The current state flag of Tasmania was officially adopted following a proclamation by
Tasmania
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, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
n colonial
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Sir Frederick Weld on 25 September 1876, and was first published in the ''Tasmanian Gazette'' the same day. The governor's proclamation here were three official flags, they being the Governor's flag, the Tasmania Government vessel flag, and a Tasmania merchant flag. Up until 1856 when Tasmania was granted
responsible self-government, the
Union flag
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. ...
and the
British ensign
In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton (the upper corner next to the staff), with eith ...
were primarily used on state occasions.
The flag consists of a
defaced British
Blue Ensign
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem.
The ev ...
with the state badge located in the
fly. The badge is a white disk with a red lion passant in the centre of the disk. There is no official record of how the lion came to be included on the flag, but it is assumed that the red lion is a reference to
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. This flag has remained almost unchanged since 1875, with only a slight change of the style of the lion when the flag was officially adopted by the government in 1975, although this was a mistake, as it had already been officially gazetted by the colonial government in 1876.
History
Following the establishment of permanent British
sovereign possession of the lands of Tasmania. Tasmania was granted
responsible self-government in 1856, but the colony did not receive its own flag until
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
had first proposed on 7 August 1869, that the colony of Tasmania (and the other Australian colonies) should adopt a
Union flag
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. ...
defaced in the centre with the State Badge.
Prior to the official adoption of a local flag, an unofficial merchant ensign was occasionally used:
File:Van Diemen's Land Unofficial Merchant Ensign before 1875.svg, Ensign of Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...
The first local flag of Tasmania was adopted by proclamation of Tasmanian colonial
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Sir Frederick Weld on 9 November 1875. The flag had a white cross on a blue field, in the
canton was the
Union Flag
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. ...
, and in the fly was five five-pointed stars of 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 ...
. The British
Blue Ensign
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem.
The ev ...
and
Red Ensign (for use respectively by government vessels and by those privately owned) were to have a white cross added. At the fly end of each flag, a Southern Cross was to be formed of white stars added above and below the horizontal arm of the cross. Two weeks later, on 23 November, those flags were officially abandoned because
Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon
Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, (24 June 1831 – 29 June 1890), known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party. He was twice Secretary of State for the C ...
, the
Secretary of State for the Colonies in London made it clear that only a single badge could be placed at the fly end of the ensign, as set out by rule of the
British Admiralty.
![Flag of Tasmania (1875)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Flag_of_Tasmania_%281875%29.svg)
A year later the Tasmanian government decided, with the British Admiralty's approval, that the badge for the colony would be a red lion on a white disk. Originally the lion was to be gold in colour, above a golden torse, which the new flag omitted in favour of a more traditional red.
A British Blue Ensign with the badge served Tasmanian government vessels, and privately owned vessels were to fly an un-defaced British Red Ensign. After Tasmania became a state on 1 January 1901, the Tasmanian Blue Ensign was rarely used and was reserved for official purposes. Most vessels soon preferred to fly the
Australian Red Ensign
The Australian Red Ensign is the civil ensign of Australia, the flag of nationality flown by Australian registered ships. It is a red version of the national flag, which is mainly blue. Both flags resulted from the Commonwealth Government's 190 ...
.
On 3 December 1975, a government proclamation by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Sir Stanley Burbury, and endorsed by
Premier Bill Neilson
William Arthur Neilson AC (27 August 1925 – 9 November 1989) was Premier of Tasmania from 1975 to 1977.
Born in Hobart, and educated at Ogilvie High School, Neilson became a postman before entering politics. He married Jill Benjamin, daug ...
established it as the official Tasmanian flag, although it had technically already been 'officially' adopted when it was gazetted in 1876. Since that time it has been acceptable for private citizens to use the flag, although it is uncommon to see them doing so.
Controversy
It has been suggested that the Tasmanian state flag is not representative of the island, and should be changed to something more suitable.
![TASFLAG White-red-yellow Green BLOSSOM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/TASFLAG_White-red-yellow_Green_BLOSSOM.jpg)
The impetus to change the state flag is a part of the broader push to change the
national flag of Australia.
On 8 June 2020, online news website ''
Tasmanian Times
Tasmanian Times is an online news service in Hobart in Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaC ...
'' launched a public competition calling for designs to replace the existing flag.
Devices
The flag of Tasmania has two distinct symbols, the
Union Flag
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. ...
(also known as the ''Union Jack''), and the
State Badge of Tasmania.
As with the
flag of Australia, the Union Flag is thought locally to symbolise Australia's history as six British colonies and the principles upon which the
Australian Federation
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western A ...
is based, Australian Flag Society although a more historic view sees its inclusion in the design as demonstrating loyalty to the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
.
[Evans, I. 1918. ''The history of the Australian flag''. Evan Evans, Melbourne]
Construction
Unlike the national flag, the flag of Tasmania is not enshrined and protected by any acts of
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
or
Commonwealth government. As a result, there are no official legal requirements for the construction of the flag of Tasmania. However, tradition and decorum dictate that is should be:
# the Union Jack occupying the upper quarter next the staff;
# the fly is to be wholly blue, in line with the British Blue Ensign;
# the State Badge is to be situated with its centre halfway between the edge of the canton and the end of the fly, and a third of the distance from the bottom of the flag;
File:Badge of Tasmania.svg, State badge of Tasmania
Colours
The colours of the flag, although not specified by the Flags Act, have been given the same
Pantone
Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphi ...
specifications as the national flag. The Australian Government's ''Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers'' also gives
CMYK
The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation ''CMYK'' refers ...
and
RGB
The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three addi ...
specifications for depicting the flag in print and on screen respectively.
Governor's flag
The
Governor of Tasmania
The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...
, being the representative of the Tasmanian head of state, the
Queen of Australia
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, is officially granted a flag for use on all official occasions. It is identical in design and construction to the flag of Tasmania, except that it features a
St. Edward's Crown
St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at Coronation of the British monarch, the ...
above the badge to represent vice-regal power.
When the Governor of Tasmania is resident at
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
it is flown from the roof, and it is also used as a car flag. The Governor of Tasmania's flag was officially adopted in February 1977 by an act of the
Parliament of Tasmania
The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and ...
.
See also
*
Coat of arms of Tasmania
The coat of arms of Tasmania is the official symbol of the Australian state and island of Tasmania. It was officially granted by King George V in May 1917. The shield features significant examples of Tasmanian industry: a sheaf of wheat, hops, ...
*
List of Australian flags
This is a list of flags of different designs that have been used in Australia.
National flags
Other flags recognised under the Flags Act 1953
Sources:
Personal flags
Sovereign
Governor-General
State Governors
Prime Mi ...
*
Flags of the Governors of the Australian states
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
1876 establishments in Australia
Tasmania
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, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
Flags displaying animals