# Bowman flag

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The complex **Bowman flag** with its swallow-tail fly was designed by John and Honor Bowman of Richmond [NSW](/source/New_South_Wales) in 1806. The shield on the design shows the rose of [England](/source/England), thistle of [Scotland](/source/Scotland) and shamrock of [Ireland](/source/Ireland). It commemorates (by the motto [England expects that every man will do his duty](/source/England_expects_that_every_man_will_do_his_duty)) the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy)’s victory at the [Battle of Trafalgar](/source/Battle_of_Trafalgar) (21 October 1805), a landmark event for Britain's Australasian colonies. The design was hand painted, in oils, on silk made from Honor Bowman’s wedding dress. The flag is preserved in the Mitchell Library, [State Library of New South Wales](/source/State_Library_of_New_South_Wales), [Sydney](/source/Sydney).[1] The design was an inspiration for Australia's national coat of arms which features a shield showing the six Australian state badges supported by an emu and a kangaroo.

## See also

- [List of Australian flags](/source/List_of_Australian_flags)

## References

1. ["The Bowman flag – the first Australian coat of arms"](http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/bowman/index.html). *[State Library of New South Wales](/source/State_Library_of_New_South_Wales)*. [Government of New South Wales](/source/Government_of_New_South_Wales). Retrieved 14 September 2017.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bowman flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowman_flag) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowman_flag?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.