The Murray River Flag is flown from paddle steamers and other vessels in the Australian States of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

that ply the waters of the Murray-Darling river system. Little is known about the flag's early history but it may have originated as far back as 1850 when the formation of the Murray River League was announced. R. W. Beddome, founder of the League, enthused "Up with the Murray flag." No fragments of the original Murray River Flag are known to exist and three variants have passed down to the present day.

History

The earliest recorded reference to the Murray River Flag was at Goolwa to honour the first paddlesteamer to go into service on the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

. The ''Mary Ann'', built by three brothers

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, Thomas and Elliot Randell, began her voyage from

Mannum Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia, east of Adelaide. At the 2016 census, the urban area of Mannum had a population of 2,398. Mannum is the seat of the Mid Murray Council, and is situated in the ...

downstream to Goolwa on 4 March 1853. The Murray River Flag was hoisted upon their arrival. The flag was described by a reporter of the ''Australian Register'':

"The flag bears a red cross with four horizontal blue bars. The cross being charged with five stars as emblems of the Colonies while the upper corner, is taken up with British connections which is depicted by the Union Jack. It has been named, we understand, the Murray River Flag."

It is believed that the blue bars represent the

and the three major rivers that run into it: the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan and the Darling. The design bears a strong resemblance to other Australian flags of the 19th Century, such as the Australian Federation Flag and the National Colonial Flag for Australia.

Modern Usage

Today the Murray River is represented by three flags, each flag similar but based on different interpretations of the original description. The Upper Murray Flag has darker blue bands on its flag, representing the darker waters of the river's upper reaches. This design was also the house flag of the Murray River Steam Navigation Co. which suggests that it is a lineal descendant of the original flag design. The Lower Murray Flag, used predominantly in South Australia, is distinguished by the use of pale blue bands representing the lighter coloured water of the lower reaches of the Murray. A third variant, the Combined Murray Flag, is used on the upper reaches of the Murray in New South Wales.

References

{{Australian Flags Flags of Australia Murray River 1850 establishments in Australia

History

Modern Usage

See also

References