Flying the Flag(s): 

One of the many things we learned at Waitangi is that New Zealand has at least two official flags. One we all know, which we designed and adopted well before Australia designed and adopted theirs. 

The other one you may not know so well. It is currently flying from our flagpole in honour of Waitangi Day - but it will be replaced by the Chinese flag tomorrow in honour of Chinese New Year.

The story of this flag is probably not known to most of us, so here is a small history lesson that I hope you find interesting.

The Birth Of Our First 'National' Flag

Picture this … Waitangi, March 1834. James Busby had called a meeting of Ngāpuhi chiefs where he presented a choice of three flags. The reason — if New Zealand wanted to trade across the ocean, ships had to fly a flag.

Any vessel not showing their ‘colours’ could be impounded and the cargo confiscated! Our trade vessels had been flying flags but were not recognised as an official representation of our country of origin. Busby had earlier requested a flag be designed, rejecting one of the initial designs because it didn't use the colour red — a sign of rank for Māori.

The Ngāpuhi chiefs voted, with Te Kara (the United Tribes flag) being the popular choice. Busby declared the chosen flag the national flag of New Zealand and had it hoisted on a flagpole to a 21-gun salute from HMS Alligator - which was moored in the bay.

King William IV approved the design, and Te Kara o Te Whakaminenga o Nga Hapu o Nu Tireni became New Zealand’s first national flag to be used at sea and on land.

This was the flag that Busby had designed. Many of the chiefs involved in selecting the United Tribes flag went on to sign He Whakaputanga!

In 1866, the NZ government decided to design an emblem for maritime use.

The initial design in 1866 just included our initials 'NZ'. Then, in 1869, four red stars with white borders representing the Southern Cross were used, which all our ships flew. In 1899, a white disk was added to surround the stars.

These flags were only used for maritime purposes. However, they were soon being used on land, too. So, in 1900, Premier Richard Seddon introduced a Bill to make the 1869 version the official flag of New Zealand. The Bill was eventually passed, and on 24 March 1902, King Edward VII approved the Act. The Governor's proclamation about the new flag was published in the New Zealand Gazette on 12 June 1902, so New Zealand then had its third national flag — known as the 'New Zealand Ensign'.

It is important to note that the flag of the United Tribes - Te Kara o Te Whakaminenga o Nga Hapu o Nu Tireni - was never decommissioned as an official flag of New Zealand.

Interestingly our neighbours to the west (Australia) started using their very similar flag design in 1901, which was made official in 1903. (I wonder ... was this the start of our friendly rivalry over such things as  Pavlova, Phar Lap, and Crowded House?)

Te Kara o Te Whakaminenga o Nga Hapu o Nu Tireni flying from our flagpole.