The Australian Federation Flag, also known as the New South Wales Ensign, was the result of an attempt in the 1830s to create a national flag for Australia, which was divided at the time into several British colonies. Captain Jacob Gronow, Harbour Master of

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

(Sydney), proposed the flag in 1831 in ''The NSW Calendar and Post Office Gazette''; Gronow also designed the flag, which was based on the Colonial Flag of 1823. Like the Colonial Flag, the Federation Flag features a combination of 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

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 ...

, but the cross is blue, not red, and there are five stars, not four. The flag's appearance varied greatly depending on where it was made: different manufacturers produced Federation Flags with darker or lighter shades of blue for the cross background; using five-pointed stars instead of eight; or positioning the stars in different places. The

Eureka Flag The Eureka Flag was flown at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. It was the culmination of the 1851–1854 Eureka Rebellion on the Victorian goldfields, where miners prote ...

, flown by rebels at the

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

in 1854, was reportedly influenced by designs such as the Federation flag. While the Federation Flag proved popular and was widely used on the East Coast of Australia for over 70 years, it was never officially adopted. It was especially popular among proponents of Australian Federation and was also used as an unofficial

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

by the merchant marine. In 1884,

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

of the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

banned the use of the Flag at sea, possibly because of its similarity to the

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross ...

In the 1880s and early 1890s, it was used as a symbol of the political movement towards Federation, with groups like the

Australian Natives' Association The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of native-born white Australians and membership was restricted exclusively to that group. The A ...

and the Australian Federation League using it to promote national consciousness of their push for Federation, under the slogan "One People, One Destiny, One Flag". The flag was a favourite of Australia's first

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, Sir Edmund Barton, who asked that a variant be considered for approval along with the competition-winning

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 ...

. The Colonial Office rejected the Federation Flag, issuing Barton a mild rebuke. The

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

received approval to fly the Blue Ensign in 1903, but the Australian Federation Flag was still being flown by Australian citizens as late as the 1920s. It was formerly used in Sydney Central Railway Station's main hall. The now defunct nationalist Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party used the Australian Federation Flag as a shield in its logo.

References

External links

New South Wales Ensign/Federation Flag
''Flags of the World'' discussion on the history of the Federation Flag

''A New Flag for Australia'' brief history of the Blue Ensign and the Federation Flag.
Our Federation Journey 1901-2001
Victorian Government Federation pamphlet ( PDF) {{Australian Flags Political history of Australia Flags of Australia Southern Cross flags 1831 introductions

See also

References

External links