Parliament House flag display hits a snag on 125th anniversary
Even after 125 years, the Australian flag can still cause confusion. A display at Parliament House in Canberra meant to commemorate the national ensign included two flags that were not Australian, but New Zealand's.
The flags were part of a set of 44 displayed on Thursday to mark National Flag Day, the anniversary of the day the Australian flag was first flown above the dome of Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building in 1901.
Eagle-eyed observers noticed that two of the flags featured a Southern Cross made up of four red five-pointed stars with white borders. That design belongs to New Zealand. Australia's flag has five stars in the Southern Cross constellation, plus a sixth Commonwealth Star below the Union Jack.
How the Australian flag came to be
Australia began its search for a national flag in 1900, ahead of Federation in 1901. A government competition drew more than 30,000 entries from around the world.
According to the Australian Flags booklet, most designs included the Union Jack and the Southern Cross, but native animals were also popular. Some of the more unusual entries featured a kangaroo leaping through the Southern Cross, native animals playing cricket with a winged ball, a six-tailed kangaroo representing the six states, and a kangaroo aiming a gun at the constellation.
The Australian flag was officially flown for the first time on September 3, 1901, but it was not formally adopted until the Flags Act took effect in 1954. New Zealand adopted its flag in 1902 under the New Zealand Ensign Act.
A long-running trans-Tasman rivalry
The similarity between the two flags has caused friction before. In 2018, then acting New Zealand Prime Minister Winston Peters accused Australia of copying the New Zealand design.
“We had a flag that we've had for a long time, copied by Australia, and they should actually change their flag and honour the fact that we got there first with this design,” Peters said at the time.
In July, the Albanese Government distanced itself from a union push to remove the Union Jack from the Australian flag.
What the anniversary means
To mark 125 years since the flag was first flown, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet issued a statement.
“While our flag does not tell the full story of our nation, it remains an enduring symbol of unity and our shared achievements since Federation,” the department said. “Today the flag flies above Parliament House, and alongside the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag, in both chambers of Parliament.”
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott posted on Instagram on Thursday: “Honouring our flag on the 125th anniversary of its first official use. May this beautiful flag of stars and crosses represent Australia forever.”
Parliament House will also mark the occasion by flying the national flag on 44 ceremonial flagpoles on September 10.
Why does the Australian flag look similar to New Zealand's?
Both flags feature the Union Jack and the Southern Cross constellation. The main difference is that Australia's flag has five white stars in the Southern Cross plus a seven-pointed Commonwealth Star, while New Zealand's flag has four red stars with white borders.
When was the Australian flag first flown?
The Australian flag was first flown on September 3, 1901, above the dome of Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building. It was formally adopted in 1954 when the Flags Act took effect.