Southern Cross

The Southern Cross (or Crux) is the brightest constellation visible in the Southern Hemisphere and has been used to represent Australia and New Zealand since the early days of British settlement. Each of these stars has seven points except for the smallest star which has only five. Ivor Evans, one of the flag's designers, intended the Southern Cross to refer also to the four moral virtues ascribed to the four main stars by Dante: justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude.

The Australian Flag uses three prominent symbols, the Union Flag (often known as the Union Jack), the Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross. The Union Flag is commonly thought to reflect Australia's history as a collection of British colonies. The five white stars of the fly of the flag represent the Southern Cross.





The New Zealand Flag comprises of a plain, blue background with the Union Flag in the top-left corner. The four stars on the right represent the Southern Cross, as seen from New Zealand.