six days to deliberate before reaching their conclusion. Five almost identical entries were chosen as the winning design, and the designers shared the £200 (2021: $ 35,200) prize money, with £40 each. They were Ivor Evans , a fourteen-year-old schoolboy from Melbourne ; Leslie John Hawkins, a teenager apprenticed to an optician from Sydney ; Egbert John Nuttall, an architect from Melbourne; Annie Dorrington , an artist from Perth ; and William Stevens,
2716-755: The Union Jack . The Australian flag uses three prominent symbols: the Southern Cross , the Union Jack (Union Flag) and the Commonwealth Star . Adopted in its current form in 1801, the Union Jack incorporates three heraldic crosses representing the nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as they were constituted at the time: The Union Jack acknowledges the history of British settlement in Australia. Further,
2813-424: The governor-general to appoint "flags and ensigns of Australia" and authorise warrants and make rules as to use of flags. Section 8 ensures that the "right or privilege" of a person to fly the Union Jack is not affected by the act. South Australia chose to continue with the Union Jack as the national flag until 1956, when schools were given the option of using either the Union Jack or Australian flag. The former
2910-536: The "Australian Ensign" replace the Union Jack at all military establishments. From 1911 it was the saluting flag of the Australian army at all reviews and ceremonial parades. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was promulgated on 5 October 1911 and was directed to fly the British White Ensign on the stern and the flag of Australia on the jackstaff . Despite the government wanting to use the Blue Ensign on Australian warships, officers continued to fly
3007-520: The 'Discovering Democracy' programme. In 2017 ANFA QLD announced a search for the very first Australian flag, which has been lost since it flew on 3 September 1901 at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. In 1999 ANFA WA erected a memorial on the grave of Mrs Annie Dorrington, who along with four others shared and the prize money in the 1901 Federal Flag Design Competition , with other ANFA state branches contributing towards
Australian National Flag Association - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-474: The 1850s, is still widely used by boats that traverse Australia's main waterway . It is the same as the National Colonial Flag, except that the white background in the three quadrants other the canton were replaced with four alternating blue and white stripes, representing the four major rivers that run into the Murray River. As Federation approached, thoughts turned to an official federal flag. In 1900,
3201-540: The 1920s the Federation Flag remained the most popular Australian flag for public and even some official events. It was flown at the 1907 State Premiers conference in Melbourne and during the 1927 visit to Australia of the Duke and Duchess of York, the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth . In the 1920s there was debate over whether the Blue Ensign was reserved for Commonwealth buildings only, culminating in
3298-567: The Acts , responsible individually for finance , supervision of accounts , Shipbuilding and maintenance of ships, and record of business. These principal officers came to be known as the Navy Board responsible for 'civil administration' of the navy, from 1546 to 1832. This structure of administering the navy lasted for 285 years, however, the supply system was often inefficient and corrupt its deficiencies were due as much to its limitations of
3395-699: The Admiralty Naval Staff in 1917. It was the former senior command, operational planning, policy and strategy department within the British Admiralty. It was established in 1917 and existed until 1964 when the department of the Admiralty was abolished, and the staff departments function continued within the Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence until 1971 when its functions became part of the new Naval Staff, Navy Department of
3492-594: The Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners were always a mixture of admirals , known as Naval Lords or Sea Lords and Civil Lords, normally politicians. The quorum of the Board was two commissioners and a secretary. The president of the Board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty , who was a member of the Cabinet . After 1806, the First Lord of the Admiralty was always a civilian, while the professional head of
3589-461: The Blue Ensign on special flag days, but not if it meant additional expense, which undermined the motion. The Blue Ensign could only be flown on a state government building if a state flag was not available. On 2 June 1904 a resolution was passed by parliament to replace the Union Jack with the "Australian flag" on forts. Initially the Department of Defence resisted using the Flag, considering it to be
