Design inspired by folding away each of the parts specifically identifying race of each of the Australian and Aboriginal flags keeping the parts that defined place. In doing so we uncovered The Rising Sun of the Australian Forces since 1902 over the blood of the Anzacs and symbolizing United Australia since 1880.
1994 - Inspiration - Cathy Freeman carrying Aboriginal + Australian Flags for her victory at the Commonwealth Games.
1995 - Purchase - of an Aboriginal and Australian Flag to contemplate how they could join together with the Anzac Spirit.
1996 - John Howard proclaims 3rd September as National Flag Day to promote the existing Australian Flag.
1996 - Place not Race - Folding each flag in half - folding away the elements of race and keeping the elements of place. First sketch made of four elements of Nature in Equal Partnership - the red earth, the rising half sun, the sky and the Southern Cross in the right hand end. I first conceived a flag to say - " I love Australia " - The Sunburnt Country, rather than one that says - " I love Britain ".
1997 - Refinement of design - Inspired by the Ausflag Professional Design Competition Flag Manufacturer Harry West Flags was approached and Michael Lee advised the Canton was the Place of Honour in the left hand corner of the 'Hoist' end of the flag. Therefore this was the appropriate place for the Southern Cross to Shine Over The Sunburnt Country. First 1.0 metre flag made as a sample.
1998 - Commissioning - First standard size 1.8 metre Sunburnt Flags with Harry West Flags.
1998 - 13th November at Circular Quay Overseas Terminal. First flag raising - at Sydney Cove and at the same time a second flag was sent to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace with the note:- "After too many years in the Aussie Sun the Union Jack has melted into the colour of the Earth, The Sky and the Stars".
2000 - Bridge Walk - National Sorry Day. Australian International Peace Winners carry Aboriginal, Australian and two Sunburnt Flags with 250,000 Australians and tourists showing respect for Aboriginal Australia. Around Australia some 450,000 walked this day to show respect.
2000 - Trademark & Design Registration
2001/3 - Tranby Aboriginal College - Stephen Berry undertakes their Advanced Diploma of Applied Aboriginal Studies to learn more of the Spirit of the Land he loves so much.
2006 - May - Reconciliation Week - Sunburnt Flag Web Site goes live. 13th June 2006 - launch of Sunburnt Flag product range to give Australians the opportunity to fly a True All Australian Flag.
2007 - March - 75th anniversary of Harbour Bridge - 5 Sunburnt Flags and Aboriginal Flags carried with Reconciliation Groups and Aboriginal elders on Bridge Walk celebrations and smoking ceremony.
2008 - January - Sunburnt Flags sent to welcome the new Australian Government of their first Australia Day - sent to Kevin Rudd, Peter Garrett & Malcolm Turnbull.
2009 - March - Sunburnt Flag web site professionally redesigned by Melbourne IT.
2015 - Target Adoption Day for New All Australian Flag - 100 years after Anzac Day.
FIRST RAISED AT SYDNEY COVE: - 13 November 1998
(2 days after Remembrance Day) at 11am.
The Sunburnt Flag was first raised at the Overseas Terminal - Sydney Cove on 13th November 1998 live on Channel 10 - 11am News by:-
Aboriginal Australian - Gwen Brown; Portuguese Migrant Australian - Miguel Alves and 4th generation Anglo-Saxon Australian - Stephen Berry,
As a symbol of their love and respect for Australia as Our Place Of Partnership.
Carried with on ‘Bridge Walk 2000' - National Sorry Day 26th May 2000 with Australian and Aboriginal flags by :-
3 Australian Winners of the International Children's Peace Prize - Brendan Woithe (1985), Jeremy Heimans (1986) & (Co-founder of GetUp) Ami Latona (1988) with 250,000 Australians in Sydney amongst the 450,000 Australians walking Australia-wide.
The love of field and coppice, of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance, brown streams and soft, dim skies
I know but I cannot share it, my love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains,
Of rugged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding plains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror - The wide brown land for me!
The stark white ring-barked forests, all tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains, the hot gold rush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes, where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree tops, and ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country! Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us, we see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather, and we can bless again
The drumming of the army, the steady, soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country! Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine, she pays us back three-fold.
