The British Columbian Flag

[mbarrick]

The flag of British Columbia. Here we have a very nice example of British colonialism in one of the few examples of a colonial flag that was not given royal assent on the first go around. The loyalty expressed in the symbolism of the Union Jack with the crown in the centre is pretty clear, as the is the rather obvious symbolism of the setting sun for this westernmost British North American colony. What is fun and funny about this design is if you were to visit the legislature buildings in Victoria, the provincial capitol, you would see this design carved in stone and set in cast iron thoughout the building with the serring sun in the upper half of the flag and the Union Jack in the lower half. This was the original design that was sent of for royal assent, which is typically a rubber-stamp process, so much so that there was no hesitation to commit the design to stone and iron while the approval was pending. Well, the original design was sent back with the Union Jack and setting sun rearranged in the positions you see them with the notation that "The sun never sets over the British Empire" !!