Still currently used as the civil ensign of Australia.Ī St George's Cross with four gold stars and a lion in the fly of a Blue Ensign.Ī light blue Maltese cross with a Tudor crown on a white background in the fly of a Blue Ensign.Ī Blue Ensign with a round disc in the fly displaying Brittania and an Aboriginal Australian man on a beach beside a cliff face with a kangaroo carving.Ī piping shrike on a gold background in the fly of a Blue Ensign.Ī red lion on a white background in the fly of a Blue Ensign. Still currently used as the national flag of Australia.īased on the British Civil Air Ensign, with the addition of the Southern Cross and Commonwealth Star in white.
A Blue Ensign defaced with the Commonwealth Star (with 6 points) in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (each star had a varying number of points: 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5).Ī Red Ensign defaced with the Commonwealth Star (with 6 points) in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (each star had a varying number of points: 9, 8, 7, and 6).Ī Blue Ensign defaced with the Commonwealth Star (with 6 points) in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (all stars had seven points, except the smallest star only had 5 points) as approved by King Edward VII.Ī Red Ensign defaced with the Commonwealth Star (with 6 points) in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half (all stars had seven points).Ī Blue Ensign defaced with the seven-point Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter and the five stars of the Southern Cross in the fly half. The original 1901 Federal Flag Design Competition winner. Note: Australia formally became an independent country from the United Kingdom under the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 which formally adopted the Statute of Westminster 1931 and backdated the adoption to 3 September 1939.Historical Flags of the British Empire and the overseas territories Aden 1.89 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.1.26 British Nigeria (Northern & Southern).1.13 British Central Africa Protectorate.1 Historical Flags of the British Empire and the overseas territories.The following list contains all former and current flags that were used across the Empire and as well as current British overseas territories until 1999. In the first half of the 19th Century, the first colonies started to acquire their own colony badges, but it was not until the UK Parliament passed the Colonial Naval Defence Act 1865 that the colonies were required to apply their own emblems. Early flags that were used across the Empire (In particular the then Thirteen Colonies which would later become the United States of America) tended to variations of the Red and Blue Ensigns of Great Britain with no colonial badges or coat of arms attached to them. The Historical flags of the British Empire and the overseas territories refers to the various flags that were used across the various Dominions, Crown colonies, protectorates, territories which made up the British Empire and current overseas territories.