Flag of New Zealand

The flag of New Zealand is blue, with the flag of the United Kingdom in the upper corner next to the flagpole and four red stars with a white border. It is often mistaken for Australia’s, its neighbour. So much so that in 2016 New Zealanders voted whether they wanted to change it, and decided to keep it.

How it came about

The first flag of the country was chosen in 1834 by the Māori chiefs gathered at Waitangi. They needed it for a practical problem: ships built in New Zealand sailed without a flag, and in 1830 the authorities of Sydney seized one for that reason.

In 1840 New Zealand became a British colony and began using the flag of the United Kingdom. Later, London asked each colony to mark its government ships with an emblem of its own over the British blue naval ensign. In 1869 Albert Hastings Markham, a Royal Navy officer, proposed adding the Southern Cross. That is the design used today, although it was not official as a national flag until 1902.

How it has changed

New Zealand has had four flags in less than forty years. It has not changed since 1869.

1. 

   1834

   The flag of the United Tribes, chosen by the Māori chiefs. It still flies at Waitangi.

2. 

   1840

   After the Treaty of Waitangi the country becomes a colony and the British flag flies.

3. 

   1867

   As the colony had no coat of arms yet, government ships are simply given NZ.

4. 

   1869

   The letters give way to the Southern Cross. In 1902 it becomes the official national flag.

What it means

The New Zealand government explains its elements like this:

• United Kingdom flag

  the country’s origins as a British colony and its historical ties with the United Kingdom.

• Blue

  the sea and the sky that surround the islands.

• Southern Cross

  New Zealand’s place in the South Pacific. Unlike the Australian flag, it has only four stars, without the smallest one of the constellation.

Fun facts

1. They voted on it twice

   In 2015 New Zealanders chose between five new designs, and a black, white and blue one with a silver fern won. In March 2016 that design went head to head with the traditional flag, which won with 56.7% of the votes.

2. More than 10,000 proposals

   Before those referendums the government received 10,292 designs sent in by citizens. The whole process cost about 26 million New Zealand dollars, which many criticised.

3. "Australia copied it from us"

   In 2018 Winston Peters, then acting prime minister, said that Australia had copied the New Zealand flag and should change its own. He even suggested putting a big kangaroo on it.

4. A New Zealander on the Australian flag

   One of the five winners of the 1901 competition for the Australian flag was William Stevens, a ship’s officer from Auckland.

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