New Zealand

Aotearoa

Last modified: 2000-01-14 by antonio martins
Keywords: new zealand | blue ensign | southern cross | stars: southern cross | stars: 4 | star (fimbriated) |
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• Description of the flag
• The Silver Fern and the New Zealand Coat of Arms

• Ensigns of New Zealand
• Subdivisions and dependencies of New Zealand
  • Chatham Islands
  • Stewart Island
  • Niue
  • Tokelau
  • Cook Islands
• Clickable map of New Zealand (traditional provinces)
• Historical flags of New Zealand
  • Historical Maori flags
  • New Zealand's vice regal representatives
• Maori flags
  • Historical Maori flags
  • Maori traditional flags
• Sport regions
• Clickable map of New Zealand (sport divisions)
• Proposals for a new flag
• New Zealand Flag Association (NZFA)
• New Zealand parties
• Houseflags of new zealand shipping companies
• New Zealand railways

• New Zeland’s Government flag page

The image above uses the same same colors as Australia, taken from the Flag Institute sheet: red Pantone 186 (approx. RGB:204-0-51 ) and blue Pantone 280 (approx. RGB:0-51-102 ).
António Martins, 02 Jul 1998

The stars on the NZ flag are not a “true” cross, they fall at the relative positions of the stars Acrux, Mimosa, Gacrux and delta Crucis, and as such the “crossbar” doesn’t intersect the upright at 90 degrees.
James Dignan, 30 Aug 1999

The centres of the stars forming the short limb of the cross shall be on a line intersecting the vertical limb at an angle of 82 therewith, and rising from near the lower fly corner of the Union Jack towards the upper fly corner of the ensign, its point of intersection with the vertical line being distant from the centre of the uppermost star of the cross twelve-sixtieths of the hoist of the ensign. The distance of the centre of the star nearest the outer edge of the fly from the point of intersection shall be equal to twelve-sixtieths of the hoist of the ensign, and the distance of the centre of the star nearest the Union Jack from the point of intersection shall be equal to fourteen-sixtieths of the hoist of the ensign.

The star nearest the fly edge of the ensign shall measure five-sixtieths, the star at the top of the cross and that nearest to the Union Jack shall each measure six-sixtieths, and the star at the bottom of the cross shall measure seven-sixtieths of the hoist of the ensign across their respective red points, and the width of the white borders to the several stars shall in all cases be equal to one one-hundred-and-twentieth of the hoist of the ensign.

The New Zealand coat of arms was granted 26th August 1911.
David Prothero, 09 Sep 1998

The base of the New Zealand coat of arms (the whole achievement on which the supporters stand) consists of two fern leaves.
(anon.), 08 Sep 1998

The Silver Fern is widely used in New Zealand to signify New Zealandness. It is incorporated in the badges of most Army units, and more importantly it forms the wreath surrounding the central badge on Regimental Colours (equivalent to the UK Union Wreath and the Canadian “autumnal maple leaves”).
Todd Mills, 11 Nov 1997

The first official flag with fern leaves appeared in about 1908. In a letter dated 5th January 1908 the Governor-General of New Zealand requested that the garland around the badge on his flag be changed from the usual green laurel leaves, which had been used until then, to a garland of fern leaves, and referred to the garland of maple leaves surrounding the badge on the flag of the Gov-Gen of Canada as a precedent. This was no problem since the original regulations only stipulated that the device on the flags of Governors should be surrounded by a green garland without specifying the type of leaves. (source: PRO file, ADM 116/1072)
(anon.), 08 Sep 1998

See also: The silver fern as a new flag proposal