Over the thirsty paddocks, watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness that thickens as we gaze....
An opal-hearted country, a wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her, you will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours, wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country my homing thoughts will fly.
Words by Peter Dodds McCormick (1834-1916)
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our land is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
"Advance Australia fair!"
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross,
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of our
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
"To Advance Australia fair!"
CHRONOLOGY
1788-1901 - Colony Of England - Union Jack
1854 - Eureka Flag - Stockade
1901 - 1954 - AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL FLAG - UNION JACK
1901 - Federation - Design Competition
First criteria - "Loyalty to Empire"
Selection Of Two Australian Ensigns -
Blue Ensign Reserved For Commonwealth Govt Use.
Red Ensign For Other Use including Merchant Naval Use.
1911 - British White Ensign Adopted By Navy Without Southern Cross.
1915 - Gallipoli - 25th April - Initial Anzac Day / Aussie Diggers
1924 - Australian Blue Ensign Used For All Levels Of Govt
Red Ensign Remains For Schools And Civil Use.
1949 - RAAF Adopts 1949 Pale Blue Australian Ensign
1953 - National Flag Act
1954 - BLUE ENSIGN BECOMES AUSTRALIA'S NATIONAL FLAG
1967 - Navy Adopts White Australian Ensign
1967 - Referendum vote of 90.77% in favour of including All Aboriginals as Citizens in the Census
1971 - Aboriginal Flag - Designed By Harold Thomas
1972 - Aboriginal Tent Embassy Canberra
1981 - Red Ensign formally adopted for merchant & civil vessels
1982 - Kangaroo added To RAAF Flag
1985-86, 1993 - Ausflag Design Competitions
1992 - Torres Strait Island Flag - Designed By Bernard Namok
1994 & 2000 - Cathy Freeman carries Aboriginal & Australian Flags.
1995 - Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Flags become National Flags
1996 - National Flag Day Inaugurated - 3rd September by John Howard
1996 - Initial Sunburnt Country Flag Design with Southern Cross in Fly end designed by Stephen Berry
1997-2000 - Ausflag Professional Designers Competition
2000 - Sydney Olympics & Bridge Walk for Reconciliation Week
2001 - Centenary Of Federation
2006 - Sunburnt Flag Launched - 25th May - Reconciliation Week
2007 - 5 Sunburnt Flags carried for 75th Anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
2015 - Centenary Of Anzac Day - Target For New Australian Flag Adoption
The Australian national flag is a British Blue Ensign, charged with five stars of the Southern Cross and the sixth Commonwealth or ‘Federation' star with seven points denoting the six states and seventh point representing all Australian territories.
The design was chosen for both the Blue and Red Ensigns from 38,823 entries in a 1901 competition.
The first criteria for the competition was listed as "Loyalty to the Empire".
5 entrants shared the prize with a similar design (Ivor Evans - a 14 year old Melbourne schoolboy (whose father had a canvas and flag making business in Melbourne and whose firm Evan Evans is now the supplier of printed Sunburnt Flag); Leslie John Hawkins - a Sydney teenage apprentice optician; Egbert John Nuttall a Melbourne architect; Annie Dorrington - a Perth artist and William Stevens a ship's officer from Auckland New Zealand each receiving 40 pounds in prize money. The British Blue and Red Ensigns with the Southern Cross and Commonwealth star was gazetted on 20th February 1903 as the flags for Australian government and merchant ships; however the Union Jack remained the national flag until 1954 . (Ref. Flag and Nation - Dr Elizabeth Kwan 2006 ). In December 1908 it was gazetted that the Commonwealth Star be altered from 6 points to 7.
The Union Jack of Great Britain is in the ‘Canton' - the Place of Honour.
The New Zealand flag is similar without the Commonwealth Star and only four stars of the Southern Cross which are red stars with white edges. There is currently strong interest in New Zealand to adopt the Silver New Zealand Fern on a black background to represent New Zealand's unique national identity.
