Notes
National symbols
Symbol:
Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible
Nationalism: 
1.	love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it  
2.	the conviction that the culture and interests of your nation are superior to those of any other nation 
3.	patriotism
National symbols include flags, coats of arms, anthems, colours, flora, fauna and even sports. In Australia we have both national and state symbols.
Australia’s National symbols
The Australian flag
The Flags Act 1953 formally established the Australian flag. The flag is described as:
The Australian national flag has a blue field with the ‘Union Jack’ in the canton (the upper quarter next to the flagpole). The seven-pointed Commonwealth star in the lower hoist represents the six States and the Territories. In the fly are the five stars of the constellation of the Southern Cross. Four of the stars have seven points and the smallest one has five.
The national anthem
Advance Australia Fair is the national anthem of Australia. A revised version of a late nineteenth century patriotic song, it was officially declared the national anthem on 19 April, 1984. Peter Dodds McCormick, a Scot, composed ‘Advance Australia Fair’ under the pen-name ‘Amicus’ (amicus is the Latin word for friend). It was first performed in Sydney on Saint Andrew’s Day, 1878.
Advance Australia Fair
Australians all let us rejoice,			Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
For we are young and free;			We’ll toil with hearts and hands;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil;	To make this Commonwealth of ours
Our home is girt by sea;			Renowned of all the lands;
Our land abounds in nature’s gifts		For those who’ve come across the seas
Of beauty rich and rare;			We’ve boundless plains to share;
In history’s page, let every stage		With courage let us all combine
Advance Australia Fair.			To Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,		In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.			Advance Australia Fair.

The Coat of Arms 
 The Coat of Arms was first granted by King Edward VII by Royal Warrant on 7 May 1908. Amendments incorporating specific references to the States were approved, on the recommendation of the Commonwealth Government, by King George V by Royal Warrant on 19 September 1912. The Coat of Arms depicts a shield of six parts with representations of the badges of the six States, with a kangaroo and emu, resting on ornamental supports, on either side of the shield. This is set over small branches of flowering wattle, beneath which is the word ‘Australia’. Above the shield is the crest, with the seven-pointed gold star of Federation resting on a blue and gold wreath.
The floral emblem 
Australia’s national floral emblem, the Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha, was proclaimed on 1 September 1988. On the advice of the Government, the Governor-General proclaimed on 23 June 1992 that 1 September each year is to be observed as National Wattle Day throughout Australia. Australia has never adopted any official faunal or bird emblem. By popular tradition, however, the kangaroo and emu are widely accepted as national faunal and bird emblems.
The national colours 
The Governor-General’s Proclamation of 19 April 1984 fixed green and gold as the official colours of Australia.
Source: Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Parliamentary_Handbook