The Flag of the City Darwin
The NT flag was flown for the first time at a ceremony in Darwin on 1 July 1978 marking the grant of self-government. The flag was designed by Australian artist Robert Ingpen AM, whose work is well known throughout Australia. Everyone is encouraged to fly the flag proudly as Territorians. There are long-standing traditions and rules of how a flag should be displayed. The image of the NT flag is protected under the Flag and Emblem Act 1985.
The Coat of Arms is symbolic of the people, history and landscape of the NT. It has our floral and fauna emblems, the Sturt’s Desert Rose, two red kangaroos and a wedge-tailed eagle. The kangaroos hold a shield decorated by Aboriginal motifs in one hand and shells found on our coastline in the other. In the centre of the shield is an x-ray drawing of a woman as seen in rock art in Arnhem Land. The designs on either side symbolise camp sites joined by path markings of Central Australian Aboriginal people.
The red kangaroo embodies the NT’s unique wildlife. It is the largest living marsupial with adult males standing more than 2m tall and weighing as much as 75kg. Males are a rusty brown colour and females a smokey grey, while both have heat-reflecting paler fur on their under surfaces. They also have striking white marks with a black line on the sides of their muzzles. Their long, thin limbs allow them to travel large distances through harsh conditions. They are found in the NT in very dry areas.
