UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS

Our red white and blue Australian Flag, affectionately called "The Southern Cross", has flown over my property for as long as I have lived here and when the stars begin to fall off from age, wind and sun I buy another one to show that I am proud to be Australian, proud of my heritage, and proud of my Flag.

For almost one hundred years The Southern Cross has been our National Symbol under which we were brought up to take pride in our way life, our freedom and our unique identity.

This country was built on the blood sweat and determination of our pioneering men and women who carved out a great nation from a land so harsh and desolate that only the stubborn and brave dared persevere despite the hindrance of flood, drought, war and governmental interference. Most of these men and women came from the British Isles and are represented in the Flags of the Union Jack in the corner of our Flag.

The Southern Cross is the constellation under which our country stands and the Federation Star represents the States that have emerged from our prosperity despite the never-ending hardships. The red white and blue are the colours adopted by all freedom loving nations but few designs are as colourfully laid out as our Australian Flag.

The following is taken from the RSL News and gives good argument against those who want to change our flag and diminish the significance of the meaning behind our most important emblem.

ADDRESS BY DR. RUPERT GOODMAN
on the first National Flag Day, 3rd September 1997

This is a very special day in Australian history. The Governor-General has proclaimed that 3 September henceforth be known as National Flag Day, this year commemorating the 96th anniversary of the first unfurling of our National Flag on 3 September 1901 in Melbourne, following a public competition which drew 32,000 entries.

This was performed by the Countess of Hopetoun, wife of our first Governor- General and in the presence of our first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton.

This is the complete answer to those who say we never had a flag until 1953.

As you look at the Flag you are looking at 96 years of Australian history in war and peace.

This is the Flag which King Edward VII and the then Governor-General, The Earl of Hopetoun, proclaimed in 1903 as The Flag of the Commonwealth of Australia.

This is the Flag which was gazetted again in 1909 as the Flag of the Commonwealth of Australia.

This is the Flag which was carried on the Battlefields of WWI, despite what some others say.

This is the Flag which was carried by Chaplain Merrigton of Emmanuel College and raised above his tent in Gallipoli and France in WWI. I am sure that Mr Edmonds, the Principle of Emmanuel College would be delighted to tell you more about this historic Flag, now carefully preserved in College archives.

This is the Flag which was raised at the famous Battle of Polygon Wood, 20 September 1917. This was the capture of a German pill-box and the planting of the Australian Flag thereon by Lt A.V. L. Hull of 18 Bn. Subsequently, Sgt B Bateson of 26 Bn placed a second Australian Flag thereon.

This is the Flag which is now raised every morning at the little school in Villers-Bretonneux in France in the memory of the thousands of Australian casualties in freeing their village from the Germans in 1917.

This is the Flag carried by Sir John Monash's lance bearer in the historic march of 5,000 Australian troops through London on Anzac Day 1919 - the Flag which now resides in the Australian War Memorial.

This is the Flag which was carried to the Olympic Games in 1904 and throughout this century has witnessed a remarkable record of Australian successes. The recent Games at Atlanta are all fresh in our memory and no doubt it will play an important role in the Sydney Olympics of the year 2000.

Unfortunately, the Sydney Organising Committee is anti-flag. The National Flag has been removed from the traditional logo being replaced by childlike squiggles which no one could associate with Australia.

In the Olympic display now on show at Westfield Shoppingtown, you will not find any reference to the Australian Flag. There are no photos, for example, of our outstanding athletes standing on the dais while our National Flag is raised. There is no photo of the host country, Australia, leading the procession in Melbourne in 1956.

This is the Flag which was flown over our first Parliament House in Melbourne, then in Canberra in 1927 and now over our Parliament House in Canberra with its striking flag pole.

This is the Flag which covered the coffin of the Unknown Soldier as he was laid to rest in old Parliament House and now at the Australian War Memorial.
This is the Flag which drapes the coffin of all ex-servicemen and women as they are borne to their last resting place.

This is the flag which was flying at the Residency in Darwin when it was bombed by the Japanese on 19 February 1942. It was riddled with bullets, the first Flag damaged by enemy action on Australian soil. It was taken south for safety but brought back for the Peace Ceremony in 1946, flanked on one side by the Flag which flew at Villers-Brentonneux in 1917 on the other by the Flag flown by HMAS Sydney when it destroyed the Italian Cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni in the Mediterranean in 1940.

