What is the significance of national symbols?

National symbols are significant because they give citizens a shared visual and ceremonial language for expressing belonging to a country. In Australia, the flag, the coat of arms, the Commonwealth Star, the Southern Cross, the kangaroo and emu, the golden wattle, the green and gold colours, and Advance Australia Fair are recognised in law or proclamation as the official symbols of the Commonwealth.

Symbols matter at moments of high ceremony. At a citizenship ceremony, the new citizen stands before the flag, recites the Australian Citizenship Pledge, and sings the national anthem for the first time as an Australian. At ANZAC Day dawn services, the flag is lowered to half-mast and the Ode of Remembrance is recited beneath the coat of arms. At the opening of Parliament, members and senators are sworn in beneath the Commonwealth Star and the symbols of all six states arrayed on the shield.

Symbols also matter at ordinary moments. Children at school assemblies raise the flag and sing the anthem. Sporting teams play in green and gold. Australian passports carry the coat of arms on the cover. Australian-made products often display the kangaroo or wattle as a sign of origin. Each of these uses reinforces the connection between the individual citizen and the larger national community.

Beyond the official emblems, Australian national identity also draws on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags (recognised under the Flags Act 1953), on iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and Uluru, on cultural figures from Don Bradman to the ANZACs, and on songs such as Waltzing Matilda. The official symbols set the formal frame, but the working national identity is the much wider set of references Australians invoke when describing their country to themselves and to the world.