FLAG OF NEW ZEALAND: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The New Zealand flag is the national symbol of this oceanic country. It is a dark blue cloth, with the Union Jack in the canton inherited from its British colonial days. On the right side it has four stars representing the constellation of the Southern Cross. These are red in color and have a white border.

The New Zealand national symbol is a faithful reflection of its colonial past. The flags in New Zealand came into being with the need for the British to identify the vessels from these islands. The first was that of the United Tribes of New Zealand, but with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the British blue flag, with the initials NZ, began to be used.

New Zealand flag. (Zscout370, Hugh Jass and many others).

The symbol of the Southern Cross arrived at the end of the 19th century and was officially approved in 1902. Since then, despite the country's independence, it has not received any changes. In 2015 and 2016, two referendums were held that proposed the change of the flag and ended up leaving the current one. Blue is identified with the Pacific Ocean, while the stars represent New Zealand's geographic location.

History of the flag

New Zealand was one of the last archipelagos on planet Earth that was inhabited by humans. It is estimated that the islands began to be populated by Polynesians from the 13th century. Their descendants, from that moment, began to be known as Maori. Their culture developed independently from that of the rest of the Polynesians.

More than two centuries later, Europeans began exploring the islands. The first to do so were the Dutch in 1642. These first expeditions suffered from Maori attacks. The nomenclature of Nova Zeelandia, in Latin, was the first chosen by the Dutch, in honor of the province of Zeeland.

European power was slow to settle in Nu, eve Zealand. The next to reach the islands were the British, with James Cook's expedition being the first to arrive in New Zealand in 1769. Since then the name of the islands became New Zealand and soon the region began to be visited by French vessels., Americans and, of course, British.

- First European settlements

The first European settlements in New Zealand did not arrive until the early 19th century. With these settlers, the history of the flags on the islands began. First of all, different commercial centers were established on the North Island and already, by 1814, a Christian mission of the Church of England was founded.

The stations grew into their twenties in the mid-19th century and contacts and evangelization with the Maori increased. The first son of British in New Zealand was born in 1815 in Rangihoua Pā. Relations with the Maori became complicated over the years: while some assimilated to British and Christian power, others confronted it.

- British colonization

The British colonial presence formally began in 1788 with the founding of the colony of New South Wales. This colony was established in present-day Australia, but by the very definition of its boundaries, it was to include most of New Zealand, except for the lower half of the South Island.

Later, the limits were reduced, but New Zealand did not begin to be occupied. From 1823, New Zealand entered the judicial jurisdiction of New South Wales. In 1834, one of the most important events in New Zealand history occurred, as after the appointment of a general resident, the Maori were urged to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1835.

United Tribes Flag

Since the British colonization of New Zealand began to take place, the need for a flag arose. British vessels built on New Zealand territory were required to have a flag, and they did not have one because no New Zealand symbol had been established. Maori ships were besieged for not having a flag.

In March 1834 the first New Zealand flag was officially created. This corresponded to the United Tribes of New Zealand, which brought together different Maori chiefs in communion with the British government. Following the Maori declaration of independence in 1835, three flags were proposed for New Zealand, designed by British missionary Henry Williams.

The first one consisted of a flag with horizontal stripes in blue and white, with the Union Jack in the canton. Due to its complete association with Great Britain, this flag was discarded by the Maori chiefs.

Proposed New Zealand flag. (1834). (Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg: VariousNz_flag_proposed_1834.png: Created by en: User: Lholdenderivative work: NikNaks talk - gallery - wikipedia).

The other proposal was one that kept the Cross of St. George in red on a white background. In the canton, another small flag was included with another red St. George's Cross with a black border. The rest of the squares were blue, with a white star each.

Proposed flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand. (United Tribes of New Zealand, file created by uploader from Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand.svg.).

Approved flag

Maori chiefs accepted a version of the latter flag, in which the border of the cross was changed. This went from black to white. The flag was officially established in 1835.

Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand. (No machine-readable author provided. Greentubing assumed (based on copyright claims).).

