The Flag of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

is the official flag for the city of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Its design was based on the arms component of Melbourne's coat of arms, which in turn, was based on the 1848 common seal. The flag features a white background divided into four quadrants by the red cross of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, patron saint of England. On both sides of each arm of the cross are narrow red bars known as a cotise. In the centre there is the Royal Crown, signifying the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

. Each of the four quadrants divided by the cross feature a design representing an important sector of Melbourne's economy in the mid 19th century. The designs are: * A fleece hanging from a red ring, representing the wool industry; * A black bull standing on a hillock, representing the cattle industry; * A three masted

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...

in full sail at sea, representing trade and shipping; * A spouting

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

at sea, representing the whaling industry. The Melbourne Flag is flown at various places, including:

Melbourne Town Hall Melbourne Town Hall is the central city town hall of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is a historic building in the state of Victoria since 1867. Located in the central business district on the northeast corner of the intersection between S ...

; on the Lord Mayor of Melbourne's car; at Enterprize Park, the location where the settlement began; and on the replica of the tall ship Enterprize.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne, Flag of

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 ...

Flags displaying animals

See also

References