The flag of Victoria, symbolising the state 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 ...

in Australia, is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 Defacement (flag), defaced with a Heraldic badge, ...

defaced by the state badge of Victoria in the

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

. The badge is 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 c ...

surmounted by an imperial crown, which is currently the

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 their coronations since the 13th cen ...

. The stars of the Southern Cross are white and range from five to eight points with each star having one point pointing to the top of the flag. The flag dates from 1870, with minor variations, the last of which was in 1953. It is the only Australian state flag not to feature the state badge on a round disc.

History

1844 separation flag

In 1844, John Harrison, the father of

H. C. A. Harrison Henry Colden Antill Harrison (16 October 1836 – 2 September 1929) was an athlete and Australian rules footballer who played a leading role in pioneering the sport. Harrison's cousin, champion cricketer Tom Wills, captained an early incarnat ...

, designed a flag for the Separation Society, an organisation advocating for the separation of the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

(present-day Victoria) from the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

. The flag, featuring "a white star centred on a crimson ground", was flown at a large open-air meeting on

Batman's Hill Batman's Hill in Melbourne, Australia was named for the Vandemonian adventurer and grazier John Batman. Now removed, the 18-metre-high hill was located to the south of today's Collins Street and Southern Cross railway station, and is the site o ...

in June 1844. It was described more fully in the ''

Port Phillip Gazette There were two Australian periodicals called The ''Port Phillip Gazette.'' The first was the second newspaper published in Melbourne, in the then Port Phillip District and what is now Victoria, Australia. It was first published by Thomas Strode ...

'':

The flag will in size be about seven feet by five, of a deep crimson ground, with a white five pointed star in the middle; on one side the device is a sheep suspended with the words "Squatters, guard your rights," as an inscription, on the counter side are two pillars to represent commerce and agriculture based on the blocks of honor and truth; suspended over and midway between the columns, is a crown supported by a ribbon upon which the word "loyalty" is inscribed; a pair of sheep shears bearing the word "tyranny," cross the ribbon above the crown. The union is pictured in the form of clasped hands between the two pillars, under which is the motto "Keep yourselves and God will keep you." On the point of the pole will he formed gilded kangaroo.

Harrison flew the flag again in 1851 at a meeting of miners on the goldfields at

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

Previous official flags

The first flag of Victoria was adopted in 1870 .and was first flown from HMVS ''Nelson'' on 9 February 1870. It too was a defaced British Blue Ensign with the Southern Cross located in the fly. The stars of the Southern Cross were white and had 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 points with only the leftmost and rightmost stars having one point pointing to the top of the flag. The adoption of the flag came about when Victoria became the first Australian colony to acquire a warship, and thus under the British Colonial Naval Defence Act of 1865 Victoria needed a flag to distinguish its ships from other British ships. At the same time, the red ensign was incorrectly authorised for use by civil vessels registered in the colony of Victoria. Despite the invalid authorisation, the flag continued to be used, and was flown alongside the Union flag during federation celebrations in 1901. The red ensign did not track changes to the blue ensign, and so no crown was added, nor did the stars rotate to point upwards facing the flag. Victoria then adopted the current flag in 1877 with the stars of the southern cross from then on having 5, 6, 7, 7 and 8 points. The depictions of the crown have varied in accordance with heraldic fashion and the wishes of the monarch of the time. During

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's reign, the crown had slightly dipped arches. From c. 1901–1952, during the reigns of Kings

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

and

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

the depiction of the crown known as the "

Tudor Crown The Tudor Crown, also known as Henry VIII's Crown, was the imperial and state crown of English monarchs from around the time of Henry VIII until it was destroyed during the Civil War in 1649. It was described by the art historian Sir Roy St ...

", with domed arches, was used. In 1953 the Tudor Crown was replaced with the

Construction

Unlike the national flag, the flag of Victoria 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 ...

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

government. As a result, there are no official legal requirements for the construction of the flag of Victoria. 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 to occupy the majority of thereof; File:Badge of Victoria (traditional).svg, State badge of Victoria

Gallery

References

External links

*
Flags flown by HMVS Cerberus
{{Union Flag 1870 establishments in Australia Flags introduced in 1870 Victoria (Australia)

Southern Cross flags Society in Victoria (Australia)