Talk:Eureka Flag

Original specimen
This article ought to be primarily concerned with THE Eureka Flag as in the original specimen. There is a section on the "Eureka flag today" which is adequate.

To add to this page we need an image of the Eureka flag hanging in the local museum in Ballarat.

124.183.35.113 11:22, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Colours of flag
True or false: the colours of this flag are known, so that a Wikipedian can put it on a Lists of flags article. 66.245.88.241 02:41, 16 May 2004 (UTC)


 * According to the newspaper articles of the time, the stars were blue
 * "BALLARAT." South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) 11 December 1854: 3. Web. 25 Jan 2024 < http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49203212 >. 2001:8003:B180:5700:D5E8:957C:44D2:DD5E (talk) 14:08, 24 January 2024 (UTC)


 * True. I am in the process of a properly proportioned image, a photo of the remains of the original Eureka Flag, and a few other images. If you are patient, they will be up before 0500 UT. =DO NOT USE= the existing image. It is not correctly proportioned! (PS - Please take the time to log in and set up a user page. That way, other Wikipedians can stay in touch with you, and welcome you too. Welcome to Wikipedia!) Denni 03:58, 2004 May 16 (UTC)

Modern design
I have added this infomration to the article:

"The modern design of the Eureka flag is an enhanced a different version to the 1854 original as it features blue keylines around each of the five stars."

(NB: The specimen hanging in the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery features white stars on a white cross. The middle star is barely visible.)

Symbol of nationality?
If you asked every Australian who knows about the Eureka flag the following question:

Is the Eureka flag a symbol of?

(a) Protest (b) Nationality

then probably 99.9% of people would answer (a). About the only time most people see it is at trade union rallies on the TV news and when they drive past construction sites. Private flying of the Eureka flag in Australia is so rare as to be almost non-existent.

I have added this infomration to the article:

"While some Australians consider it a symbol of nationality, the essence of the Eureka flag for most people is a general purpose symbol of protest used by political radicals for a wide variety of non-conformist causes."

Some interesting informaton about the Eureka flag:

- The Eureka Flag is most well known and respected around central Victoria and national symbols are meant to mean something to all Australians.

It would be more fitting to see the Eureka flag recognised by resolution of the local council as the City of Ballarat flag then as an official Flag of Australia.

- The Eureka Stockade flag is not that historically or culturally important.

The Eureka flag was not anywhere near as widely known by Australian people in the not-too-distant past as some of the more over eager Eureka Stockade aficionados would have us believe.

It is interesting to note that in 1949 - not that long ago - a motion picture entitled the 'Eureka Stockade' was made, which starred Chips Rafferty a famous Australian actor of the day. Although the producers of the film had been to Ballarat to do research for the project the Eureka flag used was not 5 stars arranged on a white cross - it was the Southern Cross from Australia's flag!

Apparently nobody in this great central Victorian town could provide an accurate description of the rebel flag in 1949.

- Senator Marshall's private member's bill proposes to call the design the Eureka (Southern Cross) Flag.

Although some academics and historians like to refer to the Eureka flag design as the Southern Cross, this nickname does not resonate with the general public.

The Eureka Southern Cross design was a version of the NSW Ensign/Australian Federation flag of 1830s and the Australian National Colonial flag of 1820s. The Eureka flag does not feature the constellation of the Southern Cross in natural form. It is a stylised representation on a traditional Celtic Christian cross on which is placed five stars interpreted as the stars of the Southern Cross. The constellation is not distinctively Australian as the Southern Cross is used on no less that five different national flags of sovereign nations. Even the US Confederate flag is known as "The Southern Cross".

- The ownership of the original 1854 Eureka flag continues to be the source of heated argument and litigation.

The original specimen was torn down at the stockade by Police Constable John King on the morning the clash between the demonstrators and the authorities took place. What was left of the flag remained in the possession of the King family who loaned it to the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery in 1895.

In 2001 legal ownership of the flag was transferred to the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery who expect the King family and the gallery to be acknowledged every time a replica of the original flag is displayed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 124.183.230.177 (talk • contribs) 20:38, 17 October 2006  (UTC+11 hours)

why is nationality and protest exclusive? 58.104.232.183 05:55, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

As to the previous comment;Perception of the "meaning" of the Eureka flag by Australians must allow a range of opinion.To try nailing down one idea as central to this Australian "iconic" flag is to deny a part of the Australian character.Australians,I believe,enjoy their right to disagree,to protest, to take different views on issues.This right is of course symbolised by the Eureka flag, although the flag is not used by all Australians.The USA has many symbols of their beliefs about freedom, and the British hold the Magna Carter amongst their symbols of political development.The potency of any flag as a representation of ideas is incredibly strong.I believe that trying to limit the Eureka flag to two choices misses historical political and cultural facts.ThanksErn Malleyscrub (talk) 00:28, 28 November 2009 (UTC)

Some people in Australia see the Eureka flag as a symbol of nationality, but really, to say most people view it as a general purpose symbol of protest is to speak the truth.

