Australian red ensign: Difference between revisions
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Despite executive branch proclamations as to the respective roles of the two red, white and blue ensigns there remained confusion until the [[Flags Act 1953]] declared the blue ensign to be the ''Australia national flag'' and the ''Australian red ensign'' to be the flag of the mercantile marine. It has been claimed that this choice was made on the basis that the predominately red version carried too many communist overtones for the government of the day to legislated for as the chief national symbol although no cabinet documents yet released to the public including the more detailed minutes have ever been adduced in support of this theory.<ref>Kwan, 2006, p. 106.</ref> |
Despite executive branch proclamations as to the respective roles of the two red, white and blue ensigns there remained confusion until the [[Flags Act 1953]] declared the blue ensign to be the ''Australia national flag'' and the ''Australian red ensign'' to be the flag of the mercantile marine. It has been claimed that this choice was made on the basis that the predominately red version carried too many communist overtones for the government of the day to legislated for as the chief national symbol although no cabinet documents yet released to the public including the more detailed minutes have ever been adduced in support of this theory.<ref>Kwan, 2006, p. 106.</ref> |
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==The Australian red ensign at war== |
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{{Main|Flags of the Australian Defence Force}} |
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The Australian red ensign has been well chronicled by military vexillologists, historians and war correspondents especially of the first and second world wars. The tradition of the red ensign being used in Anzac Day marches alongside other flags that the Australian military has used still continues. |
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===Boer War=== |
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====Breaker Morant flag==== |
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[[File:Breaker-morant-grave.jpg|thumb|Major James Francis Thomas standing behind the grave of Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock in Pretoria's Church Street cemetery.]] |
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There is a photograph of a flag covering the grave of Breaker Morant in Pretoria, South Africa during the Boer War in 1901 that is believed to have been the predominately red ensign. There was an Australian red ensign found at the Tenterfield garbage tip in a hessian bag that yielded other Breaker Morant memorabilia. It is now held by the Tenterfield School of Arts and is also candidate for the oldest Australian style flag still under preservation.<ref>Matthew Purcell, 'Tenterfield to show Morant memorabilia', ''Northern Daily Leader'', 22 April 2016 <https://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/3863989/tenterfield-to-show-morant-memorabilia>.</ref> |
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===World War I=== |
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[[File:Brisbaneishome-RedEnsigns.jpg|thumb|The [[Red Ensign|British]] and Australian Red Ensigns on parade during the 2007 [[Anzac Day]] celebrations in [[Brisbane]].]] |
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====Watson red ensign==== |
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According to Imperial reservist Corporal Edward Dawson Watson, the first Australian flag to fly in France was a red ensign. Being a British army veteran living in Australia, he was recalled to serve with his former East Lancashire regiment upon the declaration of war in 1914. The red, white and blue colours were handed over to Watson as a gift to his departing formation by wartime prime minister W.M. Hughes. |
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This relic of the Great War was present at the Battle of Mons, where stories of mysterious other worldly sightings of three shining figures in the sky were being told. Although the Australian War Memorial has concluded that “nothing remotely approaching proof has been offered,” their report complied in 1951 states “that still a number of people living firmly believe that divine intervention saved the British Army from being destroyed when they were fighting the desperate rearguard action against enormous masses of invaders”. The apparitions were said to have miraculously appeared in the sky before the advancing Germans, who as it happened for one reason or another “abruptly checked their advance and recoiled in some disorder toward the right flank,” allowing the British retreat to continue. According to German sources, reports had reached Berlin that “horses [had] turned sharply around and fled like the wind and nothing could stop them.”<ref>https://www.awm.gov.au/sites/default/files/encyclopedia/angel/AWM338_4.pdf</ref> |
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It continued to serve with Watson, who was wounded during the German offensive in March 1918, before being brought back to Australia. The flag was loaned to the war memorial in 1925 on the condition that it be returned to Watson each Anzac Day until he died in 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C157928|title=Australian red ensign presented to Imperial Reservists by W M 'Billy' Hughes in 1914 : Corporal E D Watson, East Lancashire Regiment|website=www.awm.gov.au|accessdate=7 July 2018}}.</ref> |
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====Kitchener flag==== |
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Another notable red ensign is the Kitchener flag which began as an initiative of a Melbourne businessman, Pearson William Tewksbury, as a vehicle for raising funds to benefit wounded Australian soldiers, by raffling the red ensign after it was signed by various dignitaries and famous men. The flag was sent on a journey around the world to obtain the autographs with 20,000 pounds eventually being raised. The flag was won by a retired seaman who then sold it to Edward 'Teddy' Solomon. This philanthropist and collector from Melbourne had already purchased other such autographed flags as part of similar fund raising efforts during world war one. Solomon later donated his entire autographed flag collection to the Australian War Memorial. During the second world war, Tewkesbury was still active fundraiser for wounded soldiers, this time raffling another autographed specimen known as the 'Churchill Flag', which eventually raised 28,000 pounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C164767|title='The Kitchener Flag' : Australian red ensign autographed and raffled for the benefit of wounded Australian soldiers|website=www.awm.gov.au|accessdate=7 July 2018}}.</ref> |
