Australian merchant ensign of the 1909 pattern. The flag is printed with the edges machine sewn. The bunting is a wool and synthetic fibre blend with a cotton hoist. The flag is a red ensign with the Southern Cross constellation of five white stars in the fly. A seven pointed white star is placed lower left.

In 1901 the six colonies that made up the Australian continent combined to form a federal national state. There was an official competition to design a national flag. Competitors had to include both the Union Flag and the Southern Cross. There was no outright winner but a consensus emerged that the flag should contain the Union Flag, the Southern Cross constellation and a six-pointed star representing the six colonies. After the acquisition of Papua New Guinea in 1905 an extra point was added to the star in 1909.