Civil Air Ensign of Australia (1935–1948)

The Australian Civil Aviation Ensign is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

that is used by Airservices Australia. The design of the flag is based on the

British Civil Air Ensign The British Civil Air Ensign is the flag that may be flown at civil aviation establishments in the United Kingdom and be displayed on UK-registered civil aircraft. It should be flown at civilian air facilities as the national flag in place of t ...

, which is divided into quarters by a dark blue cross with a white fimbriation. There is a

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

in the upper hoist quarter, and the other quarters light blue. When an Australian version was first adopted in 1935, it included the stars from the

Australian National Flag The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, 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 r ...

in yellow, and with the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

rotated by roughly 45 degrees, meaning that the smallest star was completely inside the arm of the blue cross. In 1948, the colour of the stars was changed to white to improve the flag's recognition when viewed from a long distance. Originally, civil air ensigns were intended to be flown at airports and by civilian aircraft on the ground. While the practice of flying flags from landed aircraft has not commonly continued, this flag has been used by agencies such as the Civil Aviation Authority and is still used by the Minister for Transport. On 21 April 2009, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority granted the

Australian Air League The Australian Air League (AAL) is a not-for-profit, civilian operated aviation youth organisation in Australia. Its objective is to encourage the spirit of aviation and air-mindedness in the youth of Australia. The Australian Air League receive ...

official use of the Australian Civil Aviation Ensign to recognise the organisation's significant contribution to aviation in Australia.

External links

Other Australian Flags
at ''It's an honour'' (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia) Retrieved 17 June 2006

at ''Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society'' Retrieved 17 June 2006 * A recent photograp

* *Discussion on its specification

Notes

Flags of Australia Civil air ensigns Southern Cross flags Flags with crosses Civil aviation in Australia Light blue ensigns {{flag-stub