Flag of Western Australia

The first confirmed European sighting of the western coast of Australia was made by the Dutch East India Company in the early 1600s.[1] During an expedition in January 1697 to what is now Cottesloe,[2] Willem de Vlamingh observed black swans in habitation at the estuary of the river there.[3][4] He consequently named this body of water the Swan River[2][5] (Zwaanenrivier in Dutch).[6] However, the Dutch abandoned aspirations to annex the area, having discerned poor prospects for trade or colonisation.[1] The British later established settlements at Fremantle and Perth in June 1829.[1][4] These were collectively called the Swan River Colony.[4]

The black swan soon became the unofficial symbol of the territory.[4] For instance, it was depicted on its banknotes, which began circulating several years after the establishment of the colony.[3] The bird was also featured on the Swan River Guardian, the settlement's first newspaper, as well as the inaugural issue of the Western Australian Government Gazette. Both of these were first printed in 1836.[3][4] It was subsequently portrayed on the first postage stamps issued by the colony in 1854.[4]

The flag used from 1870 until 1953.

An Order in Council was promulgated on 17 August 1869, instructing British colonial governors to fly the British ensign defaced with the coat of arms or badge of the territory. On 3 January of the following year, Frederick Weld, the Governor of Western Australia, put forward a proposed design of the badge that depicted a black swan on a yellow backdrop.[3][4] His reasoning for this sketch was that the colony "at its commencement was usually known as the Swan River Settlement, and the Black Swan is represented upon its seal, and has always been considered as its special badge, or cognizance".[4] The design was officially confirmed in a despatch bearing the date of 27 November 1875 by his successor, William C. F. Robinson.[4] It was retained as the flag of the new state of Western Australia after the Federation of Australia in 1901.[3]

Representatives from the College of Arms in London noted in 1936 that the direction of the swan was out of place.[3] Vexillological convention dictates that all objects on a flag should face towards the hoist,[3][7] which is the "point of honour".[3] However, nothing was done to address this irregularity until the run-up to the royal visit in 1954. The issue was brought before the Parliament of Western Australia and the direction of the swan was corrected on 3 November 1953.[3]

Advice regarding flag etiquette is the responsibility of the state's Department of the Premier and Cabinet.[17] When flown together with the flag of Australia and the other state and territorial flags, the flag of Western Australia is sixth in the hierarchical order (after the national flag and, in descending order of precedence, the flags of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia). This reflects the position of its state badge on the shield of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms,[18] where it appears as the fifth quarter on the second row.[19]

The guidelines state that the flag is not to touch the ground, nor should it be flown on the same flagpole that displays another flag. It ought to be hoisted not before first light and lowered not later than dusk, unless the flag is illuminated at night. The only exception to this is if the state flag is flown at half-mast, in which case it is never to be flown throughout the night, regardless of whether it would be illuminated. It is not to be displayed in an inverted manner, even if this is intended to serve as a distress signal.[17]

• Flags of the governors of the Australian states
• List of Australian flags

• Western Australia at Flags of the World