Last modified: 2005-10-15 by francisco gregoric
Keywords: tierra del fuego | albatross | fire | stars: 5 | star: 5 points (white) | stars: southern cross | competition | penguin | antartida | islas del atlántico sur |
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![[TdF flag]](../images/a/ar-tdf.gif)
The province consists officially of:
It is known that Argentina, in order to add
strength to it’s claim over the british territories
of Falklands Islands and South Georgia and South
Sandwich Islands and also to it’s
antarctic claim
(25°W to
74°W,
overlapping the british and chilean claims), joined all
these territories to it’s (undisputed) mainland province
of “Fireland”, under the common name «Tierra del Fuego,
Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur».
(Morocco did something similar with
Western Sahara, and the trick is
not new in the history of annexations and claims.)
António Martins, 21 Dec 1999
In June 1999 was celebrated contest about new flag of the
province of Tierra del Fuego. The winning flag was designed
by Teresa Beatriz Martínez, an architect from Entre Ríos.
The design is called «the Albatross». The orange part, fire
color, stands fro the geography of the larger island. The blue
color stands for the sky and the sea surrounding this province
and bonds it to the national flag; the stars of the Southern
Cross, which guided so many travellers to these regions, also
symbolize the southern location of the islands and other
territorial elements taht make up the province. The Albatross
is a local bird and its flight symbolizes freedom. The provinces
and regions of Southern Chile and
Argentina selected similar patterns and colors.
Jaume Ollé, 01 Jul 1999, 18 Jan 2000 and 10 Aug 2000
tdf.gif)
Untill the adoption of a local emblem, the national coat of arms
was used in the territory. In April 26th, 1990, by law 23.775, the
Territory of Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur
was upgraded to province status and the new emblem was adopted in
short term.
Jaume Ollé, 10 Aug 2000
According to Roman Klimeš in [klm99],
the current arms of the territory were devised by Rosana Giménez and
introduced on 24 December 1992. The red “garland” around the shield is
in fact a flaming glory (aurora). The supporter is an albatros (Klimeš
wrote Gules but it is Azure, since his image matches the above).
Ivan Sache, 04 May 2001
The provincial coat of arms: an oval shield (?)
featuring a local landscape, with four emperor penguins
in foreground against a background with a setting (or
rising?) sun behind a mountain over a rocky shore
(fjord?); shield encircled with a stylized red
aurora and the whole is set on the breast of a highly
stylized blue albatross.
António Martins, 21 Dec 1999
According to [klm99], the first
arms for the territory were introduced during the International
Geophysical Year (which covered two years, 1957-1958).
They appear on a first-day cover on 12 July 1958. Description is
Azure (of the shade of the national flag), a Fess Argent: in Chief,
a cartographic depiction of the territory Argent, flanked in Dexter
by an Anchor Argent with a Sun Or and a
Phrygian Cap Gules and in Sinister by th Southern Cross Argent; in
Base, an Iceberg and a sailing Ship upon icy Waters; above the
Shield a rising Sun in its Glory Or. The supporters are tow Penguins
proper standing on a compartment of Ice. On the compartment is a
Scroll of the Argentinian national Colours.
Ivan Sache, 04 May 2001
![[TdF previous flag?]](../images/a/ar-tdf!o.gif)
This flag could be an early proposal or a commercial banner of some
sort related to this land. It was once on a website (I found it some years
ago and don’t recall the link), labelled "bandera" (="flag"),
a flag supposedly representing Tierra del Fuego.
Jaume Ollé wrote me that he has never seen it before nor anyone has ever
presented him this flag, and that the present flag has been the only one
flown.
Blas Delgado, 19 Feb 2002