 | |
| Other names | Aboriginal Flag, Indigenous Flag |
|---|---|
| Use | Flag ofAboriginal Australians |
| Proportion | 2:3 (originally), 1:2 (commonly used) |
| Adopted | 14 July 1995 |
| Design | A horizontal bicolour of black and red with a yellow disc in the centre |
| Designed by | Harold Thomas |
TheAustralian Aboriginal flag is anofficial flag of Australia that representsAboriginal Australians. It was granted official status in 1995 under theFlags Act 1953, together with theTorres Strait Islander flag, in order to advancereconciliation and in recognition of the importance and acceptance of the flag by the Australian community.[1] The two flags are often flown together with theAustralian national flag.
The Australian Aboriginal flag was designed by Aboriginal artistHarold Thomas in 1971, and it was first flown inAdelaide in July of that year. Thomas held theintellectual property rights to the flag's design until January 2022, when he transferred the copyright to theCommonwealth government. The flag was designed for theland rights movement and became a symbol of Aboriginal people of Australia.
The flag is horizontally and equally divided into a black region (above) and a red region (below); a yellow disc is superimposed over the centre of the flag.[2] The overall proportions of the flag, as proclaimed and in its original design, are 2:3; however, the flag is often reproduced in the proportions 1:2 as with the Australian national flag.[3]
On 14 July 1995, theKeating government advised the proclamation of the Aboriginal flag as "the flag of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and to be known as the Australian Aboriginal flag", under section five of theFlags Act 1953. The proclamation noted that the flag was "recognised as the flag of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and a flag of significance to the Australian nation generally".[4] Due to an administrative oversight, the 1995 proclamation was not lodged so that it would continue in force indefinitely; hence it automatically expired on 1 January 2008.[5] It was therefore almost identically replaced, on 25 January 2008, with effect as from 1 January.[6]
The symbolic meaning of the flag colours (as stated by Harold Thomas) are:[7]
Discussing the process of designing the flag in a copyright trial, Thomas also elaborated that the black represented "black consciousness, black awareness, black power [and] be[ing] proud of your blackness". The other colours of yellow and red were sourced from the predominant colours used to decoratepukamani poles. Thomas also explained why the black was placed above the red stripe:
I wanted to make it unsettling. In normal circumstances you'd have the darker colour at the bottom and the lighter colour on top and that would be visibly appropriate for anybody looking at it. It wouldn't unsettle you. To give a shock to the viewer to have it on top had a dual purpose, was to unsettle ... The other factor why I had it on top was the Aboriginal people walk on top of the land.
Others, includingNova Perris and social worker Tileah Drahm-Butler, have also interpreted the red as representing the blood shed by Aboriginal people.[8][9]
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The official colour specifications of the Australian Aboriginal flag are:[10]
| Scheme | Red | Yellow | Black | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pantone | 1795 C (or 179 C[11]) | 123 C | Black C | |||
| RGB (Hex) | 204–0–0 (#CC0000) | 255–255–0 (#FFFF00) | 0–0–0 (#000000) | |||
| CMYK | 0%–100%–100%–30% | 0%–0%–100%–0% | 0%–0%–0%–100% | |||
In most cases, on-screen or digital reproductions of the flag should use the RGB colours as in the table above. When displaying in physical fabric formats, it is much preferred to use thePantone specifications. When printing on paper, theCMYK colours are superior.
The original design was in the proportion 2:3, rather than 1:2, to make the flag more "squared up", as Thomas felt that the Australian Flag, at 1:2, was too long.[12]
Harold Thomas first discussed the need to create an Aboriginal flag withGary Foley, several days or months beforeNational Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC) day in 1971. He first thought about the need for an Aboriginal symbol after attending a protest in 1970 when Aboriginal people were unrecognisable in a crowd of mostly white supporters. Thomas recalls that the Aboriginal flag came to him fully formed in a moment of inspiration, independently or in conversation with Foley.[13]
Once he had come up with the design, Thomas selected cloth at theHarris Scarfe store inRundle Mall, Adelaide. The first flag was sewn together by Sandra Lee Hanson, a colleague of Thomas working at theSouth Australian Museum. While the original flag is lost, offcuts from the flag were found in the museum in 2014.[14]
The flag was first flown on NADOC day inVictoria Square inAdelaide on 9 July 1971 during a land rights rally.[15][7] The flag was later adopted by theRedfern Black Caucus, with members of the group going on to found theAboriginal Tent Embassy inCanberra, where the flag was used from late 1972. The original flag possibly flew here or remained in South Australia.[14] In the early months of the embassy—which was established in February that year—other designs were used, including flags with the black, red and green colours of thePan-African flag as a symbol of black consciousness,[16] and a flag with a red-black field containing a spear and four crescents in yellow.
