Australian National Flag Day is celebrated on 3 September. It commemorates the day in 1901 (115 years ago) on which the Australian National Flag was first flown.  On that day Prime Minister Edmund Barton announced the winners of a competition to design a flag for Australia. A large flag, 5.5 by 11 metres (18 by 36 ft), was flown over the dome of the Royal Exhibition building  in Melbourne.

In 1901 a competition was help to design a new Federal flag and Federal Seal. The prize was to be 50 pounds and there were over 8000 entries. The competition was won by well known newsagent and stationer Thompsons, of Bourke-street east, Melbourne. Victoria

The following photograph and drawing show the winning entries. As you will see the largest star has been made smaller on our current flag.

Western Argus 1901