The Boxing Kangaroo Flag

Uniting Australians behind an unusual symbol

The image of the Boxing Kangaroo has a long history in Australian folklore, going well back into the 19th century. It was associated with travelling circus acts, while during World War II the emblem was donned by several Royal Australian Navy vessels and Royal Australian Air Force aircraft. But how did this quintessentially Australian image become universally accepted as Australia’s sporting flag? John Longley AM, who crewed on Australia II for its 1983 America’s Cup victory, shares its story.

THE BOXING KANGAROO captured the zeitgeist of the time when businessman Alan Bond set out to win the America’s Cup. His challenge was to wrest this trophy from the United States, the perennial winner since the competition’s inception in 1851. Bond headed up five Australian America’s Cup challenges. The first, in 1974, went to sea with no flag. However, for the second challenge, in 1977, the crew developed a battle flag for the yacht Australia. It was simply a yellow, leaping kangaroo – like that on the old Australian penny – set on a green background. A similar flag was flown in the 1980 Australian challenge. In 1982, Bond had taken his offshore racing yacht Apollo V to Cowes in England to compete in the Admiral’s Cup series. During a lay-day, a match race was organised between Apollo V and Victory, the yacht owned by flamboyant British entrepreneur Peter de Savary. The night before the match, Apollo V’s crew learnt that the British had made a flag featuring a kangaroo being ‘mistreated’. The Apollo V crew decided to match the insult and drew up an image of a boxing kangaroo kicking a bulldog, the World War II symbol of British tenacity. The kicking, boxing kangaroo appealed to team manager Warren Jones, and he instructed Stephen Castledine of Turner Design in Perth to do a professional version of it. Their first efforts were rejected because the head was like a cartoon image – Jones insisted on a real kangaroo. Jones was finally happy with the design and sent the black and white drawing to Hughie Treharne of Sobstad Sails in Sydney, who produced a number of flags just like the drawing – a black image on a white background. But the lack of colour meant that from a distance they all looked like surrender flags! After arriving in Newport, Rhode Island, the team forgot all about it. Jones, nevertheless, nailed one version to the wall of his office as preparations for the season progressed. The summer rolled on and the other teams all sported flashy logos and flags. Not Australia II, however: Jones had what was dubbed a ‘tin-shed mentality’. To his mind, all funds should go toward the boat and not unnecessary expenditures ashore. In fact, his office was genuinely located in a tin shed.

Australia II’s sail-makers were operating from an old fishing net store that had been converted into a makedo sail loft. Behind it, on Thames Street, was a bar called O’Brien’s that the sail-makers used to frequent when taking a break from the many hours spent building and re-cutting Australia II’s sails. One night the bar’s owner, Tom, asked if the team had a flag, as he was collecting flags from all the other teams. One of the sail-makers, Ken O’Brien, remembered the flag behind Jones’ desk. He borrowed it, made a small pennant using off-cut material from Australia II’s green and gold spinnakers, and decided to spice it up by making the gloves and eyes a bright red. The colourful new creation was then presented to O’Briens, where it was duly displayed in the bar. One evening Australia II’s skipper, John Bertrand, went to the bar. He saw the flag and asked the sail-makers to sew a big battle flag of the same design. At the end of July – at the beginning of Round Robin C of the Challenger trials – Australia II broke out the new flag. At the same time the crew started playing the Men at Work song ‘Down Under’, belting out from speakers on the tender. By the time Australia II won the cup on 26 September 1983, the Boxing Kangaroo flag had become famous. It was used during the unsuccessful defence of the cup off Fremantle in 1986–87, by which time it was widely being waved by Australian sports fans at sporting events worldwide. When the Bond America’s Cup company was wound up in the early 1990s, the copyright to the flag was sold to the Australian Olympic Committee. Its use by Australian international sporting teams is now so widespread that many would forget its modern origins were with the Australia II team in Newport, back in 1983.

In 2010, I visited Newport. I went to O’Briens and saw up in the rafters the original flag made by Australia II’s sail-makers. I met up with Tom O’Brien, who was still running the bar, and persuaded him to swap it for a new flag, signed by all the crew. The original, which was now very frail, was packed up and bought back to Fremantle and donated to the Western Australian Maritime Museum.

John Longley AM competed in five America’s Cup matches between 1974 and 1987, then managed the build of the museum-standard replica HMB Endeavour, which is now held by the Australian National Maritime Museum. He was named West Australian Citizen of the Year (Sport) and has been inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. John is also a member of the museum’s Council.

01 Damian Fewster, Australia II’s bowman, hoisting the Boxing Kangaroo flag after crossing the line to win the America’s Cup in 1983. Image courtesy of Bruce Stannard

02 The original black and white flag behind Warren Jones’ desk. Image courtesy of Lesleigh Green

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