Cathy Freeman caused controversy at the1994 Commonwealth Games by carrying the Aboriginal flag as well as theAustralian national flag during hervictory lap of the arena, after winning the 200 metres sprint; only the national flag is meant to be displayed. Despite strong criticism from both Games officials and Australian team presidentArthur Tunstall, Freeman carried both flags again after winning the 400 metres.
In 1995, theKeating government advised the governor-general to give the flag official status as a flag of Australia, through a proclamation under theFlags Act. In a statement, the minister for Administrative Services argued this reflected the government's support for Aboriginal pride and reconciliation.[17] However, the decision was criticised at the time byLiberal opposition leaderJohn Howard. He stated that the recognition "would rightly be seen by many in the community not as an act of reconciliation but as a divisive gesture"[18] and that "No matter how these flags bulk large in the affections of our indigenous people, they can only ever be symbols for one section of the Australian community."[19] The move was also criticised by the designer of the flag, Harold Thomas, arguing that the flag "doesn't need any more recognition"[20] and that "This move will mean that the flag has been taken over by the white man and will lose its potency as a symbol."[21]
The National Indigenous Advisory Committee campaigned for the Aboriginal flag to be flown atStadium Australia during the2000 Summer Olympics.[22] TheOlympics organisers announced that the Aboriginal flag would be flown at Olympic venues.[23] The flag has been flown over theSydney Harbour Bridge during the march forreconciliation of 2000 and many other events, includingAustralia Day. Since July 2022, the flag has been flown on the Harbour Bridge permanently, alongside the Australian national flag.[24] On the 30th anniversary of the flag in 2001, thousands of people were involved in a ceremony where the flag was carried from theParliament of South Australia to Victoria Square.[25]
The first city council to fly the Aboriginal flag wasNewcastle City Council in 1977.[26]
On 8 July 2002, theAdelaide City Council endorsed the permanent flying of the Aboriginal flag close to the location of its first raising at Victoria Square in 1971 (now dual-named Tarntanyangga), which now flies adjacent to theAustralian flag.[27][28][29] It has also been flown in front ofAdelaide Town Hall since the same date.[25]
Various councils in Australian towns fly the Aboriginal flag from the town halls, such asBendigo (adopted in 2005).[30] The flag is also flown at many other public buildings such as a number of the state Parliament Houses including that of Victoria.[31]
In April 2021, Regional NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said that he would like to see the flag flown at everyNew South Wales Police regional police station in the state, expanding from the 12 of the 89 then flying it.[32]
The Australian Aboriginal flag has been hoisted alongside the Australian national flag as a permanent feature of the Australian Embassy inDublin, Ireland, since 5 March 2021.[33]
Following the2022 Australian federal election on 21 May 2022, the incomingAnthony Albanese ledLabor government started displaying the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag alongside the national flag at ministerial press conferences.[34] Upon the opening of thenew Parliament, both flags began to be displayed in theHouse of Representatives andSenate chambers.[35]
From 27 May 2022, at the start ofNational Reconciliation Week, both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were hoisted on the front lawn ofGovernment House, Adelaide, to be permanently flown alongside the national flag and theSouth Australian flag.[36]
The sale ofcondoms in the colours of the Aboriginal flag won a public health award in 2005 for the initiative's success in improving safe sex practices among young Indigenous people.[37][38]
Aboriginal-designedemojis titled Indigemojis and including the flag on several designs, were released in December 2019 via an app,[39] with the permission of Harold Thomas.[40]
The Aboriginal flag is often included in various proposed designs toreplace the current Australian Flag. One proposal has been to substitute theUnion Flag, located in the canton of the Australian Flag, with the Aboriginal flag. Harold Thomas said of this idea: "I wouldn′t reject it out of hand, but I could make a decision to say no. Our flag is not a secondary thing. It stands on its own, not to be placed as an adjunct to any other thing. It shouldn't be treated that way."[41]
In thescience fiction filmEvent Horizon, actorSam Neill, himself a New Zealander, designed a flag for use on his sleeve as the way he thought the Australian flag should look in 2047, which incorporated the Aboriginal flag.[42]
The Australian Aboriginal flag is celebrated in the paintingThe First Supper (1988) bySusan Dorothea White where the central figure is an Aboriginal woman who displays the flag on her T-shirt.[43]
The flag was to be part of the logo on Google Australia's home page onAustralia Day 2010, but the company was forced to modify the design due to its creator Harold Thomas demanding payment if Google were to use it.[44]
The anti-Islamic groupReclaim Australia used the flag at their protests in 2015, which was condemned by the flag's creator, Harold Thomas, who called it "idiotic".[45]
Copyright in the flag has been subject to controversy, as to original and ongoing ownership of the copyright.
