Recent Issue of Crux Australis: Issue No. 151

The most recent issue of Crux Australis is No. 151 [Volume 37/3] nominally issued for the period July - September 2024.  This issue was published in June 2025, together with Issue No. 150.   

Renewal of membership for Volume 37 (2024) was not sought due to delays.  The membership year will change to a financial year from 1 July 2025.  Renewals will be sought at a reduced rate for the 2024/25 year, now that Issue No. 151 has been issued.

The contents of Issue No. 151 are:

SUMMARY  -  Issue No. 151 includes two richly illustrated articles on flag etiquette and design, each complement to the other, the two separated by a summary of one of the neatest flag designs anywhere, that of the remote Pacific Island republic of Nauru.

An unofficial flag of a certain splendour is that of St Pierre and Miquelon, a tiny part of France at the edge of Canada.  Like The Mouse That Roared, SPM may inhibit Trumpian ambition to absorb Canada into the US.

A detailed history of the flag of Eritrea follows, and a quiz concerned with flags of eagles beyond the United States (for these, see edition No. 149) - and another bird on a territorial Australian flag of particularly cluttered design. T

The final section relates to incidents at the Olympic Games that involved the treatment of flags, including a gift from the Emperor of Japan.  The very last page is something else altogether.

Summary by Tony Burton,

Editor 

The contents of Issue No. 150 are:

SUMMARY  - Crux Australis No. 150 opens with an account of the reinterment ceremony in Donington, Lancashire, the family home of English navigator Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) whose remains and coffin-plate intact were discovered during excavations in London for the extension of Euston Railway Station.  Flinders’ voyages in 1801-1803 completed the chart of the entire coastline of Australia, proving the continent to be an island.  The reburial was solemnised under the flags of the UK and Australia (the name suggested by Flinders in his report).

The flags of Australia’s seven capital cities and some regional centres are presented with suggestions for simplifying the city flags of Adelaide and Sydney. 

The role of abstractions rather than literal detail in flag design is illustrated, as are the bold flags of Riverside, California, and that of the 58th (2024) annual meeting of NAVA in Minnesota. 

A quiz of blue and white flags follows, chiefly inspired by an incident - again in the US - failing to distinguish the flag of Israel from that of Greece, leading to moronic vandalism.

The final section includes several reactions to and warnings over the use and risks of plagiarism and a diminishing quality of Artificial Intelligence product.  As to the last page, and regarding quality, blink, but the allegory in blue won’t go away.

Summary by Tony Burton,

Editor 

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Material Copyright to the Flag Society of Australia Inc and Pennant Advisory Services Pty Limited. Text and illustrations by Ralph Kelly. Web Design by Elizabeth Kelly of ELK Prints.