Recognising a National Maori Flag - Te Puni Kokiri
Recognising a National Maori Flag - Te Puni Kokiri
Recognising a National Maori Flag - Te Puni Kokiri
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Recognition of a <strong>National</strong> Mäori <strong>Flag</strong><br />
For some time, Mäori have called for the recognition and use of a<br />
Mäori flag on Waitangi Day, to acknowledge and celebrate the unique<br />
partnership fostered through the Treaty of Waitangi.<br />
That call gained official support when in January 2009, the Minister<br />
of Mäori Affairs publicly called for a Mäori <strong>Flag</strong> to be flown on the<br />
Auckland Harbour Bridge on Waitangi Day.<br />
The Prime Minister took up that call, charging the Minister of Mäori<br />
Affairs with responsibility for securing the agreement of Mäori on which<br />
flag should be flown.<br />
The Minister of Mäori Affairs now wishes to engage with Mäori to<br />
identify a national Mäori flag as a means of acknowledging Mäori<br />
history and promoting Mäori aspirations.<br />
Purpose of the <strong>National</strong> Mäori<br />
<strong>Flag</strong> Consultation<br />
Feedback is being sought to identify a preferred flag which represents<br />
Mäori history, and will carry us forward with our hopes and aspirations<br />
for our future.<br />
Twenty one hui are being held throughout the country to ensure<br />
feedback is received from <strong>Maori</strong> individuals and communities.<br />
Participants at each hui will be asked:<br />
1. Of the four flags outlined in this brochure, which would you choose<br />
as a national Mäori flag to represent Mäori?<br />
a) the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Flag</strong> of New Zealand (the <strong>Flag</strong> of the Independent<br />
Tribes of New Zealand)<br />
b) the New Zealand <strong>Flag</strong><br />
c) the New Zealand Red Ensign<br />
d) the <strong>Maori</strong> <strong>Flag</strong> (the Tino Rangatiratanga flag)<br />
2. On what occasions should a national Mäori flag be flown?<br />
a) only on Waitangi Day<br />
b) on Waitangi Day and other special national occasions, such as<br />
ANZAC Day, Queen’s Birthday<br />
You can find background information on the flags, and the schedule for<br />
the <strong>Flag</strong> consultation hui, by going to www.tpk.govt.nz/maoriflag<br />
What happens to your Feedback?<br />
All comments received at these hui will be recorded, collated and<br />
compiled for the Minister of Mäori Affairs to consider.<br />
If I can’t get to the Hui can I still<br />
have my say?<br />
YES. You can send a written submission to the Minister of Mäori<br />
Affairs with your preferences