National colours of Australia - Wikipedia National colours of Australia `` Green and gold '' redirects here. For the ornamental herb, see Green - and - gold. Green Gold Sources Pantone 348 C 116 C RGB ( Hex ) 0 -- 132 -- 61 ( # 00843D ) 255 -- 205 -- 0 ( # FFCD00 ) CMYK 100 % -- 0 % -- 54 % -- 48 % 0 % -- 20 % -- 100 % -- 0 % The national colours of Australia are green and gold. They were established by the Governor - General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen, on 19 April 1984 in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette ; on advice from Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The gold colour represents the golden wattle ( Acacia pycnantha ), which is Australia 's national flower. The uniforms of Australia 's national sports teams are usually green and gold. The golden wattle flower, and the colours green and gold, are also featured on the Coat of arms of Australia. The Australian government states that, to be used correctly, the colours are placed side - by - side, with no other colour between them. The exact green and gold colours are specified as Pantone Matching System numbers 348C and 116C. The colours are always referred to as ' green and gold ', respectively. Before 1984 three colour combinations unofficially represented Australia : red, white and blue, blue and gold, and green and gold. According to the Australian government, `` green and gold have been popularly embraced as Australia 's national sporting colours '' since the late 1800s. Nearly every current Australian national sports team wears them ( although the hues and proportions of the colours may vary between teams and across eras ). Australia 's cricket team first wore the colours in 1899, in the form of the baggy green, the cap presented to Australian cricket players. Contents 1 History 2 Uses 2.1 Sports teams 2.2 Companies and organisations 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading History The first Australian national sporting team to wear green and gold was the Australian cricket team that toured England in 1899. Their clothes were the traditional white, but the captain Joe Darling arranged for green and gold caps and blazers to be worn for the opening match of the Ashes series. Previously, the team had had no uniform cap or blazer colours but wore an assortment of club or state colours. The Australian cricket team continued to use the colours thereafter, and in 1908 the colours were ratified as the official team colours for future Australian cricket teams. During subsequent discussions by members of the New South Wales Cricket Association, the colours were reportedly referred to as `` gum - tree green '' and `` wattle - gold ''. The Australasian Olympic team adopted `` green and wattle '' in 1908, but not every team played in the colours. In the 1912 Olympics, an official Australian uniform was adopted for the first time : green vests with gold trimming, and white shorts with green and gold trimming. Of the football codes, the Australian national soccer team first wore green and gold in 1924 with the Australian national rugby league team and Australia national rugby union team following in 1928 and 1929 respectively. Uses Australian marathon runners wearing green and gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Sports teams Teams that wear the green and gold include : the Australia cricket team ( one day cricket and Twenty20 cricket ) ; the Australian Summer Olympics team ; the Wallabies ( rugby union ) ; the Kangaroos ( rugby league ) ; the Jillaroos ( rugby league ) ; the Wallaroos ( rugby union ) ; the Diamonds ( netball ) ; the Socceroos ( men 's association football ( soccer ) ) ; the Matildas ( women 's association football ( soccer ) ) ; the Boomers ( men 's basketball ) ; the Opals ( women 's basketball ) ; the Kookaburras ( men 's field hockey ) ; the Hockeyroos ( women 's field hockey ) ; the Mighty Roos ( ice hockey ) ; the Volleyroos ( men 's volleyball ) ; the Australia Davis Cup team ( men 's tennis ) ; the Australia Fed Cup team ( women 's tennis ) ; the Australian national touch football teams ; the Australia national baseball team in the World Baseball Classic ; the Australia national lacrosse team ; the Sharks ( lacrosse ) ; Team Australia on UFC The Smashes The Ultimate Fighter : The Smashes the Wizards of Aus Australian men 's roller derby team The Australian Outback Gridiron Team The Australian Powerlifting team Since 1961, the Wallabies have worn a gold jersey with green lettering and trim ; they changed from a primarily green jersey to avoid a colour clash with the Springboks of South Africa. Companies and organisations From around 1981 the colours were also used in the livery of the government railway body Australian National, formed by the 1970s merger of Commonwealth Railways with the state - run South Australian Railways and Tasmanian Government Railways. Australian National was privatised in 1997. Australian Made logo Australian National Line Medicare Australia National Party of Australia See also Australia portal Australian state colours Coat of arms of Australia Boxing kangaroo flag References ^ Jump up to : `` Australian National Colours ''. Australian Government -- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. ^ Jump up to : Australia. ( 2002 ). Style manual for authors, editors and printers. Snooks & Co. ( 6th ed ed. ). Canberra : John Wiley & Sons Australia. p. 301. ISBN 9780701636487. OCLC 49316140. CS1 maint : Extra text ( link ) Jump up ^ Australia. ( 2002 ). Style manual for authors, editors and printers. Snooks & Co. ( 6th ed ed. ). Canberra : John Wiley & Sons Australia. p. 300. ISBN 9780701636487. OCLC 49316140. CS1 maint : Extra text ( link ) Jump up ^ Australian Citizenship : Our common bond ( PDF ). Belconnen : National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Commonwealth of Australia. 2014. p. 14. Jump up ^ `` History behind sporting colours uncovered ''. The National Sports Museum. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013. Jump up ^ The Weekend Australian, 30 -- 31 December 2000, p. 17 Jump up ^ `` To - day 's Diary -- Fashion and the Game ''. Evening News. 10 May 1924. Retrieved 19 February 2014. Jump up ^ Fagan, Sean. `` To Wattle Gold and Gum Green Jerseys ''. RL1908.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011. Jump up ^ `` History of Rugby ''. Australian Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014. Jump up ^ http://www.outbackgridiron.com/ Further reading This article 's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia 's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. ( January 2014 ) Sharpham, Peter ( 1994 ) The Origin of the Green and Gold, Sporting Traditions, 1994. Australia 's National Colours Australian National Colours : green and gold http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/11/1086749885653.html?from=storyrhs Newspaper - Sydney Morning Herald 12 June 2004 http://www.smh.com.au/national/australias-pride-greeted-by-a-sea-of-green-and-gold-20120820-24ipd.html Sydney Morning Herald 21 August 2012 http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/voices/time-for-australias-green-and-gold-to-shine-in-london.htm Australian Times National Sports Museum July 20, 2012 Sydney Morning Herald 3 October 2012 http://www.news.com.au/sport/more-sport/matt-crowdrey-sings-praises-of-australias-swimming-at-london-paralympics/story-fndukor0-1226470993546 September 11, 2012 Australian Times 24 of January 2012 Australian Sports Commission funding Green and Gold project 1 March 2012 ( press release ) http://www.convictcreations.com/research/symbols.html Symbols of Australia - Defiance and Conformity Retrieved 5 October 2012 Books Australian National Identity Editor : Justin Healey Print book Year 2010 - The Spinney Press ISBN 978 1 921507 24 3 Symbols of Australia National symbols of Australia States and Territories Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia National colours Australia States Canada Czech Republic Germany Greece Israel Italy New Zealand Serbia Ukraine United Kingdom United States States Pan-National Africa Arab World Slavic World Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_colours_of_Australia&oldid=841328517 '' Categories : National colours National sports teams of Australia National symbols of Australia Rail liveries Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty Use Australian English from July 2016 All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English Use dmy dates from July 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016 Wikipedia external links cleanup from January 2014 Wikipedia spam cleanup from January 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français עברית Polski Slovenčina 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 May 2018, at 05 : 05. 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Question: when did australia first wear green and gold
Answer: 1899