Most of Australian Vexillology up until the 1970s - with the noted exception of the Eureka Flag - has been around the Defaced Blue Ensign design. Since Robert Ingpen designed the Northern Territory flag in 1978 and produced the bi-colour 'Australian Pale" design it has been used by the Australian Capital Territory and many flag designers, such as Brendan Jones, who have made alternate state designs based on the Australian Pale.
The Northern Territory flag:
It is an interesting flag as around the same time the Aboriginal Flag and Boxing Matilda started gaining in popularity. While the Aboriginal Flag was a statement of ethnicity and place, and Boxing Matilda an expression of national fighting spirit, neither were translatable to the Australian heraldic tradition. Ingpen's design with the southern cross in the hoist was.
Stars are often used as a divine apparition into the nation, but Peter Lalor grounded the southern cross and forever entwined it with Australian liberty through his speech at Eureka:
and Western Australia:
I liked Brendan Jones' NSW flag so much, I bought one, and flew it off my house in the US:
I think it only looks better with a background of snow and ice. It is a very stunning and colourful design and raises the question why we still have Blue Ensigns at the state level, they have no civic value whatsoever.
More on flags:
It is an interesting flag as around the same time the Aboriginal Flag and Boxing Matilda started gaining in popularity. While the Aboriginal Flag was a statement of ethnicity and place, and Boxing Matilda an expression of national fighting spirit, neither were translatable to the Australian heraldic tradition. Ingpen's design with the southern cross in the hoist was.
Stars are often used as a divine apparition into the nation, but Peter Lalor grounded the southern cross and forever entwined it with Australian liberty through his speech at Eureka:
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other, and fight to defend our rights and liberties.The southern cross has obvious aesthetic as well as historical appeal, and Ingpen's 'Australian Pale' design is a quite stunning use of it, which Australian flag designers have fed off. John Williamson, for instance, has an Australian Pale design for every state, with an example of a local animal in the 'Pale' area. Probably the best designer, IMO, of the Australian Pale since Ingpen has been Brendan Jones, who has designed Australian Pale flag for every state with stylised flora or fauna on the 'Pale'. For instance NSW:
and Western Australia:
I liked Brendan Jones' NSW flag so much, I bought one, and flew it off my house in the US:
I think it only looks better with a background of snow and ice. It is a very stunning and colourful design and raises the question why we still have Blue Ensigns at the state level, they have no civic value whatsoever.
More on flags:
