Darling Harbour, signal mast

This signal mast is located at Darling Harbour, beside the Australian National Maritime Museum. It was originally erected at the Royal Australian Navy's Garden Island Dockyard in 1912, with pennants or signal flags flown from it displaying messages to naval vessels in Sydney Harbour. It stood at 72 metres but in World War II had the middle section removed because it was a hazard to sea planes taking off from Rose Bay. It was reconstructed here in 1991 and now stands at 20.7 metres. The Australian national flag, the museum flag, the principal sponsor’s flag, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are flown from it every day. On special days, signal flags are flown from the mast to display messages.