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) significance.

National flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1834–1840[nb 1]	Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand	Based on the White Ensign. Two crosses of St George and four eight-point stars in the canton on a blue background.[2] (See also variant design under "Maori flags" below)
	1840–1867[nb 2]	British Union Flag	Adopted following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
	1867–1869	The first flag of New Zealand based on the Blue Ensign	Blue Ensign with the red letters "NZ" outlined in white
	1902[nb 3]– present	Flag of New Zealand	A defaced Blue Ensign with four red stars with white borders to the right, representing the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross.

Royal and viceregal[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1962–present	Personal Flag of Queen Elizabeth II in New Zealand	A banner of the Coat of Arms of New Zealand, defaced with a blue disc bearing the crowned letter 'E' in gold
	1869–1874	Governor of New Zealand	A Union Flag defaced with four five-pointed stars. This design was due to a misinterpretation of design instructions.
	1874–1908	Flag of the Governor of New Zealand	A Union Flag defaced with a white circle, with four red stars and the initial 'NZ' at the center, surrounded by a green wreath.
	1908–1936	Flag of the Governor of New Zealand	A Union Flag defaced with a white circle, with four red stars and the initial 'NZ' at the center, surrounded by a wreath of ferns.
	1936–1953	Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand	A lion standing atop a crown, over a scroll inscribed "Dominion of New Zealand"
	1953–2008	Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand	A lion standing atop a crown, over a scroll inscribed "New Zealand"
	2008–present	Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand	The shield of the New Zealand Coat of Arms surmounted by the Royal Crown.
	1979-present	Flag of the Queen's Representative in the Cook Islands	Flag of the Cook Islands with a crown in the centre of the ring of stars

Ensigns[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1901–	New Zealand Red Ensign	A red ensign with four white stars representing Crux, the Southern Cross
	1968–	Royal New Zealand Navy Ensign	A white ensign with four red stars representing Crux
	1939–	Ensign of the Royal New Zealand Air Force	A light blue field with the roundel of the Royal Air Force defaced with the letters, "NZ".
	16 November 1938 –	New Zealand Civil Air Ensign	A blue cross with a wide border on a light blue field. The Union Flag is in the canton, with the Southern Cross in the fly.
		New Zealand Police Ensign	A blue flag with the New Zealand Flag in the canton, with the NZP emblem in the fly.
		New Zealand Fire Service Ensign	A blue flag with the New Zealand Flag in the canton, with the Fire Service emblem in the fly.
Link to File	1966–	New Zealand Customs Flag	A New Zealand Blue Ensign, with the letters "HMC" (for "Her Majesty's Customs" in the lower hoist was in use from 1966 to 1996. From 1996 the flag have the inspection "NZ CUSTOMS SERVICE" in the lower hoist.
	1968–1998	New Zealand Ministry of Transport Ensign	A sky blue flag with the New Zealand Ensign in the canton, with the NZMOT coat of arms within a blue disc in the fly.
		Ensign of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron	A white cross on a blue field, with the New Zealand Flag in the canton.

Associated states and territories[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1979–	Flag of the Cook Islands	A Blue Ensign defaced with 15 stars in a ring
	1975–	Flag of Niue	A yellow ensign, the Union Flag has a blue disc with a yellow star in the middle and four yellow stars forming a diamond around it
	2008–	Flag of Tokelau	A blue flag with a stylized Polynesian canoe (vaka) in gold and a representation of the Southern Cross in the fly
	1993–	Unofficial flag of the Chatham Islands	A blue flag with a depiction of the island superimposed on a rising sun.

Regions and cities[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1980–	Flag of the City of Auckland	Blue canton with cornucopia in top-hoist. Red canton with pick and shovel in top-fly. White lower half with ship and blue horizontal.
	1976–	Flag of the City of Christchurch	Chevron Gules a Mitre between a Fleece and a Garbe of the first in base two Bars wavy Azure on a Chief of the last four Lymphads sails furled, also of the first And for the Crest on a Wreath Or and Azure a Kiwi proper
	1979–	Flag of the City of Dunedin	Argent a fess dancetty vert on which a sheep's head caboshed between two wheat sheafs all proper. In chief a three-towered castle sable, mortared of the first and flagged gules on a rock proper. In base a lymphad sable sailed and flagged azure.
	2012 –	Flag of the Town of Mārahau	Blue background with a green triangle and a yellow crescent moon and two yellow stars.
	1987–	Flag of the City of Nelson	Blue top third with bishop's mitre. Blue and white waves beneath with black cross flory.
	2004–	Flag of Otago	Blue and gold, horizontally divided by a zigzag line ("dancetty", in vexillological terms), with counterchanged eight-pointed stars. Used by the Otago Regional Council, and widely by the general public in the Otago region.
	c. 1990 –	Flag of the City of Palmerston North	Plain white background with central coat of arms. 'City of Palmerston North, New Zealand' in black text above and below the coat of arms.
	1962–	Flag of the City of Wellington	Black symmetric cross on a yellow background with a central circular design of a ship with a fish on its sail.

Māori flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1834–	Original design of the United Tribes of New Zealand flag, widely used by Maori groups	Similar to the amended design used as the de facto national flag 1835–1840, but with eight-pointed stars and black fimbriation in the canton
	1990–	Flag of Tino rangatiratanga – Official National Māori Flag, approved by the NZ Cabinet in 2010[6]	A white curling stripe on a red and black field
	?–present	Standard of Dame Te Atairangikaahu, modern Kīngitanga flag	Adopted during the reign of Dame Te Atairangikaahu (reign from 1966 to 2006). It is still popularly used today.
		Kotahitanga flag – unofficial Māori flag, widely used by Māori groups	Three horizontal stripes of red, white and black, defaced with a circular emblem featuring a mere crossed with a scroll representing the Treaty of Waitangi within a border of koru containing the word "Kotahitanga" (unity)
		Example of a Maori Flag	Some Maori tribes use the Red Ensign defaced with their tribal name
	1864	Hung as part of the memorial in the Auckland War Memorial Museum for those who died, both European and Māori, in the New Zealand Wars.	A white Greek cross on its left upper canton, a four pointed white star (ascending Star of Bethlehem) on its right lower canton, and downward white crescent (new moon) in the centre on a field of red.

Sporting flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1908–1912	Flag of the Australasian team at the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games	A Blue Ensign defaced by a white circle containing the British Crown plus a shield containing the Southern Cross
	1994–	Flag of the New Zealand Olympic Committee	A white flag with a depiction of the silver fern superimposed on the five ringed emblem of the International Olympic Committee
	1979–1994	Flag of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association	A black flag with a depiction (in white) of a silver fern on the Olympic rings.
	1987	Flag of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team.	A black flag with a white silver fern.
		Burgee of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron	A blue triangular flag with a white cross, with the Southern Cross in the canton and a crown in the centre.

Other New Zealand flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
		Flag of the New Zealand Navy Board[7]	A fouled anchor with a red-blue background
		Queen's Colour of the Royal New Zealand Navy
	1987–	New Zealand Post flag	An orange-red flag with the NZ Post logo in white. Vertical white and blue strip in the fly.
		Flag of the Grand Orange Lodge of New Zealand	An orange ensign with the Saint George's Cross in the canton, and in the fly an open book surmounted by a Saint Edward's Crown and surrounded by the four stars of the New Zealand Southern Cross.

Proposed alternative flags[]

Notes[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Malcolm Mulholland (2016). "New Zealand Flag Facts" (PDF). New Zealand Flag Consideration Panel.

External links[]

• Media related to Flags of New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons