The Early Flags in Australia are the flags previous to Federation in 1901. Before Federation Australia was a collection of British colonial states. It is interesting to see the adoption of the Southern Cross as the predominant image representing Australian British ethnicity. In particular the Eureka Stockade flag, which was the first use of the Southern Cross without using a defaced ensign as the background field.

The Colonial Flag was one of the Australian colonial flags designed in the 1820's and supposedly the first to incorporate the Southern Cross. It proved unpopular as the St Andrews Cross didn't recognize the Scottish and Irish Australian population.

This is one of the Murray River Flag variants from the 1850's. These were a popular flag on the paddle ships and boats that run up and down the Murray.

The Eureka Flag which flew above Bakery Hill during the Eureka Stockade uprising in the minefields of Ballarat in 1854. The flag is most noticable for it's absence of the British Union Flag (Union Jack). It was one of the first occasions Australian identity was displayed without reference to British ancestry. The flag was inextricably equated with Australian liberty when Lalor made a speech on Bakery Hill, "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and defend our rights and liberties".

The New South Wales Ensign. The flag was also known as the Australian Colours or the Colonial Ensign. This flag proved popular from it's initial design in the 1830's; popular enough to be one of the entries in the 1901 Australian Flag competition that led to the modern day Australian Flag.

Flags of Australian Federation

The Flags of Federation include the flags that were included in the Flag Act with Australian Federation as well as the flags up until 1982, where the predominant basis for the Flag was a defaced ensign. A defaced ensign is a blue, red or white flag with a Union Flag (Union Jack) in the top left corner of the flag. It is defaced when the flag carries alternate imagery in the lower right of the flag. The current Australian flag for instance is a defaced blue ensign as it carries the Union Jack and is defaced with the white Australian star of federation and the stars of the states.

The British Union Flag. With Federation this was the official Australian Flag until 1953 when the Blue Ensign over-rode it when the Australian Flag Act was passed by parliament. Despite the Union Flag being the dominant official Australian Flag, Australians chose to fly the Civil Ensign (Red Ensign) to represent their Australian ethnicity.

The Australian National Flag since 1952. Before 1952 when the flying of the Blue Ensign was encouraged for private use, the flag was only to be flown from Federal Government Buildings. The flag was chosen after several entries in the Australian Flag competition in 1901 were of similar design. It was often flow by the Australian population along with the Red Ensign and the Union Jack as the flag representing Australianism.

The Australian Civil Flag known as the Red Ensign. The Civil Flag was intended to be flown by the Merchant Navy on the seas. The flag was adopted by the Australian population and was the main Australian Flag flown on land for private use until 1952 when Robert Menzies altered the Flag Act for the Blue Ensign to be the flag for private use. Most of the flags from World War I which are on display in the Australian War Memorial are the Red Ensign.

The White Ensign of the Royal Navy. This was the Naval Ensign for the Royal Australian Navy until 1967.

The White Ensign with the blue stars of the Southern Cross was adopted in 1967 under the Flag Act. The HMAS Booneroo was the first Royal Australian Navy ship commissioned under this flag. The use of an Australian White Ensign was a result of the Australian Navy being active in the Vietnam conflict. The Royal Navy was not a part of the Vietnam conflict and didn't want Australian ships to give the appearance of British participation.

The Ensign of the Royal Australian Air Force from 1921 - 1935. This flag is exactly the same as the Royal Air Force's ensign.

The Ensign of the Royal Australian Air Force from 1935 - 1948. The dominant British roundel was replaced with an angled golden southern cross. A golden Federal star was also included.

The Ensign of the Royal Australian Air Force from 1948 - 1982. The golden southern cross was replaced with white.

The Ensign of the Royal Australian Air Force since 1982. The roundel is now the roundel with the red kangaroo in the centre. The red kangaroo had been used on the fuselage roundel on RAAF aircraft since the mid-1950's with the wing roundels still being RAF roundels. With Australia participating in Vietnam and Britain not, it appears that the RAAF changed to all over kangaroo roundels in 1967.

Modern Australian Flags

Modern Australian Flags can be viewed as flags that dont incorporate British or European imagery into them, the Flags which have been added as recognized Flags to the Flag Act since 1982 have not been based on defaced ensigns. The most interesting of these have been the Northern Territories, and Australian Capital Territories Flags. The Northern Territory flag ushered in the flag design type of "Australia Pale" where the dominant image on the canton is the Southern Cross.

Flag of the Northern Territory which was designed by Robert Ingpen in 1978 when the Northern Territory attained self-government. The flag uses the bi-colour "Australia Pale" vexillogical design where the dark colour carries the Southern Cross and the lighter colour the territories emblem. The emblem is a stylised Sturts Desert Rose.

Flag of the Australian Capital Territory. The ACT attained self government in the 70's and adopted this flag in 1993. Like the Northern Territory flag the design was a non-ensign flag adopting the "Australia Pale" design and with the Southern Cross as the dominant image. Since the NT and ACT flag, there has been interest in changing the aged Colonial State flags of the Australian States to "Australia Pale" designs.

The Aboriginal Flag which was formally recognized as an "Australian Flag" under the Flag Act in 1995.

The Torres Strait Islander flag which was formally recognized as an "Australian Flag" under the Flag Act in 1995.

Australian Defence Forces Ensign used by the combined forces. This was recognized as an official Australian flag under the Flag Act in 2000.

More Reading on Flags

• Flags
• Australian Vexillology
• A Bill For The Eureka Flag
• Brendan Jones' Flags Available For Purchase
• Identity and Flag Pluralism
• Australian Pale
• Flag History
• History of Australian Flags