@wheatbeer:
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=16012.0
This thread?
Good catch – that’s the one I was thinking of. Thanks.
I’ve done a quick bit of searching, and the impression I got (which could be completely wrong) is the following:
1. The basic concept of a stylized sunburst over a crown is a design that is definitely associated with the Australian armed forces (famously so, apparently), and which is called the Rising Sun.
2. The design’s association with Australia is clear-cut, but its association with New Zealand looks a lot more debatable. There may not actually be any such association officially, or the association may just be a side-effect of Australia’s and New Zealand’s participation in the ANZAC formations of WWI, whose role at Gallipoli is considered a defining event in the history of both countries.
3. The Rising Sun emblem has gone through many versions over the years, so it’s possible that no particular version can be singled out as “the” real one (as opposed to all the others), except perhaps that a particular version was the standard one at a particular period of time.
4. The Rising Sun has definitely been used as a badge, but whether it was ever used as an actual roundel (specifically an aircraft roundel) is unclear.
5. It’s quite possible that the specific artwork for what’s called the ANZAC roundel in A&A is proprietary, even though the general design of the Rising Sun badge has been around in many forms for a long time.