History

The Aboriginal Flag was designed by Harold Thomas, a Luritja man from
Central Australia. It was created as a symbol of unity and national identity for Aboriginal people during the land rights movement of the early 1970s. Aboriginal activist Gary Foley took the flag to the East Coast where it was promoted and eventually recognised as the official flag of the Australian Aboriginal people.

• The flag was first flown at Victoria Square in Adelaide on National Aborigines Day, 12 July 1971.
• The flag was chosen as the official flag for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and was flown there in 1972.
• In 1995, the Australian Government proclaimed the flag as an official ‘Flag of Australia’ under section 5 of the Flags Act 1953.
• In 1997, Harold Thomas was recognised as the author of the artistic work under the Copyright Act 1968.

Symbolic meaning

Harold Thomas states that the symbolic meanings of the flag colours are:
• Black: Represents the Aboriginal people of Australia.
• Red: Represents the earth, the red ochre and spiritual relation to the land.
• Yellow: Represents the Sun, the giver of life and protector.

Harold Thomas

Harold Thomas was born in Alice Springs in 1947 – his mother is a Luritja woman and his father is a Wombai man. He was sent to St. Francis’ Anglican boys home in Adelaide and in 1965 won a scholarship to the South Australian School of Art and was the first Aboriginal to graduate from an Australian Art School. He also has an Honorary Degree in Social Anthropology from Adelaide University. In 1970 he started working as a survey artist at the South Australian Museum, where he designed the flag. Since then, Harold has continued to work as an artist, with his works on display in several Australian galleries.

Copyright

In 1997, the Federal Court of Australia officially recognised Harold Thomas as the author of the flag. This protects the flag under the Copyright Act 1968 and so it may be only reproduced with this legislation or with the permission of Harold Thomas.

History

The Torres Strait Islander Flag was designed by the late Bernard Namok, then a 15-year-old school student from Thursday Island. It was created as a symbol of unity and identity for Torres Strait Islander peoples. The flag was the winning entry from a design competition held as a part of a Cultural Revival Workshop, organised by The Islands Co-ordinating Council in January 1992. It was recognised by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in June 1992 and given equal prominence with the Aboriginal flag.

In July 1995, it was recognised by the Australian Government as an official ‘Flag of Australia’ under the Flags Act 1953.

Symbolic Meaning

Each part of the flag is designed to represent something about Torres Strait Island culture.

• Green: Represents the land.
• Blue: Represents the sea.
• White: Represents peace.
• Black: Represents the Indigenous people.

The dhari (headdress) represents Torres Strait Island people and the five-pointed star represents the five major Island groups. The star also represents navigation, as a symbol of the seafaring culture of the Torres Strait.

The Island Co-ordinating Council also chose the design as its simplicity would allow each Torres Strait community to incorporate their own emblem into the flag design for local identification.