At nearly the midpoint between Antarctica, Australia and Africa are the Heard and McDonald Islands. The islands were named after two different US American Captains. First Captain John Heard charted the islands on November 25, 1853. The next month and year later a UK ship under the command of William McDonald charted the new 'McDonald' Islands. But the first person to set foot on any of these islands was Captain Erasmus Darwin Rogers in 1855.
The flag of Heard and McDonalds islands is based on the current national flag of Australia. However the stars have been replaced by snowflakes and the UK Canton has been altered. Both the English Red Cross and eight Scottish triangles are white. Likewise the interstitial white is blue like the rest of the flag. Only the cross of St. Patrick remains in its original format. Another interesting fact is that it is home to Australia's tallest mountain - Mawson Peak. However since Mawson Peak is closer to Antarctica it only holds the tallest tallest of tall via a political rubric. Mount Kosciuszko is still the tallest mountain on the continent.
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