South Australia, 1870

South Australia’s first flag proposals were Blue and Red Ensigns with a 4 star version of the Southern Cross in the fly and the two “pointers stars” (Alpha and Beta Centauri) placed under the Union Flag. In July 1870 the Colonial Office proposed that the badge (as proposed for the governor’s flag) “should be borne on an escutcheon in the fly of the Blue Ensign”, in other words, on a disk. To make the badge more distinctive and less likely to be confused with that of Victoria, the British Admiralty suggested in July 1870 that the stars be placed on a black disk and this should also be placed on the Red Ensign on South Australian Merchant vessels. However, it seems the disk was actually blue and as a result was not visible on the Blue Ensign.