- Treaty of Waitangi

Although sustained from London, the Maori declaration of independence did not imply the abandonment of British sovereignty. The British sovereign decision to occupy the region began in 1839, through the New Zealand Company. This involved the transfer of Maori sovereignty to the British colony. Since that year, the governor of New South Wales came to exercise control over New Zealand as well.

That situation forced the Maori chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, where they cede sovereignty to British citizens, although the interpretations vary according to the translations. The Maori, over time, entered a situation of helplessness, but at the same time, being recognized by the British government.

The British colony of New Zealand was quickly founded on July 1, 1841. In this way, a life of government separate from New South Wales began. New Zealand's colonial rise was dizzying, as in 1846 the British Parliament granted the settlers the right of self-government.

With different evangelistic plans, New Zealand became a settlement made up mostly of settlers.

Incorporation of the Union Jack

The validity of the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand was short-lived. With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Union Jack began to be used as the flag of New Zealand ships. Nonetheless, the United Tribes flag remained present on the New Zealand Company, on the Maori-occupied North Island and on Maori ships.

The Union Jack became the top flag of the New Zealand colony over the years, not having its own colonial flag.

Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (By Original flag by Acts of Union 1800SVG recreation by User: Zscout370, from Wikimedia Commons).

Blue pavilion

Peace in New Zealand was short-lived after the start of formal British colonization, as wars began between settlers and Maori chiefs. After the self-government granted to the colonists, the New Zealand political reality changed.

The British government remained involved in the fight against different Maori chiefs, and much of these conflicts were carried out by boats with different flags.

Vexillological standards on British colonial vessels changed over time. By 1866, the British Royal Navy established that the colonies could use the blue flag, which consisted of simply the Union Jack in the canton and the rest of the flag in blue, but with the colonial shield. That gave rise to the large number of British colonial flags.

However, New Zealand did not have a colonial coat of arms to add to its vessels. Given that, it began to use the blue flag in 1867 with the letters NZ in red with a white border, after the approval of a decree.

Naval ensign of New Zealand. (1867). (See page for author).

Origin of the flag of the Southern Cross

The naval flag of 1867 was always conceived as a temporary project. For the year 1869, the First Lieutenant of HMS Blanche of the Royal Navy, Albert Hastings, sent a design to George Bowen, who held the title of Governor General of New Zealand, representing the monarchy.

Hastings's proposed flag included the constellation of the Southern Cross and was approved on October 23, 1869 as the flag of official ships. One of the first models was one in which the stars of the Southern Cross were in a white circle. This corresponded with the adoption of the International Code of Signals.

New Zealand flag. (1899). (NZ History - New Zealand Signaling Flag).

The plurality of designs of the flag meant that by 1902 the current model was finally approved. This includes the stars of the Southern Cross in red on the right side, without a white circle, but with a border of that color. This is the same flag that is still in force today.

- Controversy with the flag

New Zealand does not have an official independence date, rather it was a gradual process. During the same, its accession to the League of Nations was made, after its foundation in 1919. Despite this, the archipelago remained a British domain. By 1926 it began to be a domain with status among equals.

However, it was not until 1947 that that rule ended and in 1949, the natives became New Zealand citizens, without necessarily being British subjects. This did not imply that the Union Jack disappeared from the New Zealand flag, so the symbol remained unchanged.

The New Zealand flag has been the subject of much controversy and modification intentions. Despite being that of an independent country, the flag still includes the British flag. There are also favorable views in defending New Zealand's historic ties to the UK.

The other reason the New Zealand flag is up for debate is because of its extreme resemblance to the Australian flag. From it, only the color of the stars and the presence of an additional star under the Union Jack, in addition to another on the right, differ.

Flag of Australia. (Source: pixabay.com).

- Proposals for change

Since the second half of the 20th century, the creation of a new New Zealand flag has been the order of the day, especially among Labor governments. Some designs such as the silver fern flag have been the most popular, being supported by different prime ministers.

The most important movement to change the flag occurred in the 2010s. In that year, parliamentarian Charles Chauvel proposed a consultative commission to generate a referendum to choose a new flag. This process was supported by Prime Minister John Key, who in 2014 announced his intention to endorse a new flag.