3686-602: The Blue Ensign, issuing a statement the following year allowing Australians to use either ensign providing it was done so respectfully. Prime Minister Ben Chifley issued a similar statement in 1947. On 4 December 1950, the Prime Minister Robert Menzies affirmed the Blue ensign as the National flag and in 1951 King George VI approved the Government's recommendation. When the Flags Bill
3783-632: The Board of Admiralty until 1832. Its principal commissioners of the Navy advised the board in relation to civil administration of the naval affairs. The Navy Board was based at the Navy Office . Board of Admiralty civilian members responsible other important civil functions Admiralty Naval Staff It evolved from * Admiralty Navy War Council , (1909–1912) which in turn became the Admiralty War Staff , (1912–1917) before finally becoming
3880-569: The British Blue Ensign, defaced with a state badge. As an Australian national consciousness began to emerge, several flag movements were formed and unofficial new flags came into common usage. Two attempts were made throughout the nineteenth century to design a national flag. The first such attempt was the National Colonial Flag created in 1823–1824 by Captains John Nicholson and John Bingle. This flag consisted of
3977-710: The CNS to issue orders in their own name, as opposed to them previously being issued by the Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty in the name of the Board. In 1964, the Admiralty—along with the War Office and the Air Ministry —were abolished as separate departments of state, and placed under one single new Ministry of Defence . Within the expanded Ministry of Defence are the new Admiralty Board which has
Australian National Flag Association - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-408: The Chief of the War Staff who was responsible for administering three new sub-divisions responsible for operations , intelligence and mobilisation . The new War Staff had hardly found its feet and it continually struggled with the opposition to its existence by senior officers they were categorically opposed to a staff. The deficiencies of the system within this department of state could be seen in
4171-404: The Crown , it was exercised by a Board of Admiralty, officially known as the Commissioners for Exercising the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, &c. (alternatively of England , Great Britain or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland depending on the period). The Board of Admiralty consisted of a number of Lords Commissioners of
4268-411: The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the Deputy First Sea Lord, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, and Fifth Sea Lord . Full operational control of the Royal Navy was finally handed over to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) by an order in Council , effective October 1917, under which he became responsible for the issuing of orders affecting all war operations directly to the fleet. It also empowered
4365-401: The Flag or the Australian Nation". The bill received a second reading but subsequently lapsed and did not proceed to be voted in the House of Representatives. The Union Jack, as the flag of the British Empire, was first used on Australian soil on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay . Following the arrival of the First Fleet , Captain Arthur Phillip established
4462-420: The Flags Act, the Australian National Flag must meet the following specifications: The location of the stars is as follows: The outer diameter of the Commonwealth Star is 3 ⁄ 20 of the flag's width, while that of the stars in the Southern Cross is 1 ⁄ 14 of the flag's width, except for Epsilon, for which the fraction is 1 ⁄ 24 . Each star's inner diameter is 4 ⁄ 9 of
4559-428: The Menzies government (and other organisations such as the Catholic Church), however it was also suitable to the Labor party as it was the same colour as the Eureka Flag. The Red Ensign continues to be paraded on Anzac Day in recognition of its historical significance. Technically, private non-commercial vessels were liable to a substantial fine if they did not fly the British Red Ensign. However, an Admiralty Warrant
4656-443: The Ministry of Defence. Offices of the Naval Staff Admiralty Departments The Admiralty Departments were distinct and component parts of the Department of Admiralty that were superintended by the various offices of the Sea Lords responsible for them; they were primarily administrative, research, scientific and logistical support organisations. The departments role was to provide the men, ships, aircraft and supplies to carry out
4753-610: The Naval Staff ; all were given seats on the Board of Admiralty. This for the first time gave the naval staff direct representation on the board; the presence of three senior naval senior members on the board ensured the necessary authority to carry through any operation of war. The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff would direct all operations and movements of the fleet, while the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff would be responsible for mercantile movements and anti-submarine operations. The office of Controller would be re-established to deal with all questions relating to supply; on 6 September 1917,
