Wake Up Australia

[Dianaa]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

Dianna,

You raised the issue using soldiers as examples. Don't worry though, soldiers whether serving or retired, are used to folks using us for their own gain. Good luck with your quest.

Ron

There is no gripe and I have nothing to gain and certainly not on the backs of soldiers.

As I said in my earlier posts Aussie Soldiers fought under the Union Flag for more than half of the last century, if there was an Australian National Flag present it was always with the Union Flag atop the main flagstaff. Both my Grandfathers fought under the Union Flag, one a RAE sapper on the Somme and one a RAAF pilot officer with the RAF.

[malcolm erik bogaert]

Dianna you are quite wrong on one point the lands in Scotland were not gifted to the English toffs at all rather the establishment in London took the sons of the old chiefs and turned them into English Gentlemen! In some cases they were much worse than the old enemy as regarding the clearances etc...however one plus point in all this is.that the colonys benefited greatly by the influx of good highland stock...best regards malcol m

[motto]

Those who hold a grudge against the Poms for past misdeeds should also remember that the people represented by that flag virtually stood alone when the NAZI juggernaut looked like realising the dreams of the insane criminal/s running the show.

I for one am not ashamed to be associated with them and have no problem with the Union Flag being in the corner of our own. It is not a symbol of domination, it merely represents our roots as the Southern cross represents where we are now. What may be or is yet to come is in the blue. At least that's the way I see it.

The Canadians changed their flag because they had to to mollify the separatists. I see no good reason to change our own. I like it the way it is.

As far as the aboriginals and their grievances are concerned, just one question to throw a different light on the subject. How would they have fared if the Japanese had overrun the country? We all know the answer to that one. It's about time they took responsibility for their own future instead of blaming the evil white man for all their problems. They will never get anywhere until they do.

David

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Dianaa

Ron

There is no gripe and I have nothing to gain and certainly not on the backs of soldiers.

As I said in my earlier posts Aussie Soldiers fought under the Union Flag for more than half of the last century, if there was an Australian National Flag present it was always with the Union Flag atop the main flagstaff. Both my Grandfathers fought under the Union Flag, one a RAE sapper on the Somme and one a RAAF pilot officer with the RAF.

An eloquent defence for the current flag.

[Dianaa]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

An eloquent defence for the current flag.

But seemingly not adequate for our cousins the Canadians to keep the Union Flag in their canton.

[cliff]

OK enough about our different flags & flag history has been said so can we please leave the comments at that now

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by cliff

OK enough about our different flags & flag history has been said so can we please leave the comments at that now

Cliff, I hear you. Baiting will cease on my part, tho' it was fun!

[Lynn Eades]

We too have our flag issues, for similar reasons. I withheld my "opinion" which is rare for me, but I must say I thought the thread was an interesting one. I particularly enjoyed Dianaa's posts.
I am surprised Breaker Morant never came up.
Is it correct that the Aussie forces have only ever fought under their own commanders since that famous event?

[motto]

Australian troops served under British command many times and in many places after those executions were carried out. Diana mentioned an example where her grandfather served with the RAF although he was RAAF. Perhaps the best known example would be during the Western Front debacle. The tragedy of Fromelles has had an airing of late due to the discovery of the mass graves and it still hurts. If you listen to the song 'Last Man From Dunolly' you will know exactly what I'm referring to. Australian troops were in Singapore under British control when Percival surrendered. They were also under Monty in the Western Desert.

What did change was that the power that allowed the British authorities to execute Australian servicemen was removed. It never happened again.

David

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

I am surprised Breaker Morant never came up.

But seeing as you mention him....

There was a story in one of the early editions of "Wartime" magazine from the AWM dealing with him. One of the photos accompanying the article showed his coffin before the burial (this was 1902), and it was draped with the Australian Flag. It struck me as surprising that the caption noted that this was "the 4th version of the flag"! Get that? The flag that was first flown in Sep 1901 was up to it's 4th evolution by 1902!! Changes included the positioning of the stars, the length of the points of the stars, and the number of points of each star. It was not until 1908 that our current flag was finalised!