The Union Jack was also featured on the British Red Ensign based Canadian flag prior to the distinctive Red Maple Leaf on the white background in 1965. The Maple Leaf design had been around since 1919. Canada is still a Constitutional Monarchy.
The British Ensign has formed the basis of the flags of Australia, New Zealand, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Falkland Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu and flags of other British colonies including - Papua New Guinea (1975), Solomon Islands (1978), Malaysia (1957), Nigeria (1960), Guana (1957), USA (1776) and South Africa (1994). (Brackets denote date country adopted a distinctive national flag).
Although both the British Blue Ensign plus the Red Ensign with the Southern Cross and Commonwealth/Federation Star has been around since the 1901 competition (and in Victoria without the Commonwealth Star - prior to that), the blue ensign 'defaced by stars' was not officially adopted as Australia's National Flag until the Flag Act of 1953 (co-incidentally the year of my birth). It officially became the Australian National Flag in 1954 . Until that time the national flag was the Union Jack. Either the Red or Blue British Ensign with the 6 stars was sometimes flown with the Union Jack for the first half of the 20th Century including the opening of Parliament House in 1927 and even after 1954.
Right from Federation there has been debate as to whether an Australian national flag should have Britain's national flag in the place of honour on their country's national flag.
Since Federation there has been considerable debate on which flags should be used in Australia including defence and shipping versions. It is too complex to present in this web site. There is finally a definitive detailed history of our flag see - Flag and Nation - Australians and their national flags since 1901 by Dr Elizabeth Kwan - a senior researcher at Parliament House, Canberra. First published by University of NSW Press in May 2006.
See also the Ausflag web site with extensive material on the use of the Red Ensign and their competitions and promotions to find an authentic Australian Flag. www.ausflag.com.au
© Harold Thomas 1971 (copyright back dated by the Federal Court.)
Designed by Indigenous Elder Harold Thomas in 1971 (elder of the Aranda people of Central Australia), this flag symbolises the Aboriginal identity.
Red represents the red earth - the relationship to the land and the red ochre used in ceremonies. To many the red also represents their blood spilt through occupation of their land although this was not part of the orginal designer's concept.
Yellow disc represents the sun - the giver of life, and yellow ochre. Black represents the Aboriginal People.
Flown at the original tent embassy at Parliament House from 1972.
Adopted as a national Australian Flag in 1995. Still subject to copyright. Licensed held by one firm to produce Aboriginal flags.
Any derivative using the 3 elements of the Red, Black and Gold disc is potentially a breach of copyright. The only official national flag in the world subject to this copyright anomoly.
Interesting some have called the Sunburnt Flag as a 'Dreamtime Flag' with the 'Big Spirit' (the Southern Cross), the 'Giver of Life' as the sun in the heart, and 'Spirit of the Land' as the foundation.
Designed in 1992 by Islander Bernard Namok. Green represents the islands, blue the sea, black the local Melanesian people. A dhari stylised dancer's head-dress around a five pointed star symbolising the five main island zones. Adopted as an official Australian Flag in 1995.
Only visible in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Featured on Victorian and some Tasmanian Flags plus Eureka Flag prior to Federation. The four principal stars on the Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea flags are sometimes said to represent:-
Dante's four virtues in the Southern Cross - Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude.
Each of the four primary stars of the Southern Cross are seven pointed stars - the same as the Commonwealth / Federation Star. So our Southern Cross is inclusive of Federation. Australia and PNG have 5 stars in their Southern Cross. New Zealand has four.
Aboriginal Dreamtime includes many stories from the night sky including the Southern Cross as the 'Big Spirit' watching over us, and the 4 daughters of Mululu who found their father in the heavens.
Devised in 1902 from the Rising Sun (also used as the crest of the unofficial nineteenth century Australian Coat of Arms signifying a Uniting Australia) using the cut and thrust swords and bayonets with the Crown of the British Monarchy. The Rising Sun was one of the primary symbols of the combined Australian military forces from 1902, as it is today for the Australian Army. The most widely accepted version of the origins of this badge is the one that attributes the selection of its design to a British officer, Major General Sir Edward Hutton, the then newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Forces. The adopted form incorporates two forms of bayonets radiating from the Rising Sun.
