But what does the New Zealand flag actually represent?

We all know that New Zealand is a wonderful country, but the question we often ask ourselves is what is the meaning of its flag. Today, as an accomplished vexillologist, Le Petit Journal d’A Auckland enlightens you.

First of all, you should know that even if New Zealand is a relatively young country, the current flag is not the first. First time New Zealand Faced with the need for a flag, it was not yet independent, not even officially a British colony. It was still part of an Australian territory: New South Wales. But in order to distinguish the Kiwis commercial boats from the Australians, a flag was created in 1834 by tribal chiefs Māori from north New Zealand : The Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand.

next one Treaty of Waitangi In 1840 New Zealand was formalized as a British colony. union jack The United Kingdom and its empire become the de facto official flag. So New Zealand joined other colonies, such as Canada or Australia, under the famous British banner.

to know New Zealand The one we are used to seeing today has existed in its present form since 1869 and became the official flag on March 24, 1902. It is based on the British state flag, blue flag. It is also sometimes called Southern Cross flag “.

On a dark blue background, the flag is divided into two parts: the flag of the United Kingdom, and theunion jack in the upper left corner. The use of the Union Jack symbolizes the association with the United Kingdom and New Zealand’s belonging to UK Parliament.

The right half of the flag is dominated by four red five-pointed stars with white edges. They represent a constellation Southern Cross Only four of the five stars appear on the New Zealand flag. The representation of the Southern Cross symbolizes New Zealand’s belonging to the Southern Hemisphere. You are enlightened!

Finally, the design of the flag is still up for debate. Society Māori Not recognizing himself in the Southern Cross flag has been trying for years to pass Maori national flag. The government, after hearing the complaints, launched a referendum in March 2016. In the second round of the referendum, New Zealanders voted 56.6% to keep their current flag.