The Night We Made the Flag
News | Posted by Carole on Tuesday 26 August 2008
I have a new book out. It is my very first picture book.
It tells the story of how the Eureka Flag was made. The Eureka Flag is an important symbol in Australian history. It was the flag flown by Ballarat gold diggers in 1854 when they were rebelling against the government. It has become a symbol of democracy and free speech.
It is a fictional story. The makers of the flag have not been recorded, however there are legends within three families that certain women made it. I have written a story about how they might have done it. The book has lovely illustrations by Sebastian Ciaffaglione. You can see some of the pictures here. Click where it says Look Inside.
There are some facts that we know from the flag itself:
- It is huge (or at least it was, a lot of it has been cut off for souvenirs).
- It is sewn by hand.
- The white stars are made from lawn, which was what women made their petticoats from in those days.
- There is a pin sewn into one of the seams.
- There is a small M or W written on the flag near one of the stars.
I used these facts to make up a story about how the flag might have been made.
The flag is displayed at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. You can see a picture of the flag at the Gallery website. You can also read about the history of the rebellion and the flag. There is an entry in Wikipedia too.
