Media Release
03 September 2015
3 September is Australian National Flag Day.
Australian National Flag Day celebrates the first time the flag was flown on 3 September 1901 over the dome of the Exhibition Building in Melbourne.
On that day, Australia's first Prime Minister Edmund Barton announced the winners of a competition to find a flag for Australia.
Australian National Flag Day was later proclaimed by the Governor-General on 28 August 1996.
While we all try to keep our own family traditions alive, this occasion is an important opportunity to celebrate the number one symbol of our modern nation and its cultural and linguistic diversity.
Interested members of the community can find additional information on how to celebrate Australian National Flag Day and the protocols for flying the flag on the website www.itsanhonour.gov.au.
3 September also marks Merchant Navy Day. It is an opportunity to remember the service and sacrifice of thousands of Australia's merchant mariners during wartime who helped defend and shape our modern culturally diverse nation.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge the service of Norfolk Island resident, Mr Ralph Holloway, who many decades ago served in the Merchant Navy and was earlier this year award the Philippine Liberation Medal for his participation in the liberation of the Philippine Islands during World War II.
The Hon Gary Hardgrave
Administrator
Territory of Norfolk Island