What is the Torres Strait Islander flag?

The Torres Strait Islander Flag was designed by Bernard Namok, a young artist from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, after winning a regional design competition in 1992. The flag was officially recognised by the Torres Strait Regional Authority on 14 May 1992 and proclaimed under the Flags Act 1953 by Governor-General Bill Hayden on 14 July 1995, the same day as the Aboriginal Flag.

The design has three horizontal bands of colour: green at the top and bottom, with a wide blue band across the centre, separated by two thin black lines. The green bands represent the land of the Torres Strait, the blue centre represents the waters of the strait between the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea, and the black lines represent the Torres Strait Islander people themselves.

In the centre of the flag sits a white dhari, the traditional dancer's headdress made from feathers and worn during ceremonial performances. Inside the dhari is a five-pointed white star. The five points stand for the five major island groups of the Torres Strait: the Eastern, Western, Central, Top Western (Near Western), and the Inner Islands which include Thursday Island. The star also represents the navigational tradition of seafaring peoples who have moved between the islands for thousands of years.

The Torres Strait Islander Flag flies alongside the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the National Flag at most public ceremonies in Australia. The two Indigenous flags together are commonly displayed at schools, sports events, parliaments, and citizenship ceremonies. Bernard Namok died in 1993, just one year after his flag was officially adopted. His son, Bernard Namok Jr, has spoken publicly about the flag's meaning and is a recognised guardian of the design.