Not Always Eye to Eye. Always Standing Side by Side. An Explanation.

There is a version of this conversation that never goes anywhere. Two sides, both dug in, both certain the other is the enemy, both being quietly encouraged to stay that way by people in positions of power who benefit from that very division. It's been that way for as long as I can remember.

But, we are no longer interested in that conversation.

The United in History collection exists because most ordinary Australians, black and white, Indigenous and migrant, city and bush, are not actually that far apart. They want to be safe. They want to be heard. They want their kids to have a future. They want to live in a country that works. And they are tired of being told that the person next to them is the reason things are broken.

Two flags side by side. Not one better than the other. Both representing real history, real sacrifice, real culture and real people. Both pointing at the same country. Both invested in what comes next.

That is what this collection says. Nothing more and nothing less.

Two Histories. One Country.

Australia has two histories that do not always sit comfortably together. That is the honest truth and pretending otherwise helps nobody. As far as I'm aware, at least in my own naivety, no one alive today, is responsible for the traumas caused from the past.

Both of those histories involved sacrifice. Both involved trauma. Both involved people who gave everything for the generations that came after them. And the people who came after them are now living next to each other in the same country, going to the same schools, shopping at the same shops, cheering for the same football teams.

The question is not whether those histories can be reconciled perfectly. They probably cannot. The vitriol that is often seen in the comments section of any post on social media might suggest it's impossible, but the question is whether we choose to face forward together or stay stuck facing each other.

The collection says face forward. I didn't consult with anyone to create it. I built it from my own lived experience. How people were feeling.

I had 1 design in particular, "If This Flag Offends, I'll Help You Pack", that a lot of people loved, lots hated, and many agreed with but felt it wasn't truly representative of that optimistic future...

And because of that, and because I truly believe we need to honour the indigenous heritage of Australia, I created a version with 2 flags, the Australian & the Aboriginal, to represent that it's not to vilify or divide us, but to show us standing side by side.

Which lead me to creating my next design that spoke to this in a far more positive light.

This shirt is the one that started the collection. The two flags together, side by side, equal in the frame. Not one above the other. Not one replacing the other. Side by side.

What does it mean to wear it? It means you believe that ordinary Australians of every background have more in common than the people on television would have you believe.

 It means you are not interested in the guilt and shame narrative, or the blame and resentment narrative. It means you think this country is worth building together and you are willing to say so. do we still have differences that need to be discussed? Absofreakinglutely.

It is not a political statement in the party sense. It is a human statement. We are all here. We all have skin in this. Let us stop being played off against each other and get on with it.

Not Always Eye to Eye, But Standing Side by Side - ABO/AUS Flags Shirt

The hero design of the United in History collection. Two flags, side by side, equal. For Australians who are done being divided and ready to face forward. Heavyweight unisex tee, bold print, made in Australia.

From $49.99 AUD

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This one needs no apology and no lengthy explanation. Australia is a generous country. It has welcomed more people per capita than almost any other nation on earth. That generosity is worth protecting.

Protecting it means making sure that the people already here, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, are genuinely taken care of before the gate is opened wider. It means housing, healthcare, cost of living, mental health, veteran support and Indigenous disadvantage are addressed first. Not because newcomers do not matter. Because a country that cannot look after its own people cannot sustainably look after anyone else.

Shut the Gate is not about hate. It is about sequence. And it is a position that the majority of ordinary Australians hold, regardless of what they are told they are supposed to think about it.

Shut the Gate - Australian/Aboriginal Flag UV Vinyl Bumper Sticker

Both flags. One clear message. Sustainable immigration, Australians first. UV vinyl, weatherproof laminate, made in Australia. 9 five-star reviews, rated 4.56 stars.

$10.99 AUD

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Patriotism is Not Racism - ABO/AUS Flags UV Vinyl Bumper Sticker

The message that has sold over 7,400 units on the Australian flag design is now carrying both flags. Because loving this country means loving all of its history, not just the comfortable parts.

$10.99 AUD

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What This Collection Is Not

It is not a lecture. It is not a guilt trip. It is not a corporate reconciliation action plan ticked off a compliance checklist by people who will never actually talk to an Aboriginal Australian or a working class migrant family.

It is not calling anyone anything offensive. The ABO/AUS abbreviation in the collection name is exactly that. An abbreviation of a very long collection title. Nothing more. It is not a slur. It is not a provocation. It is two three-letter country codes sitting next to each other the way the two flags do.

And it is not naive. The history between Indigenous Australians and the settlers who arrived from 1788 onward is not a simple story. It contains beauty and brutality in equal measure. Acknowledging that is not weakness. It is honesty. And honesty is actually the starting point for anything that moves forward.

The Real Division and Who Benefits From It

Here is something worth saying plainly. The people most invested in keeping Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians divided are not ordinary Australians. Ordinary Australians, when they actually sit across from each other at a barbie or in a pub or at a footy match, tend to find they agree on most of the things that actually matter.

The division is manufactured and maintained by politicians who need wedge issues to win elections, by media outlets that need conflict to generate clicks, and by advocacy organisations on both sides that need ongoing crisis to justify their funding and their existence.

Every time ordinary Australians choose to look at each other and say we are not that different, the people who profit from that division lose a little bit of power. That is not a small thing. That is actually how change happens. Not in parliament. Not in a press release. In the way we choose to see the person next to us.

This collection is a small part of that. A shirt. A sticker. A conversation started in a car park or at a campsite when someone asks what the two flags together mean.

What they mean is: we are not interested in being kept apart. We are not interested in the guilt narrative or the resentment narrative. We are interested in what we can build together when we stop letting other people tell us we are enemies.

AussieAF is proudly Aussie-owned and operated from the Sunshine Coast, QLD. All stickers made in Australia with premium UV vinyl and full protective laminate. Free shipping on orders over $49.99.