4850-426: The Navy's talent flowed to the great technical universities. This school of thought for the next 50 years was exclusively technically based. The first serious attempt to introduce a sole management body to administer the naval service manifested itself in the creation of the Admiralty Navy War Council in 1909. Following this, a new advisory body called the Admiralty War Staff was then instituted in 1912, headed by
4947-424: The Prime Minister (Mr Barton), who stood for Australia, will, in all human probability, become the emblem upon which the millions of the free people of the Commonwealth will gaze with a thrill of national pride. Alternatively, the then republican magazine The Bulletin labelled it, a staled réchauffé of the British flag, with no artistic virtue, no national significance ... Minds move slowly: and Australia
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#17327911523675044-399: The Prime Minister and Cabinet also advises that the flag should only be flown during daylight hours, unless it is illuminated. Two flags should not be flown from the same flagpole. The flag should not be displayed upside down under any circumstances, not even to express a situation of distress. The flag is not to be placed or dropped on the ground, nor should it be used to cover an object in
5141-420: The Royal Navy until 1832. King Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission in 1628, and control of the Royal Navy passed to a committee in the form of the Board of Admiralty . The office of Lord High Admiral passed a number of times in and out of commission until 1709, after which the office was almost permanently in commission (the last Lord High Admiral being the future King William IV in
5238-412: The Union Jack, and it was not until 1913, following public protest in Fremantle after its use for the review of HMAS Melbourne , that the government reminded them of the 1911 legislation. The British White Ensign was finally replaced by a distinctively Australian White Ensign on 1 March 1967 (see Flags of the Australian Defence Force ). Despite the new Australian flags official use, from 1901 until
5335-463: The United Kingdom was vested in the monarch from 1964 to 2011. The title was awarded to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Queen Elizabeth II on his 90th birthday and since his death in 2021 has reverted to the monarch. There also continues to be a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and a Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom , both of which are honorary offices. The office of Admiral of England (later Lord Admiral, and later Lord High Admiral )
5432-403: The approved policy of the Board of Admiralty and conveyed to them during 20th century by the Admiralty Naval Staff. Offices of the Sea Lords Department of the Permanent Secretary The Secretary's Department consisted of members of the civil service it was directed and controlled by a senior civil servant Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty he was not a Lord Commissioner of
5529-423: The bill to criminalise desecration. Michael Cobb introduced private member's bills in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 to ban desecration, but on each occasion the bill lapsed. In 2002, the leader of the National Party , John Anderson , proposed to introduce laws banning desecration of the Australian flag, a call that attracted support from some parliamentarians both in his own party and the senior Coalition partner,
5626-404: The blue ensign altogether. A memo from the Prime Minister's Department dated 6 March 1939 states that "the Red Ensign is the flag to be flown by the public generally" and the federal government policy was "The flying of the Commonwealth Blue Ensign is reserved for Commonwealth Government use but there is no reservation in the case of the Commonwealth Merchant Flag, or Red Ensign". In the 1940s,
5723-428: The canton of the Australian flag (Pantone 185C, Hex: #FF0000) is actually generally lighter than the shade used (no specific shade is specified ) in the British flag (Pantone 186C, Hex: #C8102E) from which it originated. The blue colour has a different hex code for RGB scheme, but when printed -the Pantone number- it is the same: Australia (Pantone 280C, Hex: 00008B) vs. United Kingdom (Pantone 280C, Hex: 012169). Under
5820-583: The chosen flag for being "too Victorian". They wanted the Australian Federation Flag, and Prime Minister Barton, who had been promoting the Federation Flag, submitted this flag along with that chosen by the judges to the Admiralty for final approval. The Admiralty chose the Red for private vessels and Blue Ensigns for government ships. The Barton government regarded both the Blue and Red Ensigns as colonial maritime flags and "grudgingly" agreed to fly it only on naval ships. Later governments, that of Chris Watson in 1904 and Andrew Fisher in 1910, were also unhappy with
