Introduction
The flag of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is a British Blue Ensign with the territory arms in the fly. The shield shows a golden lion holding a torch, with a reindeer and a fur seal as supporters, and a macaroni penguin as the crest.
Meaning & Symbolism
The animals are a record of what was brought and what belongs. The fur seal and the penguin are native. The reindeer is not: it was introduced by Norwegian whalers in 1911 and lived on the island for a century, until the herds were removed in 2013 and 2014 to protect the native vegetation.
The motto reads Leo terram propriam protegat, let the lion protect his own land.
History of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Flag
The arms were granted in 1985, when the territory was separated from the Falkland Islands and given its own administration, three years after the Argentine landing on South Georgia that opened the 1982 war.
There is no permanent population. The residents are the staff of the British Antarctic Survey and the government officer at King Edward Point.
Curiosities
- The reindeer on the arms was introduced by Norwegian whalers in 1911 and eradicated in 2014, so the flag now shows an animal that no longer lives there.
- The territory has no permanent population, only rotating research and government staff.
- The motto is Leo terram propriam protegat, let the lion protect his own land.
- The 1982 war began with an Argentine landing on South Georgia, not on the Falklands.
- The crest is a macaroni penguin, named for the eighteenth century dandies called macaronis.
Download Flag
Download the flag of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in high-quality SVG vector format or PNG raster images. SVG files can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
Digital icon artwork; its proportions may differ from the official flag proportions listed on this page.