Home

The Australian flag has a dark royal blue base with the British Union Jack in the upper left quarter. The Australian flag has a large white seven pointed star of federation under the middle of the Union Jack. The right half of the Australian flag consists of Southern Cross Constellation with one small white five pointed star and four larger white seven pointed stars. The Union Jack depicts the colonization of Australia by the British. The seven pointed Star of Federation represents Australia's six states and its territories. The Southern Cross is a constellation of stars that can be seen from all of Australia's states and territories. The Australian national flag was first adopted in 1901 after Australia had become a nation. Australia's current flag was last changed on May 22, 1909. Australia's flag had two versions, the first having the same design but with a red background. Because red represented communism, the flag with red background was officially replaced with the "Blue Ensign" flag on Apr. 14, 1954.