Flag of New Zealand

The flag of New Zealand (Māori: te haki o Aotearoa), also known as the New Zealand Ensign, is based on the British maritime Blue Ensign – a blue field with the Union Jack in the canton or upper hoist corner – augmented or defaced with four red stars centred within four white stars, representing the Southern Cross constellation.

New Zealand's first internationally accepted national flag, the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, was adopted in 1834, six years before New Zealand's separation from New South Wales and creation as a separate colony following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Chosen by an assembly of Māori chiefs at Waitangi in 1834, the flag was of a St George's Cross with another cross in the canton containing four stars on a blue field. After the formation of the colony in 1840, British ensigns began to be used.

The current flag was designed and adopted for use on the colony's ships in 1869, was quickly adopted as New Zealand's national flag, and given statutory recognition in 1902 by the New Zealand Ensign Act 1901 (No. 74). Since the 1970s there has been debate about changing the flag. In 2016, a two-stage binding referendum on a flag change took place. Voting in the second stage closed on 24 March, with the country electing to keep the existing flag by 57% to 43%.

Design

Devices

The flag of New Zealand uses two prominent symbols:

The Union Jack (or Union Flag)

The Southern Cross (or Crux)

In its original usage as the flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Union Jack combined three heraldic crosses which represent the countries of the United Kingdom (as constituted in 1801):

The red St George's Cross of England

The white diagonal St Andrew's Cross of Scotland

The red diagonal St Patrick's Cross of Ireland

The Union Jack reflects New Zealand's origins as a British colony.