Flag of Christmas Island

What the flag of Christmas Island looks like

The flag has a 1:2 ratio and is split diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner, forming a green triangle at the upper right and a blue triangle at the lower left. In the middle is a gold disc holding a green map of the island.

The blue triangle carries the Southern Cross at the bottom left, similar to the flag of Australia, and the green triangle carries a golden bosun bird at the top right.

Christmas Island flag meaning and symbolism

The parts of the design are read as follows:

• Green stands for the land.
• Blue stands for the sea.
• The golden bosun bird is a subspecies of the white-tailed tropicbird and is considered a symbol of the island.
• The map shows the island's outline. The gold disc was first added to set off the green map and has become linked to the mining industry.
• The Southern Cross is the constellation seen in the southern sky, as on the flag of Australia.

History of the Christmas Island flag

The island was named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Company, who sailed past it on Christmas Day in 1643. It was settled in the late 19th century for phosphate mining and was run as part of the Straits Settlements, later Singapore. It was transferred to Australia in 1958.

In 1986 the Christmas Island Assembly held a competition for a flag and a coat of arms, with a $100 prize and 69 entries. The winner was Tony Couch, a Sydney resident who had worked on the island, and the flag was announced on 14 April 1986. It was declared official by the territory's administrator on 26 January 2002, according to the Shire of Christmas Island, although the Australian Government states that the flag is used in the community but has not been formally adopted. It is a flag for local use, not a national flag. The island, which is in the Indian Ocean much closer to Indonesia than to mainland Australia, has a population of fewer than 2,000.