A flagpole displaying the Australian flag erected in a Sydney suburb has sparked national pride from locals – but no-one seems to know who installed it.
The flag flying in Mosman prompted one resident to share a photograph on Facebook this week and asking if the flag was a permanent fixture considering the pole looked professionally built.
‘This has just appeared on the corner of Musgrave and Raglan Streets. There’s another one on the corner of Avenue and Canrober,’ she wrote.
‘Does anyone know anything about them? Are they for Australia Day or permanent? And did the Council put them up?’ she asked.
Many locals were impressed by the anonymous installation.
‘Awesome, I love Australia. Regardless of the date I will always celebrate our country,’ one local woman said.
‘To erect an Australian flag, in Australia, at any given time, is awesome,’ another man agreed.
‘It’s about time we had more Australian flags. People need to celebrate this amazing country and stop with the division,’ a third said.
What looks to be a permanent flag, anonymously erected in Sydney’s leafy north, had many rejoicing in the display of national pride
‘So good to see this. Wish we had them in every front yard,’ another added.
‘Nice, better than lime bikes,’ another joked of the hire bikes which often litter the streets of Sydney’s suburbs.
Some locals took issue with the flag being raised, however it was not for anything to do with the Australia Day debate.
Instead they said they didn’t want to see the flag’s upper-left corner on their road.
‘Like any true-blue Australian, I’m counting the days until that colonial relic, the Union Jack, finally gets the boot from our flag,’ one man said.
‘It’s a cringeworthy emblem clung to by those who lack the imagination to embrace what we’ve become: a proud, independent nation.’
Another agreed saying he was ready to move on from former colonial rule.
‘Surely it’s time to recognise Australia is about far more than Britain’s colonial empire of 250+ years ago,’ he said.
‘Anyone else ready to move on from that?’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mosman Council for comment.
Generally those commenting expressed excitement to see an Australian flag on the streets, despite the heated annual debate around the national holiday and the treatment of Indigenous Australians.
Many Aussies have backed a pragmatic solution to change the date of Australia Day, but continue the celebrate the country that is modern Australia while recognising the mistreatment of First Nations.
Former Bachelor star and proud Wiradjuri woman Kiki Morris told the ABC on Sunday she would be supportive of an Australia Day on another date.
Wiradjuri woman and model Kiki Morris said she supports changing the date of Australia Day, though the country should retain a patriotic celebration
Many young Australians have shied away from a January 26 Australia Day, however, a poll released last week showed increased support for the date across the board
Many consider the date, the day Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack in Port Jackson, as the beginning of the colonial suffering of Indigenous people.
For them, the date is regarded as ‘Invasion Day’ or the ‘Day of Mourning’.
‘I think that Australia is such a wonderful country and it’s offered a safe space for so many people to live and bring up their families,’ Ms Morris said.
‘For those people, we deserve to celebrate what Australia means to all of us, but definitely, the date needs to be changed.
‘We need to be sensitive to our ancestors and our history as well.’
Earlier last week, right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs released a poll showing a surge of support for January 26 as Australia Day, particularly among young people.
The survey, which is held annually, found that 69 per cent of 1,002 respondents agreed that the national public holiday should remain on January 26 – a six-point increase from 12 months ago.
There was an even more dramatic increase of support from those aged 18-24 with 52 per cent backing January 26 – up from 42 per cent last year.
The poll showed a majority in every age bracket now prefers January 26 as the date for national commemoration.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton slammed the Prime Minister for allowing councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on dates other than Australia Day
Mr Dutton said he believed Australia is the ‘greatest country in the world’ earlier last week
Peter Dutton has recently thrown barbs the Prime Minister’s way, and has vowed to mandate councils hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day if he wins the election.
The Opposition Leader last Monday slammed Anthony Albanese’s approach to celebrations on the national day, accusing the Prime Minister of allowing January 26 to become ‘something to be ashamed of’.
‘Would we reinstate the requirement for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day? You bet it will done in the first 100 days,’ Mr Dutton told reporters.
‘It will be a sign of pride and nationalism in our country,’ Mr Dutton declared adding that Australia was the ‘greatest country in the world’.
