A silver fern flag is any flag design that incorporates a

silver fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

, and is usually a white silver fern on a black background. The silver fern motif is associated with

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 coun ...

, and a silver fern flag may be used as an unofficial flag of New Zealand, to which it is endemic. The

itself is a quasi-national emblem, being used for various official symbols, including the

coat of arms of New Zealand The coat of arms of New Zealand ( mi, Te Tohu Pakanga o Aotearoa) is the heraldic symbol representing the South Pacific island country of New Zealand. Its design reflects New Zealand's history as a bicultural nation, with a European female figu ...

and the New Zealand one dollar coin. A number of New Zealand sports teams, such as the

cricket team Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by stri ...

, the

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...

and the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, use similar silver fern flags as part of their official merchandise. The

All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team use a white background and a black version of the fern.

1980 Moscow Summer Olympics

New Zealand officially boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics as part of the US-led boycott of the games. However, four New Zealand athletes competed under the flag of New Zealand's Olympic committee, which was a black flag with a white silver fern imposed over the Olympic Rings.

National flag proposals

The first suggestion that a silver fern flag be adopted as New Zealand's official flag came in 1998 from Cultural Affairs Minister

Marie Hasler Marie Bernadine Hasler (born 1948) is a former New Zealand politician. She was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1990 to 1993, and then again from 1996 to 2002. Early life Hasler was born in Dublin, Ireland. She came to New Z ...

of the National Party. Hasler's proposal was backed by then Prime Minister

Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...

. Along with the New Zealand Tourism Board, Shipley backed a white silver fern on a black background as a possible alternative flag, along the lines of the Canadian Maple Leaf flag. In 2003, New Zealand's

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...

team,

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

, launched the "Loyal" campaign, using a silver fern flag and a song of the same name by New Zealand musician

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then ...

. Whilst the

version of the silver fern flag was once favoured by New Zealand Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...

, opponents of the design believe it gives undue emphasis to the country's sport or resembles a pirate flag or the Islamic Black Standard

as used As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

2005 referendum proposal

In January 2005 the NZ Flag.com Trust, using a stylised silver fern flag designed by Cameron Sanders, launched a petition to initiate a referendum on the flag issue, but failed to attract enough signatures. File:The-Black-and-Silver.svg, ''The Black & Silver'' flag is based on a stylized version of the original

s used in the emblems of the military and sports representative teams of the 1880s. John Ansell's silver fern flag designs won him a Colenso Scholarship to New York in 1986 and in 1990 came second out of 600 alternative flag designs in The Listener contest to mark New Zealand's sesquicentennial. File:Koru Fern NZ Flag.png, James Bowman's suggested New Zealand flag. The ''Koru Fern'' combines two iconic New Zealand symbols: the

and the

koru The ''koru'' () is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the id ...

. It was one design that helped stimulate debate prior to official submissions and was submitted to the

New Zealand Government , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = ...

as an alternate design for the New Zealand Flag. File:NZflag proposal-dignan.svg, James Dignan's proposed New Zealand flag file:Kyle Lockwood's New Zealand Flag.svg, A Silver fern flag designed by Kyle Lockwood. It won a Wellington newspaper flag competition in July 2004 and appeared on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television * Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by E ...

in 2005 after winning a poll which included the present national flag. File:Silver Fern flag.svg, Cameron Sanders' proposed New Zealand flag

2015–2016 referendums

On 11 March 2014, the Prime Minister of New Zealand,

, announced a referendum on whether to change the

flag or not, to be held within three years, saying that he liked the silver fern as an option. Of the 10,292 design submissions, approximately 3,113 incorporated elements of a fern, 12 designs of 40 were selected for the long list, and 3 flag designs to the shortlist alternatives have a silver fern.

Service flags proposed by Kyle Lockwood for New Zealand

This gallery presents the service flags proposed by Kyle Lockwood for New Zealand following the Silver Fern Design.

Gallery

File:NZ flag design Silver Fern (Red, White & Blue) by Kyle Lockwood.svg, Silver Fern (Red, White & Blue) by Kyle Lockwood File:NZ flag design Silver Fern (Black & White) by Alofi Kanter.svg, Silver Fern (Black & White) by Alofi Kanter

References

External links

Silver Fern flag - Kyle Lockwood's design
{{NZFlags Flags of New Zealand Unofficial flags Proposed flags of New Zealand Flags introduced in 1980