In 1901, the Federation Star was six-pointed representing six states, with another 6-pointed star in the Southern Cross;On acquisition of the Territory of Papua in 1906, the Federation Star became 7-pointed, and has stayed that way since. And, historically, the 7th point represents Papua! [Expand the pop-up window to view more]

A 1901 artists representation of the flag as publicly displayed. Both red and blue backgrounds were used with this flag. The southern cross stars had from 5 to 9 points, roughly indicating their relative brightness.