Southern Cross
The Southern Cross is thought to represent Australia's position in the Southern Hemisphere (see Southern Cross Flag). It has been used as a symbol of Australia since in the 1820's when there were crown colonies of the British Empire in Australia. The National Colonial Flag for Australia was the first such concept to depict the Southern Cross.
Some claim that the Southern Cross is not explicitly Australian but could represent any nation at all in the southern hemisphere. As well as the Australian flag, it also already appears on the flags of Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and New Zealand.
Read more about this topic: Australian Flag Debate
Famous quotes containing the words southern and/or cross:
“As it grew darker, I was startled by the honking of geese flying low over the woods, like weary travellers getting in late from Southern lakes, and indulging at last in unrestrained complaint and mutual consolation. Standing at my door, I could hear the rush of their wings; when, driving toward my house, they suddenly spied my light, and with hushed clamor wheeled and settled in the pond. So I came in, and shut the door, and passed my first spring night in the woods.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It was mankind that hung on the cross for two thousand years: and a terrible god practiced his cruelty and called it “love.””
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)