The Australian Anti-Transportation League Flag is a flag used historically by members of the

Australasian Anti-Transportation League The Australasian Anti-Transportation League was a body established to oppose penal transportation to Australia.C. H. Currey"Denison, Sir William Thomas (18041871)" ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian ...

who opposed

penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...

to the British colonies which are now a part of

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 ...

. It is particularly significant as it is the oldest known flag to feature a representation 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 c ...

with the stars arranged as they are seen in the sky. The flag was designed in 1849 by Reverend John West of

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

, and from 1851 was used by the Australian Anti-Transportation League in the Australian colonies and in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The flag is based on the

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, ...

— blue background with 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. ...

in the Canton — and has gold or yellow stars of the Southern Cross on the fly. Each of the stars of the Southern Cross was symbolic of a member colony. There is a white border around three sides of the flag, which was used to display the name of the League, the year it was established and the name of the colony where it was flown. The flag was no longer used after transportation was ceased in 1853; however, the design of the flag is similar to several later flags, including the Flag of New Zealand, Flag of Victoria, and

Flag of Australia 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 ...

References

External links

* {{Australian Flags 1849 introductions Convictism in Australia Flags of Australia Southern Cross flags Activism flags History of immigration to Australia Historical flags

See also

References

External links