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Blue Mud Bay (Northern Territory, Australia)

image by Jonathan Dixon, 24 September 2015

About the flag

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About the flag

At a Flags Australia meeting in May, Ron Strachan showed us a flag used at Blue Mud Bay. Unfortunately he can't tell us any more about it, and we're not even sure which way is the right way up. The flag is divided horizontally white and blue, separated by a black stripe, with a yellow disc with red outline in the centre.

Blue Mud Bay gives its name to legal case concerning rights over water in the intertidal areas of Aboriginal land. In 2008 the High Court decided that the water should be treated the same as the underlying land, and ceremonies celebrating this decision included white over blue "sea rights flags" placed in the intertidal zone.

I don't know that the flag with extra black, red and yellow is related to the sea rights flags, but the possibility of a connection was enough reason for me to make the image of the flag Ron showed us with white on top.
Jonathan Dixon, 24 September 2015

"On July 2008 the High Court of Australia confirmed that traditional owners of the Blue Mud Bay region in North-East Arnhem Land, together with traditional owners of almost the entire Northern Territory coastline, have exclusive access rights to tidal waters overlying Aboriginal land.

Upon the High Court decision community member Donald Nuwandjali Marawili requested that the Northern Land Council assist with the production of a flag for the Blue Mud Bay Celebration and Yilpara and for the future celebration and recognition of sea rights in the Northern Territory."

White symbolises the clouds; blue symbolises the sea; black symbolises the landowners, and red represents their blood; the yellow disc symbolises the sand on the beaches.
Source: https://anmm.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/raising-the-flag-for-national-reconciliation-week-2016-our-history-our-story-our-future/
Miles Li, 5 January 2017