The Australian flag is one of the most familiar country flags in the world and that is why when people will see it, they will easily recognize what country it represents. To know that it is an Australian flag, it basically a flag that is predominantly blue and with a small symbol of the Union Flag at the top left corner. In addition, there are six stars in the flag. Each of the symbols mentioned plays an important relevance in the culture and history of Australia.
The design of the country that we currently see today is the result of a contest that was held in 1901, the same time when Australia was declared a country. Twenty five pounds was the award to the contestant or winner who was able to give the best design. One of the conditions of the contest was that the design must include certain symbols and one of it is the Union Flag. It is the symbol that shows loyalty to Britain. But over time the idea of showing loyalty to Britain did not make the same sense as it used to be. This led to change the significance of the symbol. Instead the symbol was later made to represent the union of the six colonies that form Australia as a country.
Also, flag went several minor changes of design over time and those changes were barely noticeable. The changes made were so subtle that it did not affect the flag’s character and what it must represent.
As part of the competition there were a couple of things that had to be included in the flag design, one of these was the Union Flag. Originally this was included to show loyalty to Britain and to a many people that is still the reason that they Union Flag is there. However to a growing number of people the idea of showing loyalty to Britain no longer makes any sense. Therefore there has been a movement to change the interpretation of this part of the flag so that it represents the union of the six colonies that merged to form Australia. Nevertheless in the original design of the Union flag was there to represent loyalty to Britain.