Listed below are the main books that have been published in Australia on the subject of flags. All but three books are out of print, but copies of most of the other books are likely to be available at local libraries.
A small selection of books published internationally are also listed. While there are several flagbooks currently available in Australian bookstores, most are little more than a collection of illustrations of national flags with simplistic text written by writers who are not vexillologists, so these have not been included below.
Australian Bibliography |
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Flag and Nation: Australians and Their National Flag Since 1901
Elizabeth Kwan
UNSW Press, Sydney, NSW
Published 2006
OUT OF PRINT |
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Australian Flags
Australian Government: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2023 - 4th Edition. First published 1995 with different cover.
ON-LINE PDF IS AVAILABLE AT www.pmc.gov.au |
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Australian Symbolss
Australian Government: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2023 - 2nd Edition. First published 2000 with different cover.
ON-LINE PDF IS AVAILABLE AT www.pmc.gov.au |
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Australia's National Symbolss
Australian Government: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2023 - 1st Edition. First published 2000 with different cover. 10 individual posters for each symbol.
ON-LINE PDFs of each poster are AVAILABLE AT www.pmc.gov.au |
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Vexillogistics: An Illustrated and Practical Guide to Flag Design
Tony Burton
published by Tony Burton in 2015. Available for purchase through Flags Australia (click here for link).
CURRENTLY IN PRINT
Profusely illustrated book on flag designing. It is a practical guide that explains the unique aspects of flag design with detailed information on design elements and the pageantry and significance of flags. The focus is on national flags, but it is also relevant to design concepts for Australia and to other categories of flags. |
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Murphy's Signals Hobart Town
Mark L Risby
Forty South Publishing, Lindisfarne, Tas.
Published 2013
Richly illustrated large format hardback showing the hand-drawn flag charts created by Edward Murphy in the 1840s and 1850s. These charts are the source for the Van Diemen's Land Ensign and the book shows numerous Hobart shipping house flags. |
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Australian Flags and Emblems
Karen Tayleur
Ralph Kelly (flag illustrations)
Black Dog Books (Walker Books), Newtown, NSW
published 2013
[Note: this is a Juvenile Non-Fiction Book]
An excellent resource for students with fresh text and large clear illustrations of Australian, state and territory flags. There are clever explanations of the coats of arms and good histories of the states.
CURRENTLY IN PRINT |
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Flags and Emblems of Australia
Jill B Bruce
Jan Wade (Illustrator)
Five Senses Education, Seven Hills, NSW
Revised Edition 2013 [first edition 1991]
[Note: this is a Juvenile Non-Fiction Book]
CURRENTLY IN PRINT |
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Flags and Coats of Arms
Samone Bos
Macmillan Education Australia, South Yarra,Vic. Published 2011
[Note: this is a Juvenile Non-Fiction Book]
Part of the series Symbols of Australia, the book is expensive and the content is flawed. The text is simplistic and the flag drawings are clip art, with errors in the designs of the flags ACT, NSW, Qld, and WA, whilst those for the other states are poorly drawn. |
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The Night We Made the Flag: a Eureka story
Carole Wilkinson.
Sebastian Ciaffaglione (Illustrator)
Black Dog Books, Fitzroy, Vic
Published 2008, 2nd edition 2013
[Note: this is a Juvenile Fiction Book] |
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The Australian Flag: The First 100 Years
Geoff Hocking
The Five Mile Press, Noble Park Victoria
published 2002 |
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The Eureka Flag: Our Starry Banner
Dorothy Wickham, Clare Gervasoni, and Val D'Angri
Ballarat Heritage Services, Ballarat,
published 2000 |
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The Australian Flag: Colonial Relic or Contemporary Icon?
Carol A Foley
The Federation Press, Leichhardt NSW,
published 1996 |
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Flags of the Nations
Ralph Bartlett
National Australia Bank, Melbourne, last published1994 [free folded poster, various editions over a number of prior years][illustrations only, except for some text on scouting] |
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The Eureka Flag
Len Fox
Len Fox, Potts Point NSW,
published 1992 |
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Flags of Australia
John C Vaughan
Woolworths Ltd, Sydney,
Published 1984 [poster reprinted on several occasions with some revisions, also issued as a booklet in 1987] |
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The Flag Book: Australia
Arthur H Smout
Lions Club of Brisbane, Hamilton Central Queensland, 1982 - 3rd edition. First published 1968.
