Queensland Flags & Emblems
The state flag of Queensland is a British Blue Ensign defaced with the state badge on a white disc in the fly. The badge is a light blue Maltese Cross with an imperial crown in the centre of the cross.The flag dates from 1876, with minor variations, and the badge was designed by William Hemmant, the Colonial Secretary and Treasurer of Queensland in 1876.
Queensland Coat of Arms
The Queensland Coat of Arms, the oldest State Arms in Australia, was granted to the Colony of Queensland by Queen Victoria in 1893. The Coat of Arms is a heraldic device, symbolising the Queen’s constitutional authority in the State. In line with economic trends in the nineteenth century, primary industries take pride of place on the Arms. Rural activities are represented by a sheaf of wheat, the heads of a bull and a ram, and by two stalks of sugar cane.
The importance of mining is indicated by a column of gold rising from a heap of quartz. The State motto, Audax at Fidelis, means “Bold but faithful”. The Coat of Arms was given a more modern rendering when the supporters, the red deer and the brolga, were assigned in 1977, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year. The brolga is one of Queensland’s most distinctive native birds. The red deer was introduced from the royal herds near London.