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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags

The Aboriginal flag

The Aboriginal Flag was designed by Harold Thomas, an Arrente man from central Australia. It was first flown on National Aboriginal and Islander Day in 1971 in Adelaide, South Australia. The flag is symbolic to our people in a number of ways: the black represents the Aboriginal people, past, present and future; the yellow represents the sun and giver of life; the red represents the earth, red ochre and our spiritual relationship to the land. The flag became a powerful uniting symbol of identity for our people across the country when it was flown at the Aboriginal Embassy in 1972.

The Torres Strait Islander flag

The Torres Strait Islander flag was designed by Bernard Namok from Thursday Island and launched in 1992. It features three horizontal bands, two of green for the land and one blue for the sea. These bans are separated by black lines which represent the people. A further symbol of the people is the white Dhari – the traditional headdress. Underneath this is a white five-pointed star which represents the five island groups: eastern, western, central, Port Kennedy area and the Northern Peninsula area.

Written by Bill Jonas, Marcia Langton and AIATSIS staff.
Published by the Australian institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies © 1994 on behalf of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.