Avenue of Flags
Description of Work
The Avenue of Flags is an iconic display of the region's multicultural heritage and ongoing reminder of the impact of the Snowy Scheme on Australia's cultural diversity.
The Avenue of Flags celebrates the nationalities of those who participated in the construction of the Snowy Scheme. The Scheme is recognised as having created a new future for multiculturalism in Australia; with tens of thousands of refugee and migrant workers coming together in rugged country to construct what was then the most ambitious engineering project in the world.
The original Avenue, facing Sharp St, contains 28 national flags and was erected in 1959 to mark the 10th anniversary of the commencement of the Scheme's construction. This section of the Avenue displays the national flags as they were in 1959, with some flags representing nations which no longer exist, and others displaying previous national flags which have now been superseded.
An additional section, facing Bombala St, was added as part of the Snowy Scheme 50th Anniversary celebrations. The New Avenue complements the Historic Avenue and enables further countries to celebrate their part in the making of modern Australia. Flags in the new section are sponsored by national communities and associations.
Nations represented in the Avenue of Flags include:
Historic Avenue
| Australia |
Germany |
Malta |
South Africa |
| Belgium |
Greece |
Netherlands |
Spain |
| Canada |
Hungary |
New Zealand |
Sweden |
| Czechoslovakia |
Ireland |
Norway |
Switzerland |
| Denmark |
Italy |
Pakistan |
United Kingdom |
| Finland |
Latvia |
Poland |
USA |
| France |
Lebanon |
Portugal |
Yugoslavia |
New Avenue
| Austria |
China |
Lithuania |
Slovenia |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Croatia |
Russia |
Sri Lanka |
| Bulgaria |
Estonia |
Serbia |
Ukraine |
Location of Art
Centennial Park Cooma
Installed
Historic Avenue - 1959
New Avenue - 1999
Primary Materials
Flagpoles, flags, plaques
Type
Monument
