Flag of South Australia
Encyclopedia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1904.
The flag is based on the defaced
Defacement (flag)
Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol or charge to another flag. For example, the Australian flag is the British Blue Ensign defaced with the Southern Cross in the fly and the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter, beneath the Union...
British Blue Ensign
Blue Ensign
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain, or defaced with a badge or other emblem....
with the state badge located in the fly. The badge is a gold disc featuring a Piping Shrike
Piping Shrike
The Piping Shrike is the emblematic bird that appears on South Australia's flag, State Badge and Coat of Arms. The bird appears "displayed proper" with its wings outstretched and curved upwards...
with its wings outstretched. The badge is believed to have been originally designed by Robert Craig, a teacher at the School of Arts in Adelaide, and officially gazetted on 14 January 1904.
Previous flags
The first flag of South Australia was adopted in 1870. It too was a defaced British Blue Ensign, but with a black disc in the fly containing the Southern CrossCrux
Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...
and the two pointers (Alpha
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
and Beta Centauri
Beta Centauri
Beta Centauri , also known as Hadar or Agena, is the second brightest star in the constellation Centaurus and the tenth brightest star in the night sky. Beta Centauri is a B1 III blue-white giant star that the astrometric Hipparcos satellite calculates as about 161 parsecs or 525 light-years from...
).
South Australia then adopted a second flag in 1876, also a Blue Ensign, with a new badge. The badge design was an artistic rendition of the arrival of Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
(a woman in flowing garb and holding a shield, representing the new settlers) meeting an Aboriginal sitting with a spear on a rocky shoreline. A kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
appears to be carved into the rocks behind the Aboriginal. This flag was adopted after a request from the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
for a new design over the old one due to its similarity to the flags of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand
The flag of New Zealand is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right. The stars represent the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross....
and Victoria
Flag of Victoria
The flag of Victoria, symbolising the state of Victoria in Australia, is a British Blue Ensign defaced by the state badge of Victoria in the fly. The badge is the Southern Cross topped by an imperial crown, which is currently the St Edward's Crown...
.