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====Gallipoli flags==== |
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There ''was'' a red ensign on display at the now closed Adamstown RSL that is believed to have been taken by a local soldier to Gallipoli where he was mortally wounded, whereupon Private Gordon MacDonald also from Adamstown who acted as company bearer took possession. After signing the still soiled specimen in ink he entrusted it to a Scottish girl for safe keeping while on leave and subsequently never returned for it before being shipped to the western front where he was killed in action. The lady known as Margaret eventually emigrated to Australia after the war. In 1993 she donated this historic red ensign to the Adamstown RSL club.<ref>Martin Dinnen, 'New dawn for Gallipoli flag', ''Newcastle Herald'', 24 April 2011 <https://www.theherald.com.au/story/469435/new-dawn-for-gallipoli-flag>.</ref> |
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There is a small printed cotton red ensign in the Australian War Memorial collection that was taken to Gallipoli by Sergeant Percy Earnest Virgoe who served in the 4th Light Horse regiment. The specimen is bordered in white ink and contains the words written in ink "This flag was carried by me from Australia to / Egypt, Gallipoli, Lemnos, Embros thence to Malta, / England, South Africa & back to Australia. It was flown on the front line trenches at Courtney's Post, / Lone Pine, Holly's Ridge & many other Trenches at Anzac."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1067213|title=Framed Australian red ensign, Gallipoli : Sergeant P E Virgoe, 4 Light Horse Regiment, AIF|website=www.awm.gov.au|accessdate=7 July 2018}}.</ref> |
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===World War II=== |
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In the collection of the Australian War Memorial there is a recruiting poster featuring a red ensign and the words "These colours dont run" issued by Department of Munitions circa 1942 during the second world war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/ARTV02273|title=These colours don't run|website=www.awm.gov.au|accessdate=7 July 2018}}.</ref> The hero of the [[battle of Sattelberg]] Tom Derrick had the honour of hoisting a red ensign over the mount after his VC winning action in 1943.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C194501|title=Sergeant (Sgt) Thomas Currie 'Diver' Derrick DCM, of Adelaide, SA, who led a South Australian ...|website=www.awm.gov.au|accessdate=7 July 2018}}.</ref> |
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====Tobruk garrison flag==== |
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In the collection of the Bega Pioneers Museum are two red ensigns that were at Gallipoli and the siege of Tobruk. The latter has been signed by over 200 personnel and it is thought that these ceremonies took place aboard a troop ship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2013/04/22/3742404.htm|title=Bega's Anzac flags|website=www.abc.net.au|accessdate=7 July 2018}}.</ref> |
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====Strawbridge red ensign==== |
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One of the most chronicled Changi POW flags <ref>Romem Bose, ''The End of the War: Singapore's Liberation and the Aftermath of the Second World War'' (Marshall Cavendish Editions, Singapore, 2005) 12.</ref><ref>John Howard, 'Australian National Flag Day speech', (Speech delivered at the Royal Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne, 3 September 2001).</ref> is said to be the specimen that has been on display at the national headquarters of the Returned and Services League in Canberra which has been signed by dignitaries including Countess Edwina Mountbatten, wife of Earl Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander in South East Asia. The glass case has an inscription saying: |
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"This important artifact was concealed by Captain Strawbridge MBE, from 1942-1945. It was raised over the gates of the prison, the day the of formal liberation in September 1945." |
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It was reported in 1989 that the president of the Victorian branch of the RSL, Bruce Ruxton, had authorised his agent to purchase this red ensign, which went for $25,000 when auctioned by Sotherby's in London. The value of the specimen had previously been estimated at between $1700 - $2100.<ref>'RSL buys flag for $25,000', 14 May 1989, ''The Canberra Times'', 3 <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122262329>.</ref> |
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However, according to the Australian War Memorial, there is little empirical evidence to support the assertion that the history of the flag as indicated in the news report and the accompanying plaque. The information in Romen Bose's ''The End of the War: Singapore's Liberation and the Aftermath of the Second World War'' appears to have originated from these sources. The condition of the flag and their own research conducted at the time it was auctioned, indicates that the flag was, in all probability, a post-captivity flag brought to Changi around the time of Lady Mountbatten's visit. |
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==Merchant Navy Day== |
==Merchant Navy Day== |
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Revision as of 06:20, 1 September 2018
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (July 2018) |
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| Use | Civil ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 1:2 |
| Adopted | 11 February 1903[1] in use from 3 September 1901 23 February 1908 (current seven-pointed Commonwealth Star version) |
| Design | A Red Ensign defaced with the Commonwealth/Federation Star at the hoist, and the Southern Cross in the fly half |
The Australian Red Ensign resulted from the Commonwealth Government's 1901 Federal Flag Design Competition which required two entries: a flag for official Commonwealth Government use and another for the merchant navy.[2] The winning design was based on the traditional British Red Ensign and featured the Southern Cross and Commonwealth Star.
