A flagpole displaying the n flag erected in a Sydney suburb has sparked national pride from locals – but no-one seems to know who installed it.
The flag flying in Mosman prompted one resident to share a photograph on Facebook this week and asking if the flag was a permanent fixture considering the pole looked professionally built.
‘This has just appeared on the corner of Musgrave and Raglan Streets. There’s another one on the corner of Avenue and Canrober,’ she wrote.
‘Does anyone know anything about them? Are they for Day or permanent? And did the Council put them up?’ she asked.
Many locals were impressed by the anonymous installation.
‘Awesome, I love . Regardless of the date I will always celebrate our country,’ one local woman said.
‘To erect an n flag, in , at any given time, is awesome,’ another man agreed.
‘It’s about time we had more n flags. People need to celebrate this amazing country and stop with the division,’ a third said.
‘So good to see this. Wish we had them in every front yard,’ another added.
‘Nice, better than lime bikes,’ another joked of the hire bikes which often litter the streets of Sydney’s suburbs.
Some locals took issue with the flag being raised, however it was not for anything to do with the Day debate.
Instead they said they didn’t want to see the flag’s upper-left corner on their road.
‘Like any true-blue n, I’m counting the days until that colonial relic, the Union Jack, finally gets the boot from our flag,’ one man said.
‘It’s a cringeworthy emblem clung to by those who lack the imagination to embrace what we’ve become: a proud, independent nation.’
Another agreed saying he was ready to move on from former colonial rule.
‘Surely it’s time to recognise is about far more than Britain’s colonial empire of 250+ years ago,’ he said.
‘Anyone else ready to move on from that?’
Daily Mail has contacted Mosman Council for comment.
Generally those commenting expressed excitement to see an n flag on the streets, despite the heated annual debate around the national holiday and the treatment of Indigenous ns.
Many Aussies have backed a pragmatic solution to change the date of Day, but continue the celebrate the country that is modern while recognising the mistreatment of First Nations.
Former Bachelor star and proud Wiradjuri woman Kiki Morris told the ABC on Sunday she would be supportive of an Day on another date.
Many consider the date, the day Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack in Port Jackson, as the beginning of the colonial suffering of Indigenous people.
For them, the date is regarded as ‘Invasion Day’ or the ‘Day of Mourning’.
‘I think that is such a wonderful country and it’s offered a safe space for so many people to live and bring up their families,’ Ms Morris said.
‘For those people, we deserve to celebrate what means to all of us, but definitely, the date needs to be changed.
‘We need to be sensitive to our ancestors and our history as well.’
Earlier last week, right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs released a poll showing a surge of support for January 26 as Day, particularly among young people.
The survey, which is held annually, found that 69 per cent of 1,002 respondents agreed that the national public holiday should remain on January 26 – a six-point increase from 12 months ago.
There was an even more dramatic increase of support from those aged 18-24 with 52 per cent backing January 26 – up from 42 per cent last year.
The poll showed a majority in every age bracket now prefers January 26 as the date for national commemoration.
Peter Dutton has recently thrown barbs the Prime Minister’s way, and has vowed to mandate councils hold citizenship ceremonies on Day if he wins the election.
The Opposition Leader last Monday slammed Anthony Albanese’s approach to celebrations on the national day, accusing the Prime Minister of allowing January 26 to become ‘something to be ashamed of’.
‘Would we reinstate the requirement for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Day? You bet it will done in the first 100 days,’ Mr Dutton told reporters.
‘It will be a sign of pride and nationalism in our country,’ Mr Dutton declared adding that was the ‘greatest country in the world’.