In 1997, in the case ofThomas v Brown and Tennant,[46] theFederal Court of Australia declared that Harold Thomas was the owner of copyright in the design of the Australian Aboriginal flag, and thus the flag has protection undercopyright law of Australia.[47][48] Thomas had sought legal recognition of his ownership and compensation following the Federal Government's 1995 proclamation of the design, and his claim was contested by two others, George Brown and James Tennant.[49] After winning copyright, Thomas awarded rights solely to Carroll & Richardson – Flagworld Pty Ltd and Birubi Art Pty Ltd for the manufacture and marketing of the flag and of products featuring the flag's image.[50]
In November 2018, Thomas granted WAM Clothing (which is co-owned by Birubi Art owner Ben Wooster) a licence for the use of the flag on clothing. In June 2019, it was reported that WAM Clothing had demanded that Aboriginal-owned businesses stop selling clothing that featured the flag.[51] They also sent notices to theNRL andAFL about their use of the flag onIndigenous round jerseys.[52] In June 2020, after a prominent Aboriginal footballer began selling WAM-licensed teeshirts bearing the flag through his own website, Aboriginal former senatorNova Peris, a leader of a "free the flag" campaign, wrote to theGovernor-General, requesting his support for divesting WAM of the copyright.[53]
After consultation with its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council, the AFL did not enter into a commercial agreement with WAM in 2020, in line with general Aboriginal sentiment on the issue. In August 2020,Ken Wyatt,Minister for Indigenous Australians, said that he would love to see the flag freely used across Australia, and former AFL playerMichael Long said its absence would have a negative effect on the players in theSir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round. Wyatt encouraged spectators to bring flags to the games, beginning inDarwin on 22 August 2020.[54][55]
On 24 January 2022, the Commonwealth government announced, after more than three years of confidential negotiations,[56] that Thomas had transferred the copyright in the flag to the Commonwealth.[57] The federal government paid $20.05m to Thomas and licence holders (including WAM Clothing and Carroll and Richardson Flagworld) to extinguish existing licences and secure copyright. As part of the copyright transfer, Thomas retainedmoral rights over the flag (which include the right to be identified as its creator). Following the copyright transfer, Carroll and Richardson Flagworld continued to be the exclusive manufacturer, although individuals may make copies for personal use.[58][57]
The Commonwealth agreed to fund a scholarship in Thomas's name for Indigenous students to further the development of Indigenous governance and leadership and an online education portal on the flag's history. An original painting by Thomas detailing the transfer of copyright would be "displayed in a prominent location" by the Commonwealth. All royalties from the copyright are to be transferred to theNational Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, and $2m would be devoted to establishing a not-for-profit organisation that will make periodic payments for activities related to the flag.[58][59][60]
About the use of the flag, the government statement reads:[57]
The Aboriginal Flag will now be managed in a similar manner to the Australian National Flag, where its use is free, but must be presented in a respectful and dignified way. All Australians can now put the Aboriginal Flag on apparel such as sports jerseys and shirts, it can be painted on sports grounds, included on websites, in paintings and other artworks, used digitally and in any other medium without having to ask for permission or pay a fee.
Many Aboriginal people celebrated the freeing of the flag; however, Bronwyn Carlson, Professor of Indigenous Studies and Director of the Centre for Global Indigenous Futures atMacquarie University, expressed a contrary opinion, suggesting that to "free" the flag for all and sundry may demean it as a symbol of Aboriginal identity and history. She wrote inThe Conversation: "the Aboriginal flag has always been our flag. We didn't need an act of parliament to recognise its significance."[61] Some Indigenous people are not happy to see the federal government have control of the flag, rather than an Indigenous organisation, and law professor Isabella Alexander said that some legal questions remained, for as long as details of the agreement were still commercial-in-confidence.[62] Upon the release by the Australian government of the Assignment Deed following anFOI application,[63] David J. Brennan has identified a likelihood that the Australian copyright in the 1971 flag as an artistic work expired upon transfer to the Commonwealth.[64]
The flag's current legal status was debated in anAustralian Senate estimates committee in mid‑February 2022, when it was also revealed that theMorrison government had paid $13.75m to Thomas to assume copyright, and also paid $6.3m to two non-Indigenous businesses which held licences to use the flag. These companies are WAM Clothing, which received $5.2m, and Wooster Holdings, which was paid $1.1m. Interests in both companies are held byGold Coast businessman Ben Wooster, former director of Birubi Art (which was fined $2.3m in 2018 for selling fake Aboriginal art).[65]
The red of the flag can have two meanings – it's the earth and the blood of the people.
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