Devices
The Australian red ensign is a predominantly red version of the Australian National Flag, using the same shade of red as the Cross of Saint George which is part of the Union Jack present in the canton.
Maritime Ensign
Following federation in 1901, the topic of national colours for British ships registered in Australian ports was addressed by the Navigation Act, which provided that such ships (i.e., civilian ships) should wear the Australian Red Ensign. Technically private non-registered vessels were liable to a substantial fine if they did not fly the British Red Ensign as they were not formally covered by the Navigation Act. However, an Admiralty Warrant was issued on 5 December 1938 which authorised such non-registered vessels to fly the Australian Red Ensign, too. Australia enacted fully domestic shipping legislation in 1981. The Shipping Registration Act of 1981 reaffirmed that the Australian Red Ensign was the proper "colours" for Australian registered ships and that smaller (i.e., less than 30 tons) pleasure and fishing craft could fly either the Australian Red Ensign or the Australian National Flag but not both at the same time.[3]
History
From 1901 to 1924 the red ensign was used as the national flag by state and local governments. In the decades following federation the red ensign was also the preeminent flag in use by private citizens on land. This was largely due to the Commonwealth government and flag suppliers restricting sales of the blue ensign to the general public.[4] By traditional British understanding, the blue ensign was reserved for official government use although the red ensign was nevertheless still in military circulation until after the 1953 legislation, meaning the 1st and 2nd Australian Imperial Forces served under both the blue and red versions.[5] State and local governments, private organisations and individuals were expected to use the red ensign.[6]
In the 1920s there was debate over whether the blue ensign was reserved for Commonwealth buildings only, culminating in a 1924 agreement that the Union Flag should take precedence as the National Flag and that state and local governments were henceforth able to use the blue ensign.[7]
In 1940 the Victorian government passed legislation allowing schools to purchase blue ensigns.[8] The following year prime minister Robert Menzies issued a media release recommending that the blue ensign be flown at schools, government buildings and by private citizens and continued use of the red ensign by merchant ships, providing it was done so respectfully.[9]
Prime Minister Ben Chifley issued a similar statement in 1947.[10]
1901–1903 version
.svg)
After being submitted to King Edward VII for approval the competition winning design which featured a southern cross with nine, eight, seven, six and five points respectively was standardised by the British Admiralty with the number of points on the four biggest stars of the southern cross set to seven, ostensibly to improve ease of manufacture. The original variety of points was an indication of the relative brightness of each star as it appeared in the night sky.[11]
1903–1908 version
.svg)
In 1908, the current Commonwealth star of seven points replaced the earlier six-pointed star.[12]
Flags Act 1953
Despite executive branch proclamations as to the respective roles of the two red, white and blue ensigns there remained confusion until the Flags Act 1953 declared the blue ensign to be the Australia national flag and the Australian red ensign to be the flag of the mercantile marine. It has been claimed that this choice was made on the basis that the predominately red version carried too many communist overtones for the government of the day to legislated for as the chief national symbol although no cabinet documents yet released to the public including the more detailed minutes have ever been adduced in support of this theory.[13]
Since 2008, 3 September has been officially commemorated as both Australian National Flag/Merchant Navy Day[14][15] which allows the Australian red ensign to be flown on land for the occasion as a matter of protocol.[16]
Historical red ensigns
-
Red Ensign of the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service -
Red Ensign of South Australia (1870–1876) -
Red Ensign of Victoria (1870) -
New South Wales customs flag (1832-1882) -
New South Wales customs flag (1882–1901) -
"The Men From Snowy River" flag used during World War I snowball marches
.svg)
References
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 8, 20 February 1903
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 27, 29 April 1901.
- ^ "Shipping Registration Act 1981". pp. 10, 22. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ Elizabeth Kwan, Flag and Nation, University of New South Wales press, 2006, p. 106.
- ^ "AUSTRALIAN FLAGS". www.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ^ Kwan, 2006, p. 9-10.
- ^ Kwan, 2006, p. 100, 106.
- ^ Kwan, 2006, p. 92.
- ^ Kwan, 2006, p. 92.
- ^ Kwan, 2006, pp.96–97
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 8, 20 February 1903.
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 65, 19 December 1908
- ^ Kwan, 2006, p. 106.
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Gazette S 321, 28 August 1996.
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. GN 26, 2 July 2008.
- ^ Gordon Maitland, The story of Australia's flags: Our flags, standards, guidons, colours, banners, battle honours, and ensigns, Playbill Printworks, 2015, p. 259.