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Current Issue of Crux Australis: Issue No. 141 The most recent issue of Crux Australis is No. 141 [Volume 35/1] issued for the period January - March 2022. The contents are:
SUMMARY While a coat of arms or solid emblem is the formal device of sovereign states, at the popular level no other symbol represents national identity with quite the flexibility of the national flag, a theme explored in two essays and a review of the second decennial edition of Symbols of Australia: Imagining a Nation. Gateway to the year, January invites reflection on Australia's foundation as a nation on a European model, but also its disruption of a much older social structure, the context for an appraisal of the relatively recent Aboriginal flag. Identity is not confined to the secular: the edition also considers the symbols of Sikhism, the fifth largest faith community in the world. However, on the secular side, national identity finds expression today largely in republics, Barbados the latest former colony to make this transition since independence in 1966, a course that some suggest Australia emulate, and exciting a refrain that constitutional change inevitably entails change of flag. Few proposals show real grasp of good design. One encouraging possibility already out there portrays Australia in itself, unsullied and transcending such factional allegiances exemplified by those hijacking historical flags from their original context, and weirdly dishonouring these upside down. Canadians in contrast are not confused as to their flag, and when it comes to colour nuance, alors, just ask the French.
Commentary by Tony Burton
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© 2021 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. |