The first Bondi Life Savers from the 1920's to 1950 wore a swim suit featuring the Rising Sun.
The colours of the Australian Surf Life Saving movement are the red and yellow. These colours form the foundation and heart of the Sunburnt Flag, plus the blue of the ocean surrounding the only island continent. Each club has individual club colours.
The red soil of Australia on the blue planet. The sun at the centre of our solar system. The stars of our galaxy.
The Long History of the Rising Sun Icon in Australia. By George Poulos (condensed text)
The Australian Sun had been a prime icon in Australian history long before 1971, when Harold Thomas's Aboriginal flag, made us conscious again, of the suns primacy in the Australian iconographic hierarchy.
On March 9th, 1998, in the SMH, in an article entitled Let's salute the rising sun, Sydney University academic Richard White argued that "..in all the annual ritual of new flag proposals, one of the most meaningful national symbols is consistently overlooked. It is time to reclaim the rising sun as a national symbol."
Except for a small group of Australian's, including Sydney graphic designer's Joe Bollen and John Hawley, Sydney mariner James Parbury, Brisbane architect and vexillographer, Geoff Webber, Western Australian military rising sun expert and collector, John Moore, Stephen Berry, and myself, White's "call to arms" fell on deaf ears.
The history of this profound Australian symbol and icon.
The relationship between Australia and the rising sun pre-dated Australia's discovery. As Terra Australis Incognita emerged by a series of navigational discoveries there arose a sense of the Great South Land - being born - then, being baptised by the golden Sun - and coming into the light of day. Sir Gilbert Parker captured this sense well when he wrote,
"And the New South rose with her forehead bare - Her forehead bare to meet the smiling sun - Australia in her golden panoply; And far off Empires see her work begun, And her large hope has compassed every sea."
New South Wales did not include any of present day Western Australia, and much of the western area of the Northern Territory and South Australia. The western third of Australia was not claimed by the British Parliament until 1829. Tasmania became a separate colony in 1825, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, Queensland in 1859, and New Zealand in 1841.
The swaggy - was a sun-upper and a sun-downer. His symbolic signifier was the rising sun.
The first parliament in Australia which was totally autonomous of British control was the City of Sydney Council, established in 1842. Following the granting of "total" autonomous self-government to the colonies of NSW, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, in 1855, a Rising Sun adorned many functional everyday items, objects d'art, and coats of Arms, including the original NSW Coat of Arms, the original South Australian Coat of Arms, and the coats of arms of many/most of the emerging Local Parliaments around Australia. The motto of the NSW Coat of arms has always been - "Newly risen, how brightly you shine." The rising sun signified democratic institutions par excellence.
The rising sun also signified Australia Felix - The Lucky Country - a potential paradise on Earth, where, far from the evils inherent in the old world, a new, near-perfect society would be built. Australia, Furphy enthused through his narrator Tom Collins, in Such is Life, "is cursed by no memories of fanaticism and persecution; she is innocent of hereditary national jealousy, and free from the envy of sister states".
The rising sun also signified the Land of Peace and Plenty - a materialistic utopia.
Labour reform banners from this period, including the 8-8-8 banner - eight hours for work, rest and sleep - all featured rising sun's. In fact the Sun features in virtually all the Labour and Trades Union banners, held in repository at the NSW Trades and Labour Hall, Sydney. This has been well documented by Ann Stephen and Andrew Reeves, in their 1985 book, Badges of Labour, Banners of Pride: Aspects of Working Class Celebration.
During the 19th century, Irish, and Irish-Australian symbols denoting independence and republicanism included the sunburst and/or rising sun symbol.
From 1880, and the movement towards Federation, the Federation Coat of Arms always had in its heraldic honour point, - the rising sun. When Australians wanted to say Advance Australia, or Unitas Australia, they invariably used the rising sun.
