Flag announcement: Dr John Olsen AO OBE (1928 – 2023)

A State Memorial Service for Dr John Olsen AO OBE will be held at 10:30am on Monday 29 May 2023, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.

In 1977, Dr Olsen was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, and in 2001 he was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia and awarded the Centenary Medal for his longstanding service to the arts. He was also awarded the Wynne Prize in 1969 and 1985, the Sir John Sulman Prize in 1989 and the Archibald Prize in 2005, amongst many other significant awards throughout his distinguished career.

Details regarding attendance at the service and livestreaming can be found on the New South Wales Government website.

As a mark of mourning and respect, the Australian National Flag should be flown at half-mast all day on Monday 29 May 2023 in New South Wales only from all buildings and establishments occupied by the Australian Government departments and affiliated agencies. Other organisations are welcome to participate.

  • When flying the Australian National Flag with other flags, all flags in the set should be flown at half-mast. 
  • If a set of flags includes the flags of other nations, it would be appropriate to seek permission from the diplomatic representatives of that nation to half-mast their flag. 
  • An acceptable half-mast position would be when the top of the flag is a third of the distance down from the top of the flagpole. 
  • Information on flag protocol is available on the Department's website.

Your assistance is appreciated.

Commonwealth Flag Officer