Papua New Guinea

Papua Niugini, Independent State of Papua New Guinea

Last modified: 2000-01-07 by santiago dotor
Keywords: papua new guinea | papua niugini | papua | new guinea | southern cross | bird: of paradise | south pacific commission |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

by Zeljko Heimer
Flag adopted 1st July 1971

• Description
• Naval Ensign
• Provincial Flags:
  • Central
  • East New Britain
  • East Sepik
  • Eastern Highlands
  • Enga
  • Gulf (Goeland)
  • Madang
  • Manus
  • Milne Bay
  • Morobe
  • National Capital District (Port Moresby)
  • New Ireland
  • North Solomons (Bougainville)
  • Oro (Northern)
  • Sandaun (West Sepik)
  • Simbu (Chimbu)
  • Southern Highlands
  • Western (Fly River)
  • Western Highlands
  • West New Britain
  • Buka new provincial flag?
• Coat-of-Arms
• Historical Flags
• Papua Bessena Separatist Movement

See also:

• Clickable map of Papua New Guinea
• Irian Jaya (Indonesia) (former Dutch New Guinea)
• South Pacific Commission

Other sites:

• Papua New Guinea provincial flags by Mark Sensen

The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on 1 July 1971. The year of independence is 1975.

Mark Sensen, 5 December 1995

The national flag has two triangles of red over black. The local kumul bird of paradise flies across the red half, symbolizing Papua New Guinea's emergence into nationhood. The five five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation appear in the black, reflecting ties with Australia and other nations of the south Pacific. Black, red and yellow are also traditional colors in Papua New Guinea.

Nick Artimovich, 1 November 1996

by Jan Oskar Engene

The simplest variants of the White Ensign are those ensigns which place the national flag in the canton of a plain white field (like Bangladesh). Papua New Guinea also uses such a naval ensign. Source: flag table in Jane's Fighting Ships.

Jan Oskar Engene, 19 September 1996

National Defence: 4300 men (Army 88.4%, Navy 9.3% and Air Force 2.3%). War ensign. Source: Encyclopaedia Universalis Yearbook, 1998; flag as reported in Album des Pavillons.

Ivan Sache, 24 May 1999

Recently I found a second-hand copy of PNG: A fact book on modern Papua New Guinea, written by Jackson Rannells, published by Oxford University Press (Melbourne) in 1990. The cover of the book shows the 19 provincial flags of the country in colour, with brief descriptions given inside. These flags (many of which are strikingly colourful and have uncommon/traditional images) are already on the Internet, at Mark Sensen's great Flags of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and worth looking at. Mark has agreed to post his GIFs to FOTW as I post the relevant descriptions.

David Cohen, 31 July 1999

I made the images [of the Papua New Guinea provincial flags] several years ago according the outlined drawings from Lucien Philippe in Dr. Günther Mattern's Flaggenmitteilungen, no. 96, 11 March 1984. His source was Magazine New Nation Vol. 6 No. 7 September 1982, published in New Guinea. The drawings are accompanied by some text in French for the colours of the detailed images. David, can you please check if I coloured them right? (Especially the details on the flag of East New Britain). I also invite others to check it, IIRC these flags are also shown on the Flags of Paradise flag chart.

Mark Sensen, 31 July 1999

Some of the detail is very elaborate. I'll post Mark Sensen a colour copy of the book's cover as well as enlarged b&w copies of each flag.

David Cohen, 1 August 1999

from the Department of Defence of Papua New Guinea

by Ivan Sache

In the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart appears "170. Papua (Papua Bessena separatist movement) - Papua New Guinea." Blue field with a white Christian cross at hoist, six stars in a quarter-of-circle, a red Paradise bird in the middle and PAPUA in white letters placed vertcally along fly.

Ivan Sache, 17 September 1999