This is the Flag raised by Sgt Derrick on a shell torn tree at Sattelberg in 1945. Sgt Derrick was later awarded the VC.

This is the Flag which was raised over Kokoda, Lae, Buna, Gona and other towns in New Guinea as they were retaken from the Japanese in WWII.

This is the Flag commemorated on a special plaque at Lae which reads: "Here on 16 September 1943 the Australian National Flag was raised by the commander 25th Australia Inf Bde to mark the capture of this important base from the Japanese".

This is the Flag which was paraded at Japanese surrender ceremonies and in victory marches.

This is the Flag which hung in the Amiens Cathedral in France for 46 years and now rests in the Australian War Memorial - replaced by the 19th Battalion Association - during the unveiling of the Mont St Quentin Memorial 29 August 1971.

Yet there are those who say we never had a Flag until 1953!

This is the Flag which featured dramatically and with great reverence in the city march by Vietnam veterans - when 508 National Flags were paraded, one for each Australian who lost his life in that campaign.

This is the Flag which was raised by the released POWs at Changi in 1945. We are honored today that one of our Flag bearers, Mr Os Blau, was one of those POWs.

What I have said has been about the Army - the custodian of our National Flag. I could have recounted similar exploits about the RAAF and RAN.

This is the Flag raised by signallers of Coy 3RAR on Hill 323 in Long Hoi in operation Pinnaroo Vietnam 19 March 1968. The original now rests in the Australian War Memorial.

What history there is in our Flag. As it proclaims to all the world our national identity and our heritage. Yet according to the Heritage Commission it may not be so listed because of its mobility. A tree that may fall down and die, a building that may be destroyed by fire may be so listed but not our National Flag.

Yet there are vandals who would destroy our National Flag (and replace it with a nondescript piece of rag unrelated to anything of the past 96 years) a minority group of (socialist) reformers, ill-informed idealist, (ignorant) and prejudiced politicians who are anti-British, anti-Christian but clever and ruthless operators who appear to have unlimited financial resources to promote their cause.

No valid poll has yet indicated a majority of Australians want to change the Flag.

No valid argument has yet been produced for a change in our Flag.

Yet there are plenty of historical inaccuracies, half-truths, misrepresentations and even outright lies about our Flag and its history.

It is interesting to note their change of tack with respect to the Republic. At first they were joined as one issue but the strength of the support for the Flag was so strong it was lessening the support for the Republic.

Now they are regarded as separate issues. The Flag is not part of the Constitution and is not on the Republican agenda according to the Chairman of the Australian Republican Movement - but can you trust them?

We loyal and patriotic Australians have the task ahead of us in being more vocal in support of the present Australian National Flag - write to the politicians, write letters to the press, get on talk-back radio and support the Australian National Flag Association of Queensland in its good work, fly our National Flag every day and encourage others to do the same. Above all, see that our school children know of its great history and heritage.

As we look at the National Flag today, we should all remember we are looking at a priceless piece of history and heritage, To quote the words of that memorable poem:

It doesn't mean we owe allegiance
To a forgotten imperial dream
We've the stars to show where we're going
And the old flag to show where we've been.

What a wonderful Flag! What a beautiful Flag! Long may it continue to fly over this great country, Australia.

A Flag is a symbol - it speaks for the nation's history and soul. The pattern which emerges when the Flag unfurls tells of the birth, the growth, the trials, the glories and the hopes of the people who fly it.

Our flag was born with the creation of Federation at the dawn of the century. A contest attracted 32,822 entries with seven judges unanimously choosing five equal winning designs. Thus was produced Australia's own Flag of stars.

It is one of the descriptive and beautiful flags to fly in any nation. Full of symbolism, it tells the origins of our nation - the fact that the first European settlers were British, English is our language and our institutions, system of law and Monarchy are all derived from Britain. It represents our place in the world under the Southern Cross.

Australia is an independent nation! We have a history to be proud of, a heritage worth preserving! Denying or apologising for our past will not earn respect from other nations, particularly Asian. It demonstrates immaturity, not the actions of a strong mature people.

How many Australians can recognise the flags of Indonesia, the Phillipines, Malaysia, Vietnam, or Singapore?

To suggest we need a symbol that is recognisable in Asia is absurd - our Flag is distinctive and is recognised throughout the world.

LEARNING FROM HISTORY