First Flag Site

For years I’ve been walking the streets of Sydney and I have passed hundreds of flag poles. Lots of them with Australian flags, flags of the State of NSW, Aboriginal flags, Rainbow flags and banner poles advertising the latest festivals or theatre attractions on currently.
This day I was walking past here and notice the base of this flag pole. It looked different from the usual flag pole, with and an ornamental base. Also a number of plaques were on it. It must be special and then I looked up and saw the Union Jack flying from atop the flag pole. I was surprised!
After reading the information on the plaques, this flag pole and flying Union Jack flag was erected and unveiled on Australia Day 1988 to commemorate the bicentenary of the founding of the colony of New South Wales.
After much historical research, this is the actual site where Captain Arthur Phillip RN and his men first saluted the Union Jack flag on 26^th January 1788, and marking the foundation of Australia’s birthplace. The Union Jack flag is the most common name for the flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack has been in existence since 1606, when England and Scotland merged. In 1606, the first Union Jack flag was created by merging the English flag (the red cross of Saint George) with the Scottish flag (the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew on a blue background). This was the flag used in the ceremony in 1788. A replica of that flag is featured on this flag pole.
If history and the significance of the First Fleet’s arrival in Sydney are your thing — then this site is a must visit!