West Coast and Eyre Peninsula (South Australia)

Last modified: 2015-06-22 by ian macdonald
Keywords: west coast | eyre peninsula | map | colour gradient |
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• Flag competition
  • Competition winner
  • Further developments

See also:

• South Australia
• South Australian local flags

Flag competition

Valentin Poposki has pointed out this report of a flag competition. The competition is for a flag for the West Coast and Eyre Peninsular region of South Australia, to "give the region an identity". The region is not a formal entity, and the competition is sponsored by a local member of state parliament, Liz Penfold, although the intended region seems to include the whole Eyre Peninsular, not just the parts that are contained in her electorate of Flinders.

While entries can be "quirky, fun or serious", there is a single required component - an outline of the coastline from the Western Australia border to the top of the Spencer Gulf.

Has a map on the flag ever been a requirement in another competition? It seem slightly strange, although this particular outline could work well.
Jonathan Dixon, 23 October 2008

Competition winner

In the Port Lincoln Times, 4 December 2008, Stacey Davidson presents the winner of the Eyre Peninsula flag competition. Shaun Thomas, the winner of the competition explained his design as follows:

"[...]

I found it impossible to convey the breadth and diversity of the Eyre Peninsula in a simple composition of traditional symbols," he said. "My design incorporates three graphical elements ... the land mass, the ocean and the coastline.

"The colour of the land ranges from the traditional ochres and rich oxides of our northern soils through to the warm golden yellows of our expansive grain fields.

"Similarly, the deep navy blues of the fish-rich Southern Ocean blends in to the softer cyans of our sheltered bays and estuaries."

A stark white line separates the land from the sea and also represents the peninsula's pristine sandy beaches and pounding surf breaks. [...]"

There shall be next Tuesday a people's choice, with the presentation of 20 proposals in the "Port Lincoln Times".

Given the competition conditions, I would have expected a flag like this. The details which would have made the entry stand are are the particular stylisation of the coastline, and the use of fading colours rather than single shades.
Jonathan Dixon, 7 December 2008

Further developments

As reported at the last Flags Australia (FSA) meeting in Sydney, Tony Burton of Flags Australia had been in touch with the MP (member of parliament) responsible for this contest after the contest and made several suggestions, including a simplified version of this one, which she was happy with. It removed the shading, used straight lines and I think a wider white fimbriation. This version was made up and apparently used by the MP, which would make it as "official" as the idea of a flag was in the first place.
Jonathan Dixon, 17 August 2009