The badge is readily identified with the spirit of ANZAC, the legend of the Australian soldier (or digger), and the esprit de corps of the Army itself, due to its association with the landings at Gallipoli in 1915.

[3] The oldest known example is the "Advance Australia" coat of arms (named because of the motto inscription), which became widely used in New South Wales and the neighbouring colonies by private corporations and individuals.

The representation below was reputedly painted for Thomas Silk, the son of the captain of the Prince of Orange, a convict ship that visited Sydney in 1821.

[4] In 1902, a badge was urgently sought for the Australian contingents raised after Federation for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War.

[5] Hutton had earlier received a "Trophy of Arms" as a gift from Major Joseph Gordon, a long-standing military acquaintance, comprising mounted cut and thrust swords and triangular Martini Henri bayonets arranged in a semicircle around a brass crown.

[2] However, because the original design was created in haste, it was subsequently redesigned, and that was the form of the badge worn by soldiers of the First Australian Imperial Force in World War I and the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) in World War II, being used on both the slouch hat and the tunic, and it was also used in some Regimental badges.

Since its inception, the basic form of the 1904 version has remained unchanged, although modifications have been made to the wording on the scroll and to the style of crown.