The Aboriginal Flag Will Fly Permanently on the Sydney Harbour Bridge From Today

Next time you peer at the Sydney Harbour Bridge — whether you're a local who passes it daily, or just an occasional visitor to the city — you'll spot the Australian Aboriginal flag flying atop the iconic structure. The New South Wales Government has today, Monday, July 11, announced that the flag is now in place permanently on the landmark.

The flag was already waving above the structure for NAIDOC Week which, historically, has been among the rare occasions that it has graced the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Indeed, before now, tje Aboriginal flag was only on display above the harbour for 19 days annually, including on Australia Day, Sorry Day and during Reconciliation Week.

"From today, one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks will celebrate our Indigenous people and provide an everyday reminder of our nation's rich history," said NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, announcing the news.

"Our nation's story is rich and enduring, and flying the Aboriginal flag permanently above the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a celebration and acknowledgment of that. Honouring this commitment is part of our ongoing commitment to recognise the history, culture, excellence and achievements of Aboriginal people, and is a fitting end to NAIDOC Week 2022."

Boyd159 via Wikimedia Commons

To fly atop the bridge permanently, the Aboriginal flag replaces the NSW State flag, which'll be relocated "to a place of prominence as part of the revitalisation of the Macquarie St East precinct redevelopment," the NSW Government advised.

The move comes after an eventful few months involving the Aboriginal flag, after the NSW Premier originally pledged to give it a permanent berth atop the country's most famous man-made structure back in February, then announced in June that it'd become a reality by the end of 2022.

Last month, when that last promise was made, it was also revealed that a third flagpole would be added to the bridge, allowing the Australian flag, NSW State flag and Aboriginal flags all to top the structure side by side. But, that was set to come with a hefty price tag, with $25 million committed in the 2022–23 NSW budget.

Instead, those funds will now be allocated towards Indigenous initiatives. "This builds on the NSW Government's commitment to improve outcomes for Aboriginal people across NSW, following a $716 million investment in this year's budget to prioritise Closing the Gap initiatives," said NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Franklin.

"I am proud to be part of the government that will permanently fly the Aboriginal flag above the Sydney Harbour Bridge and I am happy that a further investment will be made to deliver real outcomes for Aboriginal people across NSW."

VICTORY!!!

A proud moment & a powerful ending.

I want to extend appreciation for everyone fighting injustice.

Don't stop until you're proud & stay persistent 👊🏽@MayorDarcy @IWCouncil @david4wyong @AIA_SydneyCBD

Aboriginal flag to replace NSW flag https://t.co/A1q26dx3lR

— Cheree Toka (@Chereetoka) July 10, 2022

The move to fly the Aboriginal flag permanently follows a five-year-long campaign by Kamilaroi woman Cheree Toka, who also launched a Change.org campaign in 2020 to continue to call on the NSW government to make this exact move.

"The Aboriginal flag is a reminder that the country has a history before European arrival," Toka said two years ago. "I think it's really important to have a symbolic gesture on the bridge that identifies the true history of Australia, which is a starting point for conversation around greater issues affecting the Indigenous population."

After the first three years of Toka's campaign, she had amassed more than 157,000 digital signatures and the required 10,000 paper-based signatures to bring the issue to NSW parliament. However, when it was debated in the final NSW parliamentary session of 2019, the result then was that it would cost too much to construct a third flagpole to see the Aboriginal flag flying daily — which was what sparked her crowdfunding campaign to raise the $300,000 quoted by the government to 'fund the flag'.

Also in Aboriginal flag news this year, the Australian Government unveiled a copyright deal at the end of January with Luritja artist Harold Thomas, who designed the symbol, to make it freely available for public use.

The Aboriginal flag is now flying permanently on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, effective Monday, July 11.

Top image:  Mary and Andrew via Flickr.