City of Wollongong (NSW, Australia)

Last modified: 2010-01-09 by jonathan dixon
Keywords: wollongong | stars: southern cross | southern cross | stars: orion | orion | cross: red fimbriated white | diagonal: ascending (yellow) |
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• Wollongong
• Description of the Flag

See also:

• Australia
• New South Wales
• Illawarra Region
• New South Wales local and regional flags

Wollongong

According to Wikipedia, Wollongong City Council is a local government area covering the northern and central suburbs of Wollongong, the 3rd largest city in the state of New South Wales, after Sydney and Newcastle. It is located in the Illawarra region of the east coast of Australia, 82 kilometres south of Sydney. The City of Wollongong has an area of 684 square kilometres, with 181912 people counted in the area in the 2001 Census. The name Wollongong is believed to mean "sound of the sea" in the local Aboriginal language, although other explanations have been offered, such as "great feast of fish".
Valentin Poposki, 9 June 2008

Description of the Flag

On page 5 of the 60 stories for 60 years PDF document on the city website, the city coat of arms, flag and logo are presented:

"In 1981 Wollongong Broadcasting Pty Limited (Station 2WL) promoted a competition for a Wollongong Flag which was sponsored by the then Bank of New South Wales (now Westpac).

A panel of judges chose the entry of local citizen, Mr John Mulhall of Cringila, which was modified to its present version.

Incorporated in Flag design are:

• The City of Wollongong's Motto - The City between the sea and the mountain
• The City's official colours - Blue and Gold (Blue of the sea - Gold of the sands)

Interpretation of Flag Design:
The blue top section represents the blue skies over Wollongong, the dividing diagonal strip represents the golden coastline of the area and the wealth of the land and blue at base represent the ocean.

An adaptation of the City's Crest, which also incorporates some features of the Coat of Arms of the State of New South Wales features the stars of the Southern Cross placed in the centre on a red cross. Stars on the bottom represent the constellation Orion which is at its brightest over Wollongong. (sic) It is the only flag on which two constellations are represented."

The image of the flag clearly shows that the flag in a photo on the Illabunda Ski Lodge site is either showing the reverse or the photo is mirrored.
Valentin Poposki, 9 June 2008