[Also published as Our Flag...and How to Fly It, K G Murray Publishing, 1970 - the same book with different cover]
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Beneath the Southern Cross
Frank Cayley
AH & AW Reed Pty Ltd, Terry Hills NSW
published 1980
[This is a re-issue of Flag of Stars - same text but colour images moved to centre section] |
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Unfurled: Australia's Flag
G H Swinburne
Sirius Publication, Melbourne Published 1969
[This book is NOT recommended - it is mostly a patriotic history of the British Empire and Australia with negligible vexillological information] |
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Flag of Stars
Frank Cayley
Rigby Ltd, Adelaide
Published 1966
[The first book published about Australian flags] |
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International Bibliography |
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The Flag Book
Moira Butterfield
Published by Lonely Planet Kids, Carlton, VIC.
Published 2019
[Highly recommended. Whilst targeted to children 9 - 12 years old, it is suitable for people of all ages. It provides a review of the flags of all national flags (and some states) and provides info on each country and its flag. There are numerous illustrations, with large flag drawings and photos of the flag flying or other scenes. Some pages are about different aspects of flags, such as terminology, sports flags, and flag tales. Large page format 230 x 305 mm.] |
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Flags of the Commonwealth
A. Wyn Beasley
Published by Tross Publishing, Wellington, NZ
Published 2016
[A comprehensive review of the flags of the countries and territories within the Commonwealth. It goes beyond the current flags by providing each country's flag history. There are numerous illustrations, though most are smaller than would be preferred.] |
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Fly the World's Flags
Michael M A Parke
Third edition self published by Michael Parke, NZ,
Published 2018
(not currently available)
[A comprehensive listing of days when flags can be flown, where the day has significance in the country. A unique list, including images of flags and coats of arms] |
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New Wave Facts About Flags
Black Dog Publishing (no author identified)
Black Dog Publishing Ltd, London
Published 2011
[a creative book aimed at young adults, with lots of interesting flag material] |
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The South African Flag Book
Andreis P Burgers
Protea Book House, Pretoria
Published 2008
[Winner of the Vexillon for 2009] |
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Pictorial Book of Maritime Flags of the World
Nozomi Kariyasu
Sairyusha Publishing, Tokyo
Published 2008
[Text is in Japanese, with English captions added. A very comprehensive array of maritime flags that are rarely published.] |
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Complete Flags of the World
Dorling Kindersley (no author identified)
Dorling Kindersley, London
6th edition published 2014
[Originally published in 1997 as the Ultimate Pocket Flags of the World] |
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The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord & Conflict
Howard M Madaus & Whitney Smith
VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, California
Published 2006
[Winner of the Vexillon for 2007] |
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British Flags and Emblems
Graham Bartram
Flag Institute, York England and Tuckwell Press, East Linton Scotland
Published 2004 |
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I Stand For Canada
Rick Archbold
Macfarlane Walter & Ross, Toronto
Published 2002 |
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Pavillons Nationaux et Marques Distinctives
Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine [SHOM]
SHOM, Brest France
Published 2000 (updates to 2010).
New paperback edition 2019.
[Whilst not identified in the publication, the editor was Armand du Prayat] [This is the 8th edition of a series of French official flag books first published in 1858]
[Winner of the Vexillon for 2001] |
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The World Encyclopedia of Flags
Alfred Znamierowski
Lorenz Books, London
Published 1999
[Several abridged versions of this book have been published with various titles]
[Winner of the Vexillon for 2003]
[New edition in 2020 - same content, but some small changes] |
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Flags of the Native Peoples of the United States
Donald T Healy
North American Vexillological Association, Volumes 3/4 of Raven: A Journal of Vexillology, Trenton New Jersey
Published 1997
[Winner of the Vexillon for 1999] |
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The World of Flags: A Pictorial History
William Crampton
Studio Editions, London
Published 1990
[one of several books by William Crampton, winner of the Vexillon for 1991] |
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The Complete Guide to Flags
William Crampton
Kingfisher Books, London
Published 1989 |
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Flags at Sea
Timothy Wilson
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, for the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
First published 1986. Reissued in 1997 by Chatham Publishing, with different cover |
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Flags of the World
E M C Barraclough and William Crampton (editors)
Frederick Warne, London
Published 1981
[This was the last edition of a series of books with the same title, first published by Frederick Warne in 1897] |
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Flags Through the Ages and Across the World
Whitney Smith
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York
Published 1975
[An abridged edition was published in 1980 as Flags and Arms Across the World] |