Launch at the Brisbane Town Hall

Councillor Tim Quinn, Deputy Lord Mayor of Brisbane and Adjunct Professor Michael Bryce, Director of Ausflag, Designer of the Olympic 2000 Bid Logo and Principal Design Adviser to SOCOG, will today open the above Exhibition.

Prof Bryce said: "Opinion polls Morgan and AC Nielsen now show that an absolute majority of Australians want their own flag. It is imperative that we find and proclaim a truly National Flag which represents all Australians equally before the 2000 Olympics, when Australia will be on display to the world."

In June 1997, members of the Design Institute of Australia, the Australian Graphic Design Association, the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Australian Writers and Art Directors, the Australian Textile Design Association, the Flag Society of Australia and the Society of Interior Designers of Australia were invited by Ausflag to enter the abovementioned Competition. Over 2,500 entries were received.

"The competition was a challenge to Australia′s professional designers to design a flag that represents and unites all Australians.

The brief was to produce a design which reflects and embraces: Australian identity, distinctiveness among the world′s national flags, simplicity, clarity of colour, timelessness, the rules of heraldry as they apply to form and colour, ease and cost of manufacture, respect for the history, institutions and character of Australians and a united Australia," Prof Bryce added.

In October 1997, the judges, representing the abovementioned organisations; Mr Russell Bevers, Mr Michael Bryce, Mr Tony Burton, Ms Louise Cox, Ms Janne Faulkner, Mr Ron Hurley and Mr Harold Scruby, chose the best 100 designs.

"The Competition and Exhibition was sponsored by Apple Computer Australia, Salmat, Fuji Xerox Australia, John Holland Industries and Flash Graphics with great assistance from the Brisbane City Council, all of whom provided substantial resources and funding, without which this event would not have been possible," he said.

"All the designs are on display on the Internet at www.ausflag.com.au. The Australian people are invited to vote on their favourite designs either at the exhibitions or via the Internet. Three winning designs will be announced later in 1998.

The Exhibition will be on display for three weeks. It will travel to other capital cities throughout Australia and be featured at `Design 99′ at Darling Harbour in Sydney. It is vital that we find the design which is preferred by the majority of Australians, as eventually the final decision about Australia′s new flag will go to a plebiscite. While prizes from Fuji Xerox and Apple Computer will be most generous, the real reward for the person who designs Our Own Flag will be glory," Prof Bryce said.