New Zealand Considers Changes to National Flag

[LEWJ]

What's the point of even having a national flag if it's just going to look like someone else's. Although I think Australia should change theirs as well.

Love this design.

I really like this. It's unique.

But, why not take it a step further? How about making where the black & white meet, more of a bending or curved "line" (black and white still meeting together). Then the fern would be shaped to the slope, to prevent some fern branches from being both black and white (as the flag shown has).

Also, taking it another step further... it could almost represent an abstract yin and yang. Although it is a Chinese philosophical concept, the meaning is clear; "Complementary forces joining together to form a dynamic system." In this case, they are a democratic system, it could represent the populous and the government working together.

That would more than likely be just an interpretation, not a published fact as to why the flag has a sloped "split" down the middle. But still, I think it's a cool idea.

I'll try and make a mockup eventually.

[Jer15]

Not going to quote Ice_Cap's post due to length but......

I agree with so much of this. The "Lester Pearson" design always made more sense to me too. Seeing as our coat of arms specifically says "from sea to sea" in it. The 3-leaves makes sense to me too, the tie in is right there with the Royal Standard.

I also thought that this flag proposal would have made a lot of sense. I find the gold colour of the leaf to make more sense as a tie in to royalty (the queen).

Much like you, I only really know the currently flag as Canada's flag(I'm 28). It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I even knew about all these different designs as I never had much interest in flags. The more I learn the more I feel Canada could have done a lot better. Even to use the "Duality Flag" that was designed for the referendum would have been better (I know, there's a huge flaw in that statement, the referendum was in '95 so that flag didn't exist when the flag design was changed).

I could go on and on about this but I'll stop there. Especially considering this is a thread about New Zealand's flag

[1clkgtramg]

What would be so wrong about a straight Fern with the negative (bottom part) flush with the horizontal line? Whoever says Blakc and White ISN'T unique is only correct when regarding logos/branding/sports. However, the Black, White and Silver colours are pretty much NZ in a nutshell. Name one other country that focuses on Black and White - and Silver - as its main colours? You can't, there are none. Tons of Countries are Red, White and Blue; Yellow, Green and Red are common too especially in Africa, but Black and white? no, that's as unique as you are going to get in terms of National Flag and National Colours.


In response to the Canadian flag business, the Red Ensign flag is represented for Ontario and Manitoba still somewhat, so it's probably why many people can still connect with it regardless of having experienced it as our National flag. I do like the Red Ensign myself, the shield represents our country very well, but I do believe the point was to break away from the UK. The Union Jack has no place on Commonwealth Countries flags anymore in my opinion, however we should keep it as a secondary flag at least since many of us are still related to the UK. I'll still stick with my Red Maple Leaf though

[FiddySicks]

Will people do a haka during the national anthem?

BTW, just to highlight the importance of context, I brought an All Blacks ballcap back from my NZ visit but only wore it a few times around Atlanta. Apparently a lot of people around here aren't familiar with the All Blacks and assumed it had some kind of racial meaning. That's all I have to say about that.

As for the flag, I like some of the concepts.

Hmm, ignorance stems from ignorance in that case then. Anyone who even knows the slightest thing about rugby will tell you that the All Blacks are probably the most feared and respected rugby team in the world. That's really too bad people acted like that. Hopefully you educated them a bit.

I, for one, have always been puzzled why New Zealand stuck with the Australia style flag rather than changing to an all black flag with the white fern. Same goes for Australia though, actually. They should be green and gold. I've always thought that once those countries shifted away from the British rule, they should've established their own flags.

[1clkgtramg]

Here's what I came up with, I fixed that cruved fern to make it straight. I do prefer the simple one of the reversed Black and White colours, but I also threw in the Southern Cross and the present flags colours.

[BigBubba]

Not going to quote Ice_Cap's post due to length but......

I agree with so much of this. The "Lester Pearson" design always made more sense to me too. Seeing as our coat of arms specifically says "from sea to sea" in it. The 3-leaves makes sense to me too, the tie in is right there with the Royal Standard.

I also thought that this flag proposal would have made a lot of sense. I find the gold colour of the leaf to make more sense as a tie in to royalty (the queen).

Much like you, I only really know the currently flag as Canada's flag(I'm 28). It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I even knew about all these different designs as I never had much interest in flags. The more I learn the more I feel Canada could have done a lot better. Even to use the "Duality Flag" that was designed for the referendum would have been better (I know, there's a huge flaw in that statement, the referendum was in '95 so that flag didn't exist when the flag design was changed).

I could go on and on about this but I'll stop there. Especially considering this is a thread about New Zealand's flag

I like the design of the current Canadian flag. It's distinctive, it's simple, it's sharp. It's a wonderful design (hats off to George Stanley). If we were talking about a logo of some kind then I would applaud the design. The issue I take with it is that a flag and a logo are two very different things. Some might see a flag as a logo for a country, but I see it as more. It should be a graphical representation of that country's...essence, for lack of a better term. Simple and distinctive may not necessarily convey that, and I don't believe they do in the case of the current Canadian flag.

(...)

So compared to the red ensign? Well the red ensign is less distinct from a design perspective, but to me it actually says more. The coat of arms shows the emblems of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, the four nations that Canada's founding people came from. The three maple leaves on a single stem below those represent those people unified in the nation of Canada. The Union Jack references Canada's past as a political entity born from Loyalists fleeing north during the American Revolution, as well as our continued recognition of the Queen as the head of state and our use of the Westminster Parliamentary system.

Little late here, but though I love our current flag, I absolutely understand why prefer something that pays tribute to our heritage and "essence". That said, the Red Ensign doesn't do it for me. On top of looking like more than a few other national flags, I just don't like the look of having the Union Jack thrown in the top-left with our coat of arms squished in on the right side. I feel that something like the coat of arms should be prominent (especially given how it's rather detailed). Looking at early variations of the Red Ensign that I may or may not have gotten from Wikipedia, I came up with this:

It acknowledges our heritage through the coat of arms and crown without using a copy-and-paste Buckingham Edge flag template (i.e. Slapping the Union Jack in the top-left). The maple leaf laurel is a nice touch that gives it a distinctly Canadian feel. Alternatively, we could use this 1964 proposal if you're feeling extra British.

[Magnus]

Simpler is better, IMHO. I've long subscribed to that philosophy - so the simple, distinct design of our current national flag is one I prefer over the ensigns of the past. I would be pleased (in a vexillology sense) if New Zealand changed its flag so something like the designs mentioned.

[IceCap]

Some of the joke entries from the 1964 flag debate are fantastic.

It acknowledges our heritage through the coat of arms and crown without using a copy-and-paste Buckingham Edge flag template (i.e. Slapping the Union Jack in the top-left).

[Mitch B]

Here's what I came up with, I fixed that cruved fern to make it straight. I do prefer the simple one of the reversed Black and White colours, but I also threw in the Southern Cross and the present flags colours.

I like the addition of the Southern Cross.