The national badge of Tokelau depicts a , which is a traditional

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

an carved wooden “ tackle box” used by local fishermen. A white cross in the centre of the and the inscription below (

Tokelauan Tokelauan is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and on Swains Island (or Olohega) in American Samoa. It is closely related to Tuvaluan and is related to Samoan and other Polynesian languages. Tokelauan has a co-official status with Engli ...

, "Tokelau for God") reflect the strong influence of Christianity in Tokelau. Tokelau's parliament, the

General Fono The General Fono is the parliament of Tokelau. It has 20 members (15 before 2008), representing the 3 atolls. Elections are held every three years. Tokelau is a de facto non-partisan democracy since both village and Fono elections are made witho ...

, uses an identical design surmounted by

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th cen ...

History

The General Fono approved a design for a national emblem in May 2008. Prior to 2008, the coat of arms of New Zealand and the flag of New Zealand were used. A new flag was also adopted at the same time. The badge of the General Fono of Tokelau is the national emblem with the Royal Crown. It was approved by Garter Principal King of Arms and Queen Elizabeth II and presented to the Ulu-o-Tokelau, Aliki Faipule Salesio Lui, on 7 October 2013 by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae.

Blazon

The heraldic

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

for the badge of the General Fono of Tokelau is given as: “A representation of a Tuluma or carved wooden Fishing Tackle Box

proper Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...

charged with ten Lozenges conjoined in

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

six palewise in pale and four fesswise in

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shiel ...

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

the whole ensigned by a Royal Crown proper. Below on a scroll “Tokelau mo te Atua.””

References

External links

Tuluma (Fishing Tacle Box) on the website of Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand

Tokelau

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

2008 introductions {{tokelau-stub

History

Blazon

See also

References

External links