5917-446: The conduct of the Dardanelles campaign . There were no mechanisms in place to answer the big strategic questions. A Trade Division was created in 1914. Sir John Jellicoe came to the Admiralty in 1916. He re-organized the war staff as following: Chief of War Staff, Operations, Intelligence, Signal Section , Mobilisation, Trade. It was not until 1917 that the admiralty department was again properly reorganized and began to function as
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#17327911523676014-424: The conventions of heraldry, originality, utility, and the cost of manufacture. The majority of designs incorporated the Union Jack and the Southern Cross, but native animals were also popular, including one that depicted a variety of indigenous animals playing cricket , a six-tailed kangaroo representing the six Australian states, and a kangaroo aiming a gun at the Southern Cross. The entries were put on display at
6111-408: The costs. The most recent ANFA branch was incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory on 4 July 2001. However, on 15 July 2003, affiliation with ANFA was severed, and the organisation rebranded as the Australian Flag Society . In an interview with the Canberra Times the ANFA ACT spokesperson Nigel Morris was quoted as saying: "I don't have much hope for the future of ANFA the average age of
6208-412: The current design on 8 December 1908, with the change from a six- to a seven-point Commonwealth Star. In 1954, the flag was recognised in legislation with the passage of the Flags Act 1953 . This act also ended the confusion since 1901 as to whether the red ensign or the blue ensign was to be used, with the blue ensign designated as the Australian National Flag and given priority for the first time over
6305-411: The day to be legislated for as the chief national symbol, although no cabinet documents yet released to the public including the more detailed minutes have ever been adduced in support of this theory. This theory is unlikely, as since 1904 the Australian Government had given precedence to the blue ensign, for example by giving the right to fly it in schools in 1940. Blue suited the anti-communist policy of
6402-413: The design, wanting something "more distinctive" and more "indicative of Australian unity". On 3 September 1901, the new Australian flag flew for the first time from the dome of the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. The names of the joint winners of the design competition were announced by Hersey, Countess of Hopetoun (the wife of the Governor-General , the 7th Earl of Hopetoun ) and she unfurled
6499-453: The early 19th century). In this organization a dual system operated the Lord High Admiral (from 1546) then Commissioners of the Admiralty (from 1628) exercised the function of general control (military administration) of the Navy and they were usually responsible for the conduct of any war, while the actual supply lines, support and services were managed by four principal officers, namely, the Treasurer , Comptroller , Surveyor and Clerk of
6596-477: The early days of British settlement. Ivor Evans , one of the flag's designers, intended the Southern Cross to also refer to the four moral virtues ascribed to the four main stars by Dante : justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude. The number of points on the stars of the Southern Cross on the modern Australian flag differs from the original competition-winning design, in which they ranged between five and nine points each, representing their relative brightness in
6693-408: The federal government began to encourage public use of the blue ensign. Despite this, there remained confusion until the Flags Act 1953 declared the Blue Ensign to be the national flag and the Red Ensign the flag of the Australian mercantile marine. It has been claimed that this choice was made on the basis that the predominately red version carried too many communist overtones for the government of
6790-410: The flag for the first time. Since 1996 this date has been officially known as Australian National Flag Day . The competition-winning designs were submitted to the British Colonial Secretary in 1902. Prime Minister Edmund Barton announced in the Commonwealth Gazette that King Edward VII had officially approved the design as the flag of Australia on 11 February 1903. The published version made all
6887-404: The flag, although not specified by the Flags Act, have been given Pantone specifications by the Parliamentary and Government Branch of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . The Australian Government's Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers also gives CMYK and RGB specifications for depicting the flag in print and on screen respectively. The shade of the red colour in
6984-461: The flag. The Australian National Flag may be used for commercial or advertising purposes without formal permission as long as the flag is used in a dignified manner and reproduced completely and accurately; it should not be defaced by overprinting with words or illustrations, it should not be covered by other objects in displays, and all symbolic parts of the flag should be identifiable. It also must sit first (typically, left) where more than one flag
