<P> After Federation on 1 January 1901 and following receipt of a request from the British government to design a new flag , the new Commonwealth Government held an official competition for a new federal flag in April . The competition attracted 32,823 entries , including those originally sent to the one held earlier by the Review of Reviews . One of these was submitted by an unnamed governor of a colony . The two contests were merged after the Review of Reviews agreed to being integrated into the government initiative . The £ 75 prize money of each competition were combined and augmented by a further £ 50 donated by Havelock Tobacco Company . Each competitor was required to submit two coloured sketches , a red ensign for the merchant service and public use , and a blue ensign for naval and official use . The designs were judged on seven criteria : loyalty to the Empire , Federation , history , heraldry , distinctiveness , utility and cost of manufacture . The majority of designs incorporated the Union Flag and the Southern Cross , but native animals were also popular , including one that depicted a variety of indigenous animals playing cricket . The entries were put on display at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and the judges took six days to deliberate before reaching their conclusion . Five almost identical entries were chosen as the winning design , and their designers shared the £ 200 ( 2015 : $29,142.12 ) prize money . They were Ivor Evans , a fourteen - year - old schoolboy from Melbourne ; Leslie John Hawkins , a teenager apprenticed to an optician from Sydney ; Egbert John Nuttall , an architect from Melbourne ; Annie Dorrington , an artist from Perth ; and William Stevens , a ship 's officer from Auckland , New Zealand . The five winners received £ 40 each . The differences from the present flag were the six - pointed Commonwealth Star , while the components stars in the Southern Cross had different numbers of points , with more if the real star was brighter . This led to five stars of nine , eight , seven , six and five points respectively . </P>
<P> After Federation on 1 January 1901 and following receipt of a request from the British government to design a new flag , the new Commonwealth Government held an official competition for a new federal flag in April . The competition attracted 32,823 entries , including those originally sent to the one held earlier by the Review of Reviews . One of these was submitted by an unnamed governor of a colony . The two contests were merged after the Review of Reviews agreed to being integrated into the government initiative . The £ 75 prize money of each competition were combined and augmented by a further £ 50 donated by Havelock Tobacco Company . Each competitor was required to submit two coloured sketches , a red ensign for the merchant service and public use , and a blue ensign for naval and official use . The designs were judged on seven criteria : loyalty to the Empire , Federation , history , heraldry , distinctiveness , utility and cost of manufacture . The majority of designs incorporated the Union Flag and the Southern Cross , but native animals were also popular , including one that depicted a variety of indigenous animals playing cricket . The entries were put on display at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and the judges took six days to deliberate before reaching their conclusion . Five almost identical entries were chosen as the winning design , and their designers shared the £ 200 ( 2015 : $29,142.12 ) prize money . They were Ivor Evans , a fourteen - year - old schoolboy from Melbourne ; Leslie John Hawkins , a teenager apprenticed to an optician from Sydney ; Egbert John Nuttall , an architect from Melbourne ; Annie Dorrington , an artist from Perth ; and William Stevens , a ship 's officer from Auckland , New Zealand . The five winners received £ 40 each . The differences from the present flag were the six - pointed Commonwealth Star , while the components stars in the Southern Cross had different numbers of points , with more if the real star was brighter . This led to five stars of nine , eight , seven , six and five points respectively . </P>
who won the competition to design the australian flag
who won the competition to design the australian flag
Ivor Evans Leslie John Hawkins Egbert John Nuttall , Annie Dorrington William Stevens
Ivor Evans Leslie John Hawkins Egbert John Nuttall , Annie Dorrington William Stevens