Dr William Bland, an ex-convict, was also a prominent surgeon, humanitarian, social reformer and inventor.

The first Parliamentary elections in Australia were for the newly expanded Legislative Council of NSW in 1843.

Length

Length is the span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole.

The earliest known surviving photograph taken in Australia is a daguerreotype of Dr William Bland. It was probably produced between November 1844 and early January 1845.

William Charles Wentworth campaigned as a ‘Renegade Whig’ and Dr William Bland as an ‘Emancipist and Liberal’ for the City of Sydney district in the 1843 election. 

The canton is any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist (left) quarter.

The Colony of New South Wales celebrated its first free elections with violence and bloodshed.

The fly

The fly is the half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole. This term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag.

Police and soldiers were called out but could not control the excited mob in the first New South Wales elections.

The Hoist

The hoist is the half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole. This term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag.

Australia’s first venture into responsible government was also the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta six hundred and twenty-eight years earlier.

Width

Width refers to the span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole.