Last updated 16 March 2004

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The Flag Debate

 A great debate has arisen regarding changing the Australian flag

This debate arouses great passions - on both sides

 

The Old Flag

The challenge

Our flag bears the stars that blaze at night
In our southern sky of blue,
And a little old flag in the corner
That's part of our heritage, too.
It's for the English, the Scots and the Irish
Who were sent to the ends of the earth,
The rogues and the schemers,
The doers and dreamers
Who gave modern Australia birth.
And you, who are shouting to change it,
You don't seem to understand,
It's the flag of our law and our language,
Not the flag of a faraway land.
It doesn't mean we owe allegiance
To some forgotten imperial dream;
We've the stars to show where we're going,
And the old flag to show where we've been. 

By Robin Northover 

 

To produce a design which expresses 

the specific aims of a flag 

as a rectangular artefact and reflecting

most importantly:

  • Australian identity

  • distinctiveness among the world's national flags

  • simplicity

  • clarity of colour

  • a design which will not date

  • the rules of heraldry as they apply to form and colour

  • ease and cost of manufacture

  • respect for the history, institutions, and character of Australians

  • a united Australia

 

Here are some of the designs

 

1

2

3

The red arc at the bottom represents the endless horizon of the great South Land. It could also be taken as a representation of Uluru, the monolith and symbol of central Australia

4

5

Of those who want a new Australian Flag, most want to retain the Southern Cross and the red, white and blue colours

6

7

8

Green and gold was the second most popular choice of colour

The blue and white colours were inspired by the Eureka Flag 

Other colours suggested our mixed cultural heritage

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10

11

 

12

13

14

15

Australians were stuck between the Southern Cross and the kangaroo being the preferred symbol for the new Australian flag

16

17

18

19

 

047.gif (1848 bytes)

20

21

22

There is very large public support for the inclusion of Aboriginal symbolism in a new Australian flag

23

24

25

 

The designer of the Aboriginal flag has often been asked to submit a design for a new Australian flag

He declines, saying that the design of the Aboriginal flag sprung from passionate times and that his inspiration could not necessarily be repeated for a new Australian flag

flagabo.gif (1327 bytes)

He opposes the notion that the Aboriginal Flag could replace the Union Jack in the current Australian flag to create a new national flag

He believes that the Aboriginal flag is not a secondary thing. It stands on its own and should not to be placed as an adjunct to any other thing

  

 

Flag designer's guide

Designing a national flag is an extraordinarily difficult task. The challenge is to symbolise an entire nation with a few colours and simple geometric shapes. It is important before attempting to design a flag to understand what a flag is and the basic principles of flag design.

  • The design should be kept simple.

  • Only five colours are in general use in heraldry , the principles of which vexillology has largely followed. These colours are red, blue, black, green and purple. There are also two colours known as `metals': gold (yellow) and silver (white). Colour is not normally placed on or immediately adjacent to another colour, nor metal on metal, as they are too indistinct at a distance. No national flag currently uses purple.

  • Colours show up well on or next to metal, and metal on or next to colour. Light colours should not be placed next to or upon other light colours and similarly, dark colours should not be placed next to or upon other dark colours.

  • Animals or birds should preferably face the flagpole. When the flag is used in a march-past, the animal faces in the same direction as the flag bearer. This is known as the advance position.

  • Recognition: The design should be recognised internationally. It should not be confused with the flag of another nation or colony. However, many national flags are deliberately similar to the flags of other countries, reflecting regional identity or common history.

  • Practicality: A flag has two sides. Today, many flags are screen printed as the cost of manufacturing flags by the appliqué increases. Designs or graphics, such as a map of Australia, will appear in reverse on the opposite side of a printed flag and will generally be inappropriate.

  • If a flag is to be made by the appliqué method, then the pieces should be simple to cut out and sewn on to the main piece. Additionally, the fly section, the end furthest from the flagpole, wears out first as it is the part which flaps in the breeze. It is also the section that is least visible when the flag is not fully unfurled. For this reason many flags feature designs that mainly occupy the top left hand corner closest to the flag pole (canton).

  • Colours or shades that are difficult to reproduce in fabric or in the printed form should be avoided. Colours which stand out from a distance and are readily recognisable against the sky and sea are preferable.

  • A flag is not a static object and makes fluid shapes. Flags are frequently represented as flat graphics, or used as decals. The best flags work as well on cloth as they do on paper.