Australian Aboriginal flag
The Australian Aboriginal flag is the official flag of Aboriginal Australians. It was granted official status in 1995 under the Flags Act 1953, together with the Torres Strait Islander flag, in recognition of their status as Indigenous peoples of Australia. The two flags are often flown together with the Australian national flag.
Use | Official flag of Aboriginal Australians |
---|---|
Proportion | 2:3 (as depicted above) or 1:2 |
Adopted | 14 July 1995 |
Design | A horizontal bi-colour of black and red with a yellow disc in the centre |
Designed by | Harold Thomas |
The Australian Aboriginal flag was designed by Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas in 1971, and it was first flown in Adelaide in July of that year. Thomas held the intellectual property rights to the flag's design until January 2022, when he transferred the copyright to the Commonwealth government. The flag was designed for the land rights movement and became a symbol of Aboriginal people of Australia.
The flag is horizontally and equally divided into a black region (above) and a red region (below); a yellow disc is superimposed over the centre of the flag. The overall proportions of the flag, as proclaimed, are 2:3; however, the flag is often reproduced in the proportions 1:2 as with the Australian national flag.