Proclaimed a holiday in 1996, this national flag day commemorates the first time the Australian flag was flown on 3 September 1901.

Designed by the five winners of a Federal Flag Design Competition, the flag features a Union Jack in the upper left corner representing the history of British settlement in Australia. Below the Union Jack is a white Commonwealth star with six points representing the the six states of the federation and a seventh representing the territories.

The Southern Cross constellation of stars on the right side of the flag represents Australia’s geographic location in the southern hemisphere.