Yass Valley Council Resolves to Fly Aboriginal Flag

At their meeting of the 28th July 2022, Yass Valley Councillors resolved that the Aboriginal flag should fly permanently alongside the National flag outside Yass Soldiers’ Memorial Hall.

While this may seem to some as a ‘no-brainer’, it is a powerful statement of reconciliation that connotes respect and inclusion.

You may be interested to learn that the Aboriginal flag was designed in 1971 by Harold Thomas, a Luritja man from central Australia, who at the time had recently graduated with honours from the South Australian School of Art in 1969. Thomas felt the need for a flag after attending the National Aborigines Day march in 1970 where it was apparent that a flag for First Nations people was required.

Thomas was careful to create a flag that all Aboriginal groups could relate to. Putting the black on top of the red was also a deliberate act by Thomas to create an unsettling effect on those who saw it. According to Thomas, having a darker colour at the bottom would be more balanced and natural, much like looking at a sunset over the horizon. But Harold Thomas purposely flipped the colours around to create a feeling of unsettlement.

The red on the flag symbolises the land we walk on and the red ochre. The yellow represents the sun which gives us life, and the black represents Aboriginal people.

From the time images of the flag were broadcast around the nation in 1972, a new symbol of Aboriginal identity was born. By 1977, the City of Newcastle became the first Council in Australia to fly the Aboriginal flag. Various councils in Australian towns fly the Aboriginal flag from the town halls. The flag is also flown at many other public buildings such as a number of the state Parliament Houses.

Following the federal election on 21st May 2022, incoming Prime Minister Albanese started displaying the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag alongside the National flag at ministerial press conferences. Upon the opening of the 47th Parliament of Australia, both flags began to be displayed in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

• Topics:

• First Nations Peoples
• Local Council