124.183.35.113 11:01, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Image of original flag
The image of the original flag has been deleted as it was a non-commercial use only image :-( The image had been tagged as "This image is provided by the Eureka Centre for education and study purposes only. Please do not download this image for commercial use."--Golden Wattle talk 19:23, 23 January 2007 (UTC)


 * How is wikipedia 'commercial use'? Morgan Leigh 01:20, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Broken Link
The reference link does not work so I am removing it. I'll try to track the pdf down and if I can, I'll change it back. M0rt 06:43, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, I fixed it up. It's Australia day tomorrow, so I'll be sporting the Eureka flag: it represents the aussie spirit much more than the bland one we have now! M0rt 06:55, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Current Status
I think without a doubt, the current use of the flag is almost invariably associated with union protests. There should be a paragraph preceding the current "Current Status" section which describes this. I agree with the comments in the above section: it is almost always used at Union rallies.

Article
Monarchists in Australia are quite pleased with this article.

124.183.35.113 07:08, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes monarchists have really went to town on this article. Reading it really turns me on.

God Save the Queen!

Victory to ACM!

124.179.65.62 07:31, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Neutrality of article
Why is the neutrality of the article in dispute? Why does the truth leave such a sour taste in republican mouths?

Steakknife 07:53, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Comment to the Roll Up Banner
It seems very racist to my race, and I'm sure other Chinese are also offended. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.84.4.138 (talk) 16:26, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

That the "roll up" banner was based on the Eureka flag is a documented historical fact.

124.179.65.62 07:29, 5 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Personally I find this a real stretch and from what I can see I certainly do not believe that it is a "documented historical fact". The closest I could find is this statement from the Historical Flags of Australia website "It is possible that this emblem was intended to refer to the Eureka Flag with its white cross and stars of the Southern Cross."  The only other vague reference can be found on the Ballarat Reform League website "This movement really began the tradition of radical working class use of the flag in the fight for improved working and living conditions, rather than for more esoteric nationalist uses. In this context the use of a flag derived from the Eureka flag at Lambing Flat, New South Wales, in 1861 can be understood."  Neither of these are citations of fact and given that the elements of the Eureka flag including the Southern Cross predate it there is an equally strong possibility that any resemblance of this or the Barcaldine shearers strike to the Eureka Flag is purely coincidental.  Certainly, the Lambing Flat Riots page could link back but I don't find that strong enough to warrant a citation to mention in this article, so I have removed it until such time as a conclusive citation can be found.--Biatch (talk) 03:37, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Claim for design
It appears that Ross may not have designed the flag, as claimed in the article. Powerhouse Museum claims that it was Mr J. W. Wilson, as evidenced by this 1949 newspaper article. Lionfire (talk) 04:59, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Eureka Jack
We should really put the information about the Eureka Jack back. There was testimony at the committal hearings a few days after the battle as to a "flag like a Union Jack" being captured on the person of a rebel prsioner. There are references to the Eureka Jack in the popular culture from the 1940s and 50s. Modern authors are starting to mention the Eureka Jack in their Eureka books. I think someone needs to drop this idea they know more more about what went on that day then a reporter on the spot. Australians today cant even be sure where the Eureka Stockade was erected to the nearest square acre!

Do a vox pop survey at your local supermarket. No one much knows who Peter Lalor himself is anymore either.

121.217.209.17 (talk) 11:28, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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I have just added archive links to 3 one external links on Eureka Flag. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20140114041109/http://flagsociety.org.au/historical_flags.htm to http://www.flagsociety.org.au/Historical_Flags.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100515232608/http://www.abc.net.au:80/news/australia/vic/ballarat/200409/s1196347.htm to http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/vic/ballarat/200409/s1196347.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20110320212625/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/The_Eureka_Shaft_August_2010.pdf to http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/The_Eureka_Shaft_August_2010.pdf

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External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20051125094537/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lab/86/walshe.html to http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lab/86/walshe.html
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External links modified (January 2018)
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Citation needed tags
If we can all help to find the required sources to clear the remaining citation needed tags then it might be possible to renominate the article for A-class status.

Robbiegibbons (talk) 10:39, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

Ren Wenban image copyright
The article currently uses the image, which is a cropped version of. There is currently a deletion request for the latter, due to a possible copyright violation. The copyright status of both images is unclear at this time, and it appears likely that both will be deleted soon. If you have any information regarding the issue, please comment on the deletion request page. Renerpho (talk) 15:46, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

today in London
The flag was flown today by someone in the crowd protesting at the court hearing Julian Assange's final appeal against extradition. —Tamfang (talk) 22:47, 20 February 2024 (UTC)