According to Thomas, having a darker colour at the bottom would be more balanced and natural, much like looking at a sunset over the horizon. Putting the black on top of the red was also a deliberate act by Thomas to create an unsettling effect on those who saw it. Thomas was careful to create a flag that all Aboriginal groups could relate to.
The Aboriginal flag’s meaning became a source of pride and reinforced our identities as Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal Flag / Proportion 3:5Īlthough the design may appear simplistic, the meaning of the Aboriginal flag and Thomas’s art background helped to create one of the most powerful weapons against the governments assimilation agenda. Over the next few months while working at the Museum of South Australia, Thomas came up with a number of designs but finally (with the help of Gary Foley) chose the current Aboriginal flag. Thomas felt the need for a flag after attending the National Aborigines Day march in 1970 where the Union Jack was flying front and centre. The flag was designed in 1971 by Harold Thomas, a Luritja man from central Australia, who at the time had recently graduated with honours from the South Australian School of Art in 1969. You might be surprised to learn this didn’t happen by accident, but rather by design and perfect timing. To this day the Aboriginal flag provokes both pride and tension within Australian society.
The flag has been at the centre of protests and other monumental occasions in recent history. Ever since the Aboriginal flag was first flown publicly in Adelaide’s Victoria Square in 1971, the Aboriginal flag has become arguably the most powerful symbol of resistance within the ongoing fight for land rights and basic human rights.