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Sydney (Australia)

by Jonathan Dixon

See also:

Greater Sydney

This is an unofficial flag described as the "Greater Sydney" flag. It is a private design by John Vaughan of Australiana Flags. John designed the flag over 10 years ago to fill the void created by the refusal of the Sydney City Council to permit private citizens to fly the official Sydney flag. It is based on a flag shown on an 1832 flag chart and includes the crown and anchor from the Sydney arms. The flag is widely used in Sydney by hotels and others wanting to have a full set for their flagpoles (National, State, City), but not having access to an appropriately designed and authorised local flag. It also reflect the fact that the Council of the City of Sydney only has legal authority over the Central Business District and a small residential area - representing less than 5% of the area of the Sydney metropolitan area.
Ralph Kelly, 29 November 1999

1830s Sydney Flag

by Jaume Ollé, 13 Sep 2001

From Flags of Australia [vau83]:

Another design included in Captain John Nicholson's chart which appeared in the New South Wales Calendar and G.P.O. Directory of 1832 was a proposed flag for the Port of Sydney. It featured the Southern Cross and a three masted sailing ship. The Sydney Flag is now used as a house flag for the Sydney Maritime Museum, and as a decorative flag for the City of Sydney.

Jonathan Dixon, 15 September 2001

Sydney

From the official site at: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/

The flag of the City of Sydney

The design of the flag, which is flown from Sydney Town Hall, consists of the shield from the Arms granted by the College of Arms in London on 30th July, 1908.
It comprises:
Top Left: The Arms of Thomas Townshend, Viscount Sydney, Principal Under-Secretary of State in 1788 (after whom the City was named), in honour of his position in the English administration at the time of the City's foundation.
Top Centre: The Naval Flag of England, in allusion to the foundation of the City by Captain Phillip, a Naval Captain. From the beginning Sydney was the naval base of Australia. The red cross on this is overlaid with the Globe and two Stars, the principal features of Captain Cook's Arms, which were granted as a posthumous honour for his service in the discovery of Australia, whilst commissioned naval officer.
Top Right: The Arms of the first Lord Mayor of Sydney, the Hon. Thomas Hughes, M.L.C., a compliment accorded by the Council to the Lord Mayor, during whose first term of office the increased status was granted and in whose fourth term the Arms were settled.
Bottom Centre: A ship, with subdivision of the field into blue and gold, indicative of a shipping port in the Golden South.

researched by Phil Nelson 14 August 1999

Also at www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au, is a story on the City of Sydney's new (1996) coat of arms (the flag was taken from the old COA) The new COA contains the crown and anchor symbol which I spoke of and another interesting change is from an Aborigine and a sailor to a serpent with Eora (Sydney a rea tribe) markings and a knotted rope.
Jonathan Dixon, 15 August 1999

Sydney Waterways

by Jonathan Dixon

I saw this flag on a Waterways vessel - it was actually a water version of the street cleaner trucks. Anyway it's probably Sydney Waterways or something like that. The image is really dodgy and done in a hurry, but it gives you the idea. The proportion are probably more like 2:3, too.
Jonathan Dixon, 01 January 2000