A national flag should be simple, it should have a bold design that is instantly recognised, even at at a distance, and it should say 'this is what we are.'
New Zealand is a long narrow country between two seas; its Maori name is Aotearoa, which means Land of the Long White Cloud; it is the home of a people who are known the world over as Kiwis, after their unique native bird; our head of state is the Queen, who uses royal blue.
This design for a flag combines all those elements.
It keeps a connection with the present flag by using the same deep blue, but here it represents the Tasman Sea on one side of the country and the Pacific on the other. In the centre the white panel represents Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud, and the green kiwi combines our national symbol--long known the world over--with the green that New Zealand is also famous for.
The kiwi could be less stylised than the one shown here, such as the one that has long been used in the roundels on RNZAF aircraft, but green not red:
New Zealand is a long narrow country between two seas; its Maori name is Aotearoa, which means Land of the Long White Cloud; it is the home of a people who are known the world over as Kiwis, after their unique native bird; our head of state is the Queen, who uses royal blue.
This design for a flag combines all those elements.
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| Tasman Sea Land of the Long White Cloud Pacific Ocean |
The kiwi could be less stylised than the one shown here, such as the one that has long been used in the roundels on RNZAF aircraft, but green not red:
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| Tasman Sea Land of the Long White Cloud Pacific Ocean
Or the kiwi could be more natural-looking ('proper', to use the heraldic term), such as the variation below, which was one I submitted to the Flag Consideration Panel along with the stylised version. The New Zealand Herald featured it in a selection of designs (where the rather phallic 3, 4, and 14 are strange preferences).
Tasman Sea Land of the Long White Cloud Pacific Ocean
The green of the kiwi in that one is the best shade of the three, but getting colours right on computer screens is always a problem. Different software may render a colour in different ways. (The one above varies a little from the one I put on the Flag Consideration Panel's site; the position of the kiwi has been improved by being moved slightly down and to the right to give better balance).
This design, in detail and in combination, is all New Zealand, pure New Zealand, nothing but New Zealand. There is not a single element in it that does not say 'New Zealand'; and in combination it shouts 'This is New Zealand and nowhere else!' |