7081-727: The general public. Both the blue and red versions were used by armed forces during the First and Second World Wars (see: Flags of the Australian Defence Force ). A colourised version of a photograph held by the Australian War Memorial of the Armistice Day celebrations in Sydney's Martin Place, 11 November 1918, reveals both ensigns being displayed by the assembled crowd. Illustrations and photos of
7178-400: The government initiative. The £75 prize money of each competition were combined and augmented by a further £50 donated by Havelock Tobacco Company. Each competitor was required to submit two coloured sketches, a red ensign for the merchant service and public use, and a blue ensign for naval and official use. The judging criteria for the designs included historical relevance, compliance with
7275-405: The lead-up to an unveiling ceremony, or to hide other material. Flags that have decayed or faded should not be displayed. Old or decayed flags should be disposed of in private "in a dignified way"; a method given as an example is to cut the flag into small pieces before being placed in the waste. When the flag is flown at half-mast , it should be recognisably at half-mast—for example, a third of
7372-517: The members is about eighty." Flag of Australia The national flag of Australia is based on the British Blue Ensign —a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star ) and a representation of the Southern Cross constellation, made up of five white stars ( one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars). Australia also has
7469-472: The navy came to be (and is still today) known as the First Sea Lord . Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (1628–1964) The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was not vested in a single person. The commissioners were a mixture of politicians without naval experience and professional naval officers,
7566-466: The night sky. The stars are named after the first five letters of the Greek alphabet , in decreasing order of brightness in the sky. Alpha was originally larger than Beta and Gamma whilst Delta was originally smaller than Beta and Gamma. In order to simplify manufacture, the British Admiralty standardised the size and shape of the four larger outer stars at seven points and each of the same size, leaving
7663-442: The opening of Australia's provisional Parliament House in 1927 show Australian Ensigns flown alongside Union Jacks. However, sources disagree on the colours of the Australian flags, leaving open the possibility that either ensign or both were used. A 1934 issue of National Geographic covering the flags of the world and containing coloured illustrations describes the red ensign as "Australia – Merchant" and omits
7760-477: The outer diameter. The flag's width is the measurement of the hoist edge of the flag (the distance from top to bottom). Guidelines for flying the flag are laid out in the pamphlet "Australian Flags", which is infrequently published by the Australian Government. The guidelines say that the Australian National Flag is allowed to be flown on every day of the year, and that it "should be treated with
7857-573: The precise form of the flag or the circumstances of its use, and this bill has been brought down to produce that result. This status was formalised on 14 February 1954, when Queen Elizabeth II gave royal assent to the Flags Act 1953 , which had been passed two months earlier. The monarch's assent was timed to coincide with the Queen's visit to the country and came after she had opened the new session of Parliament. The act confers statutory powers on
7954-620: The proportion of naval officers generally increasing over time. Key Officials First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty was the British government's senior civilian adviser on all naval affairs and the minister responsible for the direction and control of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office later the Department of Admiralty.(+) His office
8051-636: The reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department (later Navy Command ). Before the Acts of Union 1707 , the Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs administered the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England , which merged with the Royal Scots Navy and then absorbed the responsibilities of the Lord High Admiral of the Kingdom of Scotland with the unification of
8148-405: The respect and dignity it deserves as the nation's most important national symbol". The National Flag must always be flown in a position superior to that of any other flag or ensign when flown in Australia or on Australian territory, and it should always be flown aloft and free. The flag must be flown in all government buildings and (where possible) displayed in or near polling stations when there
8245-562: The smaller, more central star with five points. This change was officially gazetted on 23 February 1903. A complete specification for the official design was published in the Commonwealth Gazette in 1934. The flag of Australia is represented as the Unicode emoji sequence U+1F1E6 🇦 REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER A , U+1F1FA 🇺 REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U . The colours of
