Flag Of The Governor-General Of New Zealand
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The flag of the governor-general of New Zealand is an official flag of
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and is flown continuously on buildings and other locations when a governor-general is present. The flag in its present form was adopted in 2008 and is a blue field with the shield of the New Zealand coat of arms royally crowned. The official heraldic description is ''"A flag of a blue field thereon the Arms of New Zealand ensigned by the Royal Crown all proper"''.


History


New Zealand as self-governing colony

New Zealand was established as the
Colony of New Zealand The Colony of New Zealand was a Crown colony of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that encompassed the islands of New Zealand from 1841 to 1907. The power of the British government was vested in the Governor of New Zealand, as th ...
, separate from New South Wales, in 1841. The colony became self-governing in 1853 following the passing of the
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully ...
. In 1869 the Admiralty directed that "Governors ...administering the Governments of British Colonies and Dependencies be authorised to fly the Union Jack, with the Arms or Badge of the Colony emblazoned in the centre thereof". There was at the time no colonial badge for New Zealand. Accordingly, in October 1869 the decision was made of including a Jack with the "Southern Cross, as represented in the Blue Ensign by four five-pointed red stars in the fly, with white borders to correspond to the colouring of the Jack; in the Jack by four five-pointed white stars on the red ground of the St George's Cross; and in the pendant by four stars near the staff similar to those in the Ensign". In October 1874 Sir James Fergusson announced "... that the seal or badge to be worn in the Union Jack used by the governor of New Zealand when embarked in any boat or other vessel shall be the Southern Cross as represented by four five-pointed red stars emblazoned on the white shield aforesaid, and the monogram NZ in red letters in the centre of the Southern Cross." Succeeding governors found it convenient to use this flag on shore and it became accepted as the official
viceregal A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
flag.


New Zealand as dominion and, later, realm

In 1907 New Zealand's status was officially transformed from
self-governing colony In the British Empire, a self-governing colony was a colony with an elected government in which elected rulers were able to make most decisions without referring to the colonial power with nominal control of the colony. This was in contrast to ...
to
dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
. To mark the transition to
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, the New Zealand Government recommended that the garland of laurels on the Governor's flag should be replaced by one of fern leaves; the fern leaf was already recognised as one of
New Zealand's national symbols National symbols of New Zealand are used to represent what is unique about the nation, reflecting different aspects of its Culture of New Zealand, cultural life and History of New Zealand, history. Official symbols Unofficial emblems Cultur ...
. In a letter of 5 January 1908 the Governor requested that the garland around the badge on his flag be changed from the usual green laurel leaves to a garland of fern leaves, and referred to the garland of maple leaves surrounding the badge on the
flag of the governor general of Canada The flag of the governor general of Canada is a flag used as a symbol to mark the presence of the governor general of Canada. Such a flag has been used by governors general since just after Canadian Confederation and the design has altered over dec ...
as a precedent. This was approved without hesitation, since the regulations only stipulated that the device on the flags of Governors should be surrounded by a "green garland"—the type of leaves was not specified. A new design was approved in January 1931, to reflect the
Balfour Declaration of 1926 The Balfour Declaration of 1926, issued by the 1926 Imperial Conference of British Empire leaders in London, was named after Arthur Balfour, who was Lord President of the Council. It declared the United Kingdom and the Dominions to be: Th ...
whereby the Governor General was now the representative of the
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...
in the Dominion of New Zealand, rather than a representative of the British government. The New Zealand badge was replaced by the Royal Crest. The words "Dominion of New Zealand" were displayed on a gold scroll beneath the badge. As neither Governor-General Lord Bledisloe nor his ministers were sympathetic to the change, the old flag was retained, and the new flag was not flown until after Lord Galway's arrival in 1937. Minor stylistic changes were made around 1953, including changing the scroll's text to simply "New Zealand", since New Zealand was no longer styled as a dominion.


Current design

On 2 June 2008 a new design was adopted, the timing coinciding with the official observance of the
Queen's birthday The King's Official Birthday (alternatively the Queen's Official Birthday when the monarch is female) is the selected day in the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those ...
. It is a blue field featuring the shield of the coat of arms surmounted by a Royal Crown (depicted as
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 ...
) in the centre. The previous design was deemed to be too 'colonial' and lacking in New Zealand elements. The new design was flown for first time at ceremonies at
Government House, Auckland Government House, Auckland is the secondary official residence of the governor-general of New Zealand located in Auckland, New Zealand. The property is situated in the Auckland suburb of Mount Eden on Mountain Road. The building was erected in th ...
on 5 June 2008 and at
Government House, Wellington Government House, Wellington, is the principal residence of the governor-general of New Zealand, the representative of the New Zealand head of state, King Charles III. Dame Cindy Kiro, who has been Governor-General since October 2021, current ...
on 17 June 2008.


Usage

The flag of the governor-general occupies the same position in New Zealand that a
royal standard In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, and ...
does in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It is flown at places the governor-general occupies or resides such as the Governor-General's residence, or Parliament House while attending Executive Council meetings. It is also displayed on official vehicles transporting the governor-general. The flag of the governor-general takes precedence over the national flag of New Zealand and is second only to the Queen's Personal New Zealand Flag.


Legal

The flag is protected under the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981, Section 12(1) states: According to Section 12(2)(d), this applies to, among others, "any representation of the Governor-General’s flag".Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981, Section 12(2)(d)


Historical versions


See also

*
List of New Zealand flags This is a list of flags of New Zealand. It includes flags that either have been in use or are currently used by institutions, local authorities, or the government of New Zealand. Some flags have historical or cultural (e.g. Māori culture) signi ...
* Queen's Personal New Zealand Flag


Footnotes


References


Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981
legislation.govt.nz


External links


The Governor-General's flag – Website of the Governor-General
{{Flags, Banners and Standards of Heads of State and Government 2 *Flag Southern Cross flags