The process incorporated two referendums. In the first, the population was summoned to choose the best option among five designs. For the second, the winning option of the first referendum would face the national flag.

Proposals for the first referendum

Before the referendum, a parliamentary advisory committee was created that drafted the legislation for the possible flag change. Subsequently, in July 2015, 10,292 flag proposals were received.

Among the proposals, the most recurrent themes referred to the country's history, inclusion, equality and freedom, and the most common colors were white, black, red, green and blue.

Many of the designs kept the Southern Cross, as well as the Union Jack, but also the silver fern and other Maori symbols such as the Kiwi or the koru. For the month of August, 40 finalist designs were selected.

Read Peak Flag

On September 1, 2015, the four designs that would be submitted to the referendum were published. The jury's choice was very controversial and generated controversy in social networks and political sectors. After the collection of 50 thousand online signatures and political pressure, it was included among the candidates for the Red Peak Flag or flag of the red peak.

This symbol was designed by Aaron Austin and maintains the design of the edge of a triangle or chevron in white, forming in turn, three other triangles. These are red, blue and black, representing the colors of the koru, kiwi and the Southern Cross. The chevron represents the tectonic plates, while the red is the earth, the black the night and the blue, the dawn.

New Zealand flag proposal. Read Peak Flag. (2015). (Aaron Dustin).

Koru

Another of the proposed flags was one that included the Maori koru spiral, in black and white. That was representing life, peace and strength. Despite its meaning, the flag was mocked for its resemblance to mesmerizing elements.

New Zealand flag proposal. Koru. (2015). (Andrew Fyfe).

Silver ferns

The other three designs included the silver fern. One of them was a composition made in black and white by Alofi Kanter.

New Zealand flag proposal. Silver fern in black and white. (2015). (Alofi Kanter).

Finally, two designs were presented by architectural designer Kyle Lockwood. These were extremely conservative and what they proposed was to replace the Union Jack with a silver fern throughout, creating in turn another field. In one of them, the field created to the left of the fern was red.

New Zealand flag proposal. Silver fern with red stripe. (2015). (Kyle Lockwood).

Lockwood's second proposal was the same, only with the field to the left of the fern in black, and a lighter blue in the space to the right.

New Zealand flag proposal. (2015). (Kyle Lockwood).

Result of the referendums

The first referendum was held between November 20 and December 11, 2015. With a 48.78% voter turnout, Lockwood's second proposal was the option chosen to move on to the second referendum. In this electoral process, a transferable voting system was used, in which more than one option could be marked hierarchically.

The flag of the red, white and blue silver fern obtained 41.64% of the votes as the first option, while that of the black, white and blue fern came very close, at 40.15%. The Red Peak barely reached 8.77%, the other black and white fern 5.66% and the koru, 3.78%.

This led to the votes for the second option being counted, where the flag of the black, white and blue fern was imposed with 50.58% compared to 49.42% of the red, white and blue fern.

Between March 3 and 24, 2016, the second referendum was held. In this, the winning flag design was pitted against the current flag. With a 67.78% participation, the option to maintain the current flag was imposed by 56.73% against 43.27% of the Lockwood flag.

Meaning of the flag

New Zealand continues to maintain the same symbols as in its colonial times and this is reflected in the significance of each of its elements. The most distinctive is the Southern Cross. This is present in different flags of countries in the southern hemisphere, such as Australia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa or Brazil.

The representation of the Southern Cross is made because it is the largest cosmic symbol that represents the southern position of these countries, such as New Zealand. On the other hand, the Union Jack, today is the symbol of the union and the close ties that New Zealand still has with the United Kingdom. These can be seen primarily in language, religion, monarchy, and inherited customs.

The colors have no specific meaning. The blue color was that of the British naval flag, while red was also one of the colors chosen in the British symbols, and in this case, it served to contrast.

This does not imply that they have subsequently been redefined, since blue has been related to the Pacific Ocean and the sky, while the stars have been related to New Zealand's position in the ocean.

References

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