The front of Matt’s flag project
The back of Matt’s flag project
© 2008 Matthew J. Costella
Australian Flag proposal
With the growing movement for an Australian republic in the mid-1990s, the ramifications of severing our final ties with Britain were being considered. The National Anthem had already been changed in 1983 from God Save the Queen to Advance Australia Fair; but, curiously, the National Flag had not been changed at the same time, despite having the Union Jack pasted into the corner—the position of honor, in flag protocol.
I do believe that our flag will eventually change, perhaps decades from now, just as it is inevitable that we will eventually become a republic. It need not change radically. In any case, I thought I would have a go at designing a replacement.
My flag suggestion went through a few modifications in the months after I proposed my original design in 1995, thanks to feedback from flag experts. I have not changed it since then. (The use of the GIF format for the above image file reflects this—the PNG format wasn’t even invented until late 1996!)
It was an emotional day in 2008 when, completely out of the blue, my (then) ten-year-old son Matthew responded to a flag design project at school by reproducing my design from this web page—and acknowledging it (see above)! I couldn’t have been more humbled or proud.
Hopefully the Costella Flag gets consideration within my children’s lifetimes, if not mine.
© 1995–2024 John Costella