New South Wales Flag History
The State flag of NSW was adopted in 1876 and features a distinctive form of the Southern Cross on the cross of St George with the gold lion of England at its centre. This attractive badge is inscribed on the field of the State’s Blue Ensign. The cross of St George, combined with four eight-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross, first appeared on the National Colonial design (1823-24).
Coat Of Arms
The coat of arms of New South Wales was granted by royal warrant of King Edward VII dated 11 October 1906.
The shield shows a blue field with a silver cross voided red with a gold or star on each arm of the red cross and a gold lion in the centre known as the ‘Lion in the South’. There is a golden fleece in the first and fourth quarters, and a wheat sheaf in the second and third quarters, both of these charges being gold, with the golden fleece having a band or ribbon around it coloured silver (argent).
The golden British lion and the Australian kangaroo together hold up the red, white and blue shield that is the centre of the New South Wales coat of arms. Incorporated in this shield is the badge of New South Wales with its red cross of St George, four eight-pointed stars depicting the Southern Cross, and the gold British lion.
Animal Emblem of New South Wales
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is sometimes called the duckbill because of its distinctive snout shaped like a duck’s beak. The platypus is only one of two monotremes in the world. Monotremes are egg-laying mammals who feed their young milk but have no nipples. The young suck milk from the tufts of fur on the mother’s belly. Platypuses have brown fur and live in the burrows on the banks of streams in Eastern Australia. Their feet are webbed with five-clawed toes and the male has a poison spur on each hind leg. They grow up to 60 cm long and eat crayfish, earthworms and insect larvae.
Floral Emblem of New South Wales
The botanical and Aboriginal names for the waratah both mean ‘seen from afar.’ This is because the brilliant scarlet red, 10-12 centimetre flowers look like bright beacons in the bush. The waratah (Telopea speciosissima), a tall shrub with leathery leaves, was proclaimed the State’s floral emblem in 1962.
Bird Emblem of New South Wales
The bird emblem of New South Wales is the kookaburra or laughing jackass (Dacelo novaeguineae), one of the largest kingfishers in the world. These attractive white, brown, and blue birds have a very distinctive laughing call that is often heard in the early morning. Kookaburras live mainly in the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia on a diet of lizards, snakes and insects.
Information Sourced from:
Flags and Emblems of Australia – Jill B Bruce
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