When Federation was granted in 1901, this event was signified by a rising sun. O'Dowds prize-winning Federation poem, which adorns the Federation Pavilion in Centennial Park, Sydney, refers to Australia as "...the Delos of a coming Sun-God's race?".. (Delos was the home island of the Sun God, Apollo, in Greek mythology. Delos means "brilliant" in Greek.) The obverse of the 1901 Federal seal also featured a rising sun. Federation architecture is characterised by the use of the rising sun. The Exhibition Building in Melbourne, where the new Australian flag was first displayed - features two massive rising sun windows on each end of the building.
Two rising sun designs are known to have been proposed as the Australian national flag in 1901 - a six-rayed upright sun proposed by Newcastle marine artist, F Temple-West, and the design favoured by the art critic from the Herald Standard, Joshua Lake, which went under the nom-de-plume "Imperialism", which featured a rising sun placed in the canton.
The Australian Cricket teams' Coat of Arms, inaugurated in 1899, was adorned by a rising sun. The rising sun continues to hold the honour point of this coat of arms. In 2004, the badge worn on the shirts of the players was modified, making the "rising sun" an even more powerful feature of the design.
In 1901 - the key signifier for the birth of the Australian nation was the rising sun.
The most famous of the rising sun logos was adopted in 1902 - the rising sun of the Australian Commonwealth Military Forces - which would eventually come to signify the Australian Army. On the strength of the power which the Australian military tradition holds over the Australian psyche alone, the rising sun should have become the key Australian icon generations ago.
The badges that appear on the fly of the WA and SA flags, gazetted in the early part of the 20th century, are risen suns. The dawn of peace in 1918 was graphically depicted as a rising sun. WA with a black swan in the sun and SA with a magpie.
During the interwar period 1918-1939, through rescue and sport, the Australian beaches' lifesaver assumed a heroic status in Australian culture. In many ways the mantle of Sun-Gods passed from the Anzacs of 1914-18 to the bronzed Aussies of the emerging surfing tradition. The similarities were manifold. Lifesaving is based on codes of self-discipline and sacrifice, providing a volunteer rescue service. Surf carnivals showcase the military precision of rescue drills, and races offer pageantry and tough competition. The lifesaver embodied traditional male virtues of sacrifice, heroism and athleticism - qualities that have defined one natural stereotype, the bronzed Aussie. This link between the Anzac tradition and the Bronzed Aussie tradition, is highlighted by D. H. Souter's Anzac tryparch occupying pride of place at the Australian Maritime Museum. The unknown warrior is transmogrified into the anonymous life saver.
In 1932, for their contribution to defence of France during WWII, the French gifted to the Australian Anzacs and the Australian nation, the Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park, Sydney. The high centrepiece of this group of statues is the Greek Sun-God Apollo. The French conceived of the Australians, particularly the "bronzed" Anzacs, as Sun-Gods. Of course, the water sprays out around the Australian Sun-Gods body in the form of a rising sun.
As C E W Bean's dream of a War Memorial to Australia's fallen military men and women gradually became a reality from the 1930's onwards, War Memorials became Temples of the Rising Sun to Australia's Fallen Dead.
The significance of the rising sun gradually faded into the sunset of Australian history: 1953-1980. The British Union Jack, its place confirmed as an Australian (?!?!?!?) icon by the Flags Act of 1953, had shut out the light of the rising sun.
In 1998, Waverley Council adopted the Waverley Council Bondi Beach/Gallipoli Beach flag, which features a rising sun in the canton.
The theme of the Golden Land, Golden Future, Land of Peace and Plenty, Australia Felix, United Australia, Advance Australia, Sun- Gods, Bronzed Aussies, Anzacs, Surf Life-Saviours and Golden Sportspersons, has run throughout Australian history.
The Waverley Council official Bondi Beach Flag is meant to make us more fully aware that the Australian Sun is the prime icon of not only our own beaches culture, but the entire nation as well.
All the key signifiers of Australia, even before its discovery, have included the rising sun.
From Australia's birth, all the following themes have been signified by GOLDEN rising suns: the golden lands of Australia, the land of peace and plenty, autonomous Australian democratic government, the itinerant rural worker, Labour reforms, and their implied "fair go", Advance Australia, the move towards a united Australia - the Federation Movement; aggressive nationalism - from the 1880's, nationalists such as Marcus Clarke began to speak about a new breed of super- humanity that was emerging - Australians - Sun-Gods.
