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Flag of South Australia
 
 
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The current state flag of South Australia, was officially adopted by the government of South Australia
South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
 in 1904.

The flag is based on the defaced
Defacement (flag)

Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol or charge to another flag. For example, the Flag of Australia is the British Blue Ensign defaced with the Crux in the Flag terminology#Description of standard flag parts and terms and the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter, beneath the Union...
 British Blue Ensign
Blue Ensign

File:Commandant Ducuing 061030-N-5555T-017.jpgThe Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom....
 with the state badge located in the fly
Flag terminology

The design and description of flags typically uses specialised flag terminology with precise and technical meanings, and is hence a form of jargon....
. The badge is a gold disc featuring a Piping Shrike
Piping Shrike

The Piping Shrike is the emblematic bird that appears on South Australia flag of South Australia, State Badge and Coat of arms of South Australia....
 with its wings outstretched.






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Flag of South Australia
The current state flag of South Australia, was officially adopted by the government of South Australia
South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
 in 1904.

The flag is based on the defaced
Defacement (flag)

Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol or charge to another flag. For example, the Flag of Australia is the British Blue Ensign defaced with the Crux in the Flag terminology#Description of standard flag parts and terms and the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter, beneath the Union...
 British Blue Ensign
Blue Ensign

File:Commandant Ducuing 061030-N-5555T-017.jpgThe Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom....
 with the state badge located in the fly
Flag terminology

The design and description of flags typically uses specialised flag terminology with precise and technical meanings, and is hence a form of jargon....
. The badge is a gold disc featuring a Piping Shrike
Piping Shrike

The Piping Shrike is the emblematic bird that appears on South Australia flag of South Australia, State Badge and Coat of arms of South Australia....
 with its wings outstretched. The badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig
Robert Craig

United States Army Second Lieutenant#United States Robert Craig was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic service as an infantry officer during the Allied invasion of Sicily of Sicily in World War II....
.

Previous flags


The first flag of South Australia was adopted in 1870. It too was a defaced British Blue Ensign, but with a black disc in the fly containing the Southern Cross
Crux

Crux is the List of constellations by area of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped Asterism and is commonly known as the Southern Cross because it is today visible only from the southern hemisphere, although it was visible near the horizon...
 and the two pointers (Alpha
Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri ; is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus and an established binary star system, Alpha Centauri AB ....
 and Beta Centauri
Beta Centauri

Beta Centauri , also known as Hadar or Agena, is the second brightest star in the constellation Centaurus and the list of brightest stars in the night sky....
).

South Australia then adopted a second flag in 1876, also a Blue Ensign, with a new badge. The badge design was an artistic rendition of the arrival of Britannia
Britannia

Britannia was the term originally used by the Roman Empire to refer to the island of Great Britain. The term was later used to describe a Roman province covering much of the island, apart from the area beyond the Antonine Wall belonging to the Picts in the north, which was known as Caledonia....
 (a woman in flowing garb and holding a shield, representing the new settlers) meeting an Aboriginal sitting with a spear on a rocky shoreline. A kangaroo
Kangaroo

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the Red Kangaroo, the Antilopine Kangaroo, and the Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo of the Macropus genus....
 appears to be carved into the rocks behind the Aboriginal. This flag was adopted after a request from the British Colonial Office for a new design over the old one due to its similarity to the flags of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

The flag of New Zealand is a Defacement Blue Ensign with the Flag of the United Kingdom in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right....
 and Victoria
Flag of Victoria

The flag of Victoria in Australia is a Union Flag Blue Ensign Defacement by the state badge of Victoria in the Flag terminology#Description of standard flag parts and terms....
.

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