Commonwealth Star
Seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia
The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Pointed Star or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star and heraldic device symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901, originally as a six-pointed star.
Six points of the star represent the six original states of the Commonwealth of Australia, while the seventh point represents the territories and any other future states of Australia. The original star had only six points; however, the proclamation in 1905 of the Territory of Papua led to the addition of the seventh point in 1909 to represent it and future territories.
The Commonwealth Star is one of the elements of the Australian flag and also features on the Australian coat of arms.
01Usage
The Commonwealth Star is found on both the flag of Australia and the coat of arms of Australia. On the Australian flag the Star appears in the lower hoist quarter, beneath the Union Flag. In the coat of arms, the Star forms the crest, atop a blue and gold wreath. The Star also appears on the badges of the Australian Defence Force and Australian Federal Police.
The Star is also used on numerous Australian medals, including the National Police Service Medal, the Defence Force Service Medal, the civilian Star of Courage, the Public Service Medal, the Ambulance Service Medal and the Australian Police Medal.
The coat of arms of Queen Mary Donaldson, spouse of King Frederik X of Denmark, includes two Commonwealth Stars, to symbolise the Queen's Australian heritage.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Commonwealth Star”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Commonwealth Star.svg by Sodacan, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.