In 1902, the rising Sun badge of the Australian military was adopted - establishing a tradition which has taken a central position in the creation of the Australian sense of identity.
In the 20th century, the mantle of Sun-Gods was passed from the bronzed Anzacs to the Bronzed Life Saviours, and then ultimately to Australian sportspersons, generally.
George Poulos - Australian Iconographer - Sydney
The current state flags are based on the British Blue Ensign without the stars with the state logo instead with the exception of Victoria which has a Southern Cross with a Crown. The Sunburnt Flag could retain the Southern Cross in the place of honour and the state logo on the ‘fly' end of the sky next to the sun and over the sunburnt earth (right side), or within the earth itself. In the case of Victoria just the Crown could be used. The ACT & NT have their own flags independent of the British Blue Ensign with a Southern Cross. The Sunburnt Flag with the State or Territory logos would be a further symbol of partnership within Australia.
FIRST SUNBURNT FLAGS:-
No.1 - 1.0 metre Flag made for Stephen Berry by Harry West Flags in 1997.
No. 2. Sent 11th November 1998 to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace London with a note to say that:- ‘After too many years in the Aussie sun the Union Jack has melted into the colours of the earth, the sky and the stars'. Returned via Governor General Sir William Deane with note to say - "Thank you, however Her Majesty cannot accept unsolicited gifts." Sunburnt Flag No.2 is now in the Ausflag collection. Request made to present it to Cathy Freeman in recognition of her inspiration.
No. 3 Raised 13th November 1998 at Circular Quay by 3 Australians - An Aboriginal, a migrant and a 4th generation Anglo Saxon.
Carried on "Bridge Walk 2000" on National Sorry Day 26th May 2000 along with Australian and Aboriginal Flags and 250,000 Australians expressing their respect for our Aboriginal Heritage.
Retained by Stephen Berry for personal use.
A fourth generation Anglo Saxon Australian with a strong interest in Aboriginal Australia for over 23 years. A property valuer by qualification with a great love and pride in Australia, an interest in design, cars, writing and travel.
In 2001/2003 I completed an Advanced Diploma of Applied Aboriginal Studies at Tranby Aboriginal College to further my understanding of the spirit of this land I love so much.
In 1983 I founded the Australian Children's Foundation with projects including the International Children's Peace prize (Aust & NZ), Music Change The World, Youth Live '85, and overseas trips for young Australians to represent their country including, China ('83 - 19 year old La Perouse Aboriginal Mark Longbottom), USA ('84,'85,'86), Eastern Bloc ('85 - 13 year old Redfern Aboriginal - Linda Golding), Moscow ('85), UK ('85), Bulgaria (‘88 & ‘89,) Japan ('89), Jordan and Iraq ('90 on the eve of the Gulf War).
Privileged to have adopted son status with Aboriginal Elder Ali Golding and family.
The loss of a dream and a business in 1994 when the Chariot of Dreams project went into liquidation following the Recession of the early 1990's.
Then came my father's death in 1996 to cancer and a year of chemotherapy for my partner's cancer in 1999.
Challenged by life through living with HIV for over 25 years (20 using only natural therapies) and a major life threatening illness of PML* in 2003/04 which left me a Disabled Pensioner. *(Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy). Similar to a rapid onset of MS with over 50% mortality in 6 months - 3 years, delaminating the myelin nerve sheets of the brain. If I survived it was very unlikely I would recover lost faculties - including being on a walking frame for over a year, loss of writing, speech difficulties and unable to drive. But I did not die. I did recover most of my lost faculties. I still had some dreams - including to express my love for my country and respect for our Aboriginal heritage inherent in the spirit of the land. Hence the Sunburnt Flag Project with 70% of profits going to organisations who helped me beat the PML mortality prognosis, charities and support for Indigenous Australians, plus additional 20% to thank those who have supported me.
Photo - Stephen / N Z Glacier - "Better than being dead". One year after PML diagnosis.
Now moving forward with new dreams in my heart with love and respect for so many wonderful people that did not give up on me and inspired me to keep going.