In the upper hoist (canton) of the flag is the Union Flag (i.e. the State and Civil Flag of the United Kingdom, popularly called the Union Jack). On the fly are 5 white stars, representing the Southern Cross, a constellation of stars generally only visible in the southern hemisphere. Each of these stars has 7 points except for the smallest star which has only five.
Directly below the Union Flag is a large 7 pointed white star called the Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia on 1 January 1901. There is one point for each of the six original states, and one to represent all of Australia's internal and external territories.