8342-415: The stars in the Southern Cross seven-pointed and of equal size apart from the smallest—and is the same as the current design except for the six-pointed Commonwealth Star. In the decades following federation the red ensign was also the pre-eminent flag in use by private citizens on land. This was largely due to the Commonwealth government, assisted by flag suppliers, discouraging the use of the blue ensign by
8439-485: The times they operated in. The various functions within the Admiralty were not coordinated effectively and lacked inter-dependency with each other, with the result that in 1832, Sir James Graham abolished the Navy Board and merged its functions within those of the Board of Admiralty. At the time this had distinct advantages; however, it failed to retain the principle of distinctions between the Admiralty and supply, and
8536-439: The various state presidents where a national spokesperson for the five separate organisations is appointed. In 2013 an Australian Flag Association was formed, with ANFA Queensland President Allan Pidgeon AM as chair. According to their official website ANFA NSW is a non-political, non-sectarian voluntary community service organisation. The controlling Council of Management is elected at each Annual General Meeting, operating under
8633-528: The way down from the top of the pole. The Australian flag should never be flown half mast at night, unless directed to half-mast for an extended period. Days on which flags are flown at half-mast on government buildings include, The department provides an email service called the Commonwealth Flag Network, which gives information on national occasions to fly the flag at half-mast as well as national days of commemoration and celebration of
8730-559: Was created around 1400; there had previously been Admirals of the northern and western seas. King Henry VIII established the Council of the Marine—later to become the Navy Board —in 1546, to oversee administrative affairs of the naval service. Operational control of the Royal Navy remained the responsibility of the Lord High Admiral, who was one of the nine Great Officers of State . This management approach would continue in force in
8827-506: Was created in the same year. The Commonwealth Star does not have any official relation to Beta Centauri , despite the latter's brightness and location in the sky; however, the 1870 version of the flag of South Australia featured the pointer stars, Alpha and Beta Centauri. The Southern Cross is one of the most distinctive constellations visible in the Southern Hemisphere, and has been used to represent Australia since
8924-629: Was designed by Nicholson in 1831, it did not become widely popular until the latter part of the century, when calls for federation began to grow louder. These flags, and many others such as the Eureka Flag (which came into use at the Eureka Stockade in 1854), featured the Southern Cross. The oldest known flag to show the stars arranged as they are seen in the sky is the Anti-Transportation League Flag , which
9021-406: Was introduced into parliament on 20 November 1953, Menzies said, This bill is very largely a formal measure which puts into legislative form what has become almost the established practice in Australia ... The design adopted was submitted to His Majesty King Edward VII, and he was pleased to approve of it as the Australian flag in 1902. However, no legislative action has ever been taken to determine
9118-507: Was issued on 5 December 1938, authorising these vessels to fly the Australian Red Ensign. The Shipping Registration Act 1981 reaffirmed that the Australian Red Ensign was the proper colours for commercial ships over 24 metres (79 ft) in tonnage length. As a result of the declaration of 3 September as Merchant Navy Day in 2008, the Red Ensign can be flown on land alongside the Australian national flag on this occasion as
9215-476: Was larger than that of the later seven-pointed version of the Federal Star in the lower Hoist. Alpha Crucis and Delta Crucis were of different sizes than they are today—with Alpha being larger than at present and Delta being smaller than at present. The flag's initial reception was mixed. Readers of The Age newspaper were told that, a huge "Blue Ensign," with the prize design of the Southern Cross and
9312-475: Was still regarded as the national flag by many Australians well into the 1970s, which inspired Arthur Smout's campaign from 1968 to 1982 to encourage Australians to give the Australian flag precedence. Admiralty (United Kingdom) The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head,
9409-548: Was supported by the Naval Secretariat . First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff was the Chief Naval Adviser on the Board of Admiralty to the First Lord and superintended the offices of the sea lords and the admiralty naval staff. Navy Board The Navy Board was an independent board from 1546 until 1628 when it became subordinate to, yet autonomous of
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