Australian+Flag

The **flag of Australia** is a defaced Blue Ensign : a blue field with the Union Flag in the canton (upper hoist quarter), and a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter. The fly contains a representation of the Southern Cross constellation, made up of five white stars – one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars.

The flag's original design (with a six-pointed Commonwealth Star) was chosen in 1901 from entries in a worldwide competition held following Federation, and was first flown in Melbourne on 3 September 1901; this date has been proclaimed as Australian National Flag Day. A slightly different design was approved by King Edward VII in 1902. Over the next few years, the exact specifications of the flag were changed several times both intentionally and as a result of confusion. The current specifications were formally gazetted in 1934, and in 1954 the flag became recognised by, and legally defined in, the // Flags Act 1953 //, as the "**Australian National Flag **".


 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg/800px-Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg.png width="231" height="111"]] || ==Flag Day: ==

In 1996, the Governor-General , Sir William Deane , issued a proclamation establishing an annual Australian National Flag Day, to be held on 3 September.  Flag Day  celebrations had been occurring in Sydney  since 1985. They were initiated by the vexillographer John Christian Vaughan  to commemorate the first occasion when the Flag was flown in 1901. On Flag Day, ceremonies are held in schools, major centres, and the Governor-General, Governors and some politicians attend or release statements to the media. Australian National Flag Day is not a public holiday. ||

 The ** Australian Aboriginal Flag ** is a flag that represents Indigenous Australians. It is one of the official "Flags of Australia", and holds special legal and political status, but it is not the " Australian National Flag ". It was designed in 1971 by Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas, who is descended from the Luritja people of Central Australia and holds intellectual property rights in the flag's design. The flag was originally designed for the land rights movement, and it became a symbol of the Aboriginal people of Australia. __ || ||