Australian flag fail ...

[Afro Boy]

I've been participating in a thread on another site which has unfortunately been closed. I was wondering what the good folks here thought. (Southern Cross reversed on flag! - IceInSpace)

In summary:

• Recent ceremony in Fromelles, France for fallen WWI soldiers
• Aussie flag flown at half mast is clearly wrong
• Southern Cross on the flag has been reversed (5th star is on the left, not right where it should be)
• Pedantic issue, yes I agree. Is it still important to get an official answer for though?

Here's my own blog post showing the problem.

Here's a YouTube vid of the "oversight"

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Ow-a-xc-E"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]


Cheers,
Af.

[wheelinround]

This I saw some time ago elsewhere

As one person commented what is it like looking at it from the otherside??

Does that mean if the flag is viewed from the opposite side the Union Jack is to the outer edge??

[Afro Boy]

It's not a mirror image. If it were (or if they mirrored the video shot for "composition") then it would still be incorrect.

You see, the 5th star should be closer to the outside edge of the flag. The flag they were flying at Fromelles is wrong. The 5th star is on the inside closer to the Union Jack.

It's as if they cut the flag in half and flipped over the southern cross portion then stitched it back together.

[RETIRED]

Probably outsourced its manufacture to China.

[wheelinround]

Its not the first time, I recall when at primary school the Government had handed out new school flags only to find that the Union Jack had been sewn together wrong spacing of the crosses (can't recall which way). Then another time a Flag flown in public view only had 5 not 6 points or was it 7 instead of 6 these were made here in OZ.

[corbs]

Should it have happened... no, that said mistakes happen. Making a big deal of it just cheapens the occasion by overshadowing the reason for the ceremony. My name bar at work only has 4 stars on the southern cross, its only ever been noticed by one person and I have been wearing it for over 15 years

[Ozkaban]

I agree that it should have been right, but overall the position of epsilon doesn't make that much difference to the ceremony about people who displayed amazing courage and lost their lives for others...

[AlexS]

I suspect that a correct flag would have been quietly substituted as soon as it was drawn to their attention.

[Afro Boy]

I agree that it should have been right, but overall the position of epsilon doesn't make that much difference to the ceremony about people who displayed amazing courage and lost their lives for others...

I agree with these sentiments completely. It's not my aim to diminish their sacrifice nor the ceremony.

I am just very confused how such an error could have been made. Aren't flags like this made/authorised in some way? Perhaps there's another plausible explanation but everyone I've spoken to has declined to comment or just says "they're looking into it."

Cheers,
Af.

[masoth]

It's only "recently" that the stars of the cross, except Epsilon, were changed from six points to seven. The seven pointed Federation Star represents the six States and the Territories.

soth

[Afro Boy]

The mystery has been solved!

Here's what I wrote on my blog regarding a phone call I received this morning ...

Today I finally managed to get through to someone who could give me answers to the mysterious flag issue I wrote about earlier. The Honorable Allan Griffin current Minster for Veterans’ Affairs called me after I sent an email to his office this morning. Yes, he himself actually called! Unfortunately I didn’t get to the phone so could only listen to his message. I contacted his office back and spoke to one of his staff who was extremely helpful.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission ordered the flag from their usually reputable supplier in France (whose name I didn’t get). For some reason the flag which was delivered was not to Australian standards. The Southern Cross was reversed, the Union Jack was upside down and the entire flag didn’t conform to normal Australian standard sizes (instead it was the usual European size).

The person I spoke to informed me that a replacement was ordered on Wednesday 3rd February and the correct flag has now been flying at the site. The process for ordering these flags has apparently also been tightened and the Honorable Greg Combett Minster for Defence and his office are also on top of it.

Obviously none of this should take away from the ceremony itself nor the lives these brave people laid down for our freedom.

Case closed.

Cheers,
Af.

[Ozkaban]

Now that is interesting.

As you said, case closed

EDIT: good on you for digging into it.

[Sparhawk]

The French acutally take a lot of care of our Diggers remains over there. I have visited a WWII burial ground to see the resting place of one of my great (great) uncles. The place was clean and beautifully manicured, with a couple of grounds keepers on site.

[Afro Boy]

The French acutally take a lot of care of our Diggers remains over there. I have visited a WWII burial ground to see the resting place of one of my great (great) uncles. The place was clean and beautifully manicured, with a couple of grounds keepers on site.

Sounds great. I've heard similar reports. My wife really wants to go and visit all these places so one day I hope to visit them as well with her.

I'm just glad that they have the correct flag flying now.

[Afro Boy]

The ABC have put an article online regarding this: Wrong flag used in Fromelles burials - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

I also understand there is an article in the Sydney Morning Herald today. Any good folks up north care to scan in a copy for me?

Thanks,
Af.