Flag of Australia
A dark blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist and a large seven-pointed white star below it. The fly holds the five white stars of the Southern Cross.
What the flag means
The Union Jack acknowledges British settlement. According to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, six points of the Commonwealth Star stood for the federating colonies and the seventh for the Territory of Papua and future territories. Ivor Evans, one of the designers, linked the four main stars of the Southern Cross to justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude.
History
A competition run by the new federal government in 1901 drew 32,823 entries. Five people with almost identical designs shared the prize: Ivor Evans, Leslie Hawkins, Egbert Nuttall, Annie Dorrington and William Stevens. The flag was first flown in Melbourne on 3 September 1901, the date now kept as Australian National Flag Day. A seventh point was added to the Commonwealth Star in 1908. The Flags Act 1953, which received royal assent on 14 February 1954, made the blue ensign the national flag.
In the winning 1901 design the Southern Cross stars had between five and nine points, according to their brightness. The British Admiralty later standardised most of them to seven.
Earlier flags of Australia
- 1901–1908Same design with a six-pointed Commonwealth Star
Flags that look like this one
Both show the Union Jack and the Southern Cross on dark blue. Australia's stars are white, with a large seven-pointed star under the Union Jack. New Zealand has four red stars with white borders.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Flag of Australia
- Flags of the World: Australia
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.
