In the centre of retired farmer Kev Jackwitz's neatly kept front lawn is a monument to childhood memories of yearning for peace.
Mr Jackwitz, 88, said he could remember thousands of World War II soldiers training at a rifle range near his Lowood farm in south-east Queensland, 70 kilometres west of Brisbane.
He said he liked seeing flags in other people's front yards.
"I think, 'Well, they're good Australians too and they are representing their country,'" Mr Zischke said.
"It's good to see."
Husband's honour
Jennifer Clifford, 72, said the Australian flag had been flown for the 20 years she had been at her Regency Downs home.
"We are very proud to be Australian," she said.
Ms Clifford's late husband Noel put them up.
She said she kept up the tradition because she was very proud of her husband, and for her own sake.
"You've got to keep some memories going," Ms Clifford said.
She said she had replaced the flags three times in the two years since her husband's death.
"They don't last a long time because they're up all the time. I don't take them down."
Uncle's service
Lowood resident of three years Don Jordin, 79, said he used to put the flag up on Australia Day and Anzac Day when he lived at Yarraman in the South Burnett.
"But coming down here I thought, 'Well, there's no reason not to have it up full time,'" he said.
Mr Jordin said he appreciated Australia and what its servicemen and women had done over the years.
"I really put it up for them," he said.
Mr Jordin said his grandfather was a prisoner of war on the Burma railway.
"I always think of him and would like to have spoken to him more," he said.
"He came home, fortunately, but we were too young to ask him any questions, things I'd like to know now."
Mr Jordin said he had applied to his federal MP for a free Australian flag after his was damaged by recent stormy weather.
Free flags from politicians
A Department of Finance spokesperson said free Australian flags had been available from parliamentarians since at least 1979.
Under the program, constituents and groups can apply to their local federal MP or senator for a free Australian, Aboriginal, or Torres Strait Islander flag.
The flags are Australian-made and purchased by parliamentarians through a contracted stationery supplier.
They are made from either knitted polyester or woven material and come in a range of sizes.
Availability is determined by each parliamentarian's office budget.
The spokesperson was unable to answer questions about how many flags were given away, saying parliamentarians did not report the number of flags they presented.
Not for everyone
University of Queensland School of Psychology lecturer Hema Preya Selvanathan said flying the Australian flag could mean different things to different people.
"In sporting events, they symbolise unity and support for the country's sports team," Dr Selvanathan said.
"On Australia Day, it symbolises nationalist sentiments, and is in sharp contrast with the growing movement to change the date of Australia Day."
Dr Selvanathan said seeing the Australian flag being flown could evoke different responses depending on the meaning that a person associated with the flag.
"For some, it might evoke a sense of unity and feelings of pride for the country," she said.
"But, for others, due to the history, link to colonisation, and perception that 'Australia equals white', the flag is seen as divisive and exclusionary."
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