Bowman flag, 1806

Australia’s coat of arms

The Emu and the Kangaroo

The Bowman flag, as it has come to be known, was flown at Archerfield, the property of John and Honor Bowman, at Richmond, NSW, to celebrate the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The flag exhibits the first recorded use of the kangaroo and emu as supporters of a shield and is probably the first flag designed in Australia.

News of Trafalgar—and of the death of Horatio Nelson on 21 October 1805—did not reach Sydney until April 1806, when it was published in the Colony’s only newspaper, the Sydney Gazette, on 13 April. The Governor declared the following Sunday, 20 April, a ‘Day of General Thanksgiving’. On this day Divine Service would be celebrated at Sydney, Parramatta, Castle Hill and Windsor—and attendance would be compulsory.

The rose, thistle and shamrock and the word ‘unity’ refer to the union of England, Scotland and Ireland, just recently completed in 1801. Nelson’s famous words, ‘England expects every man will do his duty’, were quoted in the Sydney Gazette report.

The flag remained with the Bowman family until 1905, the 100th anniversary of Trafalgar, when it was presented to the Richmond Superior Public School. It was transferred to the Mitchell Library in 1916 and has subsequently undergone preservation treatment.
Display item Bowman flag, 1806

 

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