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City of Lake Macquarie (NSW, Australia)

Last modified: 2015-06-27 by ian macdonald
Keywords: lake macquarie | windale | postcode | new south wales badge | aboriginal flag |
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[Flag of Lake Macquarie] image provided by Alexander Rosz, 6 May 2014

See also:


Description of the Lake Macquarie flag

The City of Lake Macquarie, a local government area of New South Wales, is just south of the City of Newcastle. It is made up of areas nearly surrounding Lake Macquarie, a saltwater lake open to the ocean through a channel at Swansea.

Lake Macquarie City Council has a flag for the whole of the Local Government Administration of the City. The flag is the coat of arms on a white field. The image and description is based on the Heraldry of the World site, which seems to be the version of the arms which appears on the flag, at least in the case of the flag taken all around the world by Graham Burgess (The Newcastle Herald story: http://www.theherald.com.au/story/471468/virtues-unfurled-in-exotic-places/. This version is slightly different from the black and white image on the council website at http://www.lakemac.com.au/about-council/history/coat-of-arms, in that the waratah in the crest is less recognisable, and there are no crosses on the scroll for the motto.

The council page includes an explanation identical to that found for Heraldry of the World other than the inclusion of an explanation for the crosses [the part about the iguana and the Awabakal is odd]:

The armorial bearings of the City of Lake Macquarie were issued through the College of Arms, London, in December 1970.

The main portion of the shield represents the waves of the lake. A two-masted schooner is superimposed on the shield representing the ‘Martha', which Captain William Reid sailed in on as the first white-man to set foot in Lake Macquarie in 1800.

In the centre of the upper portion of the shield is a fish representing the fishing industry and the close association of the city with the sea' s life. On either side of the fish is a black diamond featuring a tree in cross section representing the coal and timber industries respectively.

The base on which the shield stands represents the entrance to Lake Macquarie from the Pacific Ocean, with the surf breaking on the golden sands of the numerous beaches along the coastal foreshore of the city bordering the fertile green land.

The helm, or helmet, above the shield is capped with a heraldic wreath. The iguana, which stands upon the wreath, was the god of the Awabakal Tribe – the original inhabitants of Lake Macquarie. The iguana is holding a waratah bloom coloured in natural red and green.

The shield is supported on the left hand side by a pelican and on the right by a black swan. Both these birds inhabit Lake Macquarie.

On either side of the scroll featuring the motto is a cross to represent the earliest settler, Reverend Threlkeld, a missionary of the London Bible Society.

The motto - "Respice, Aspice, Prospice" - means "Survey the Past, Examine the Present, Look to the Future".

I haven't seen the flag flown at the council offices closely enough to comment on the arms used there.

The council has policies on flying flag and use of the City flag:  http://www.lakemac.com.au/downloads/D02010692%20%20Flag%20Policy%20-%20Council%20Policy%20-%20Version%203.pdf and http://www.lakemac.com.au/downloads/Use%20of%20Counci's%20Crest%20and%20Logo%20Policy.pdf.

The City flag is flown with the national, state and Aboriginal flags outside the Administration building in Speers Point (at the northern end of the lake) and with the national and state flags in the council chambers. The flag may be lent for use at events under certain conditions.
Jonathan Dixon, 6 May 2014

Concerning the differences between the Heraldry of the World description and the council page, it appears the crosses on the scroll in recognition of the Rev. Threlkeld are a newer addition to the LMCC coat of arms (circa 2008 it seems) and naturally the current city flag would bear the revised emblem.
Alexander Rosz, 9 May 2016


Flag of Windale

[Flag of Windale] image from this website

An article from 16 April 2003 at http://www.lakemac.com.au/news/news_details.asp?key=541:

Windale's Flag Blessed

Windale is the first Australian suburb to have its own flag. The Flag was blessed on Sunday 13 April by Catholic and Anglican ministers.
The joint blessing of the flag highlights the two churches working together for Windale. After a successful inaugural Windale Festival in 2001, the idea to design and produce a flag for the people of Windale was born.
The main body of the flag was the result of a design by Ray Cousins. Mr Cousins explains the design this way, ´On the broad base of black, representing the coal under our feet, bounded by green for the fields and white for our clean air. The flag bears the name of the suburb, Windale, the State, and the unique postcode. Proudly, the inscription is in a brown-soil colour, representing the community, the salt of the earth.´
The inclusion of the two symbols on the flag is the result of a suggestion by Roger Greenan. Mr Greenan says, ´Located on the upper hoist canton is the rondelle of the State of New South Wales of which we are part. This recognises the action by the State to improve the quality of life for people living in Windale. On the upper fly canton, the emblem of the aboriginal people, recognising their place within the community.´ Flying the flag is being encouraged at schools and other locations.

contributed by Olivier Touzeau, 10 January 2004