Many people wonder about the origins of their country’s flag and Australians are no different. Australia’s flag is a bright and attractive blue with the Union Jack in the upper left-hand corner and seven-pointed stars throughout the rest of the flag to symbolise the different territories. The origin of the very first flag is an interesting one and worth learning both for Australians and non-Australians alike. The first flag, which contained six-pointed stars due to the number of territories represented, was flown in September of 1901 and each year on Flag Day there are celebrations and events conducted all throughout the continent to celebrate this occasion.
Deciding on the Design Was Simple
Before the first flag was flown, Australia asked its citizens to come up with a design for its very first flag. A competition was held and thousands of entries were received with one percent of the population submitting designs, which is nothing to ignore. In the end, five people’s designs were chosen, in part because of the significance of their designs and partly because these five people’s flags were so similar. The winners included a fourteen-year-old schoolboy, a ship’s officer, a teenage apprentice in an optician’s office, an architect, and an artist. The flag’s original birthday was September 3, 1901, which has been celebrated as the continent’s official flag day every year since; however, in 1951, when people wanted to find the original flag for a golden fifty-year celebration, the flag was nowhere to be found. Since then, people such as Allan Pidgeon from Brisbane, have led efforts to find the original flag but have had no luck so far in doing so.
What Happened to the Original Flag?
It was assumed by most people that the original flag was placed in a museum shortly after being flown over the Royal Exhibition Building’s dome in 1901 but in 1951 when officials began to look for it, no one could find it. Nowadays, there are websites that describe different groups’ efforts to find the flag and return it to the state; for now, the best hope of this happening lies with someone whose relative may know where the flag is located. For over 115 years, the flag’s whereabouts have remained unknown but that certainly doesn’t mean that these groups will not eventually be successful in finding the flag and returning it to where it belongs.
All flags are special to the citizens of the countries they represent and Australia’s flag, with its beauty and significant artwork, is no different. The fact that the original Australian flag is missing doesn’t deter from the fact that Australians are some of the most patriotic people in the world, which means that they will never stop their efforts to find it. Regardless of how Australia will have possibly changed by the time the flag is found – whether it has remained the same or has ten territories by then – nothing will stop its citizens from trying to find their flag because that flag represents something special to the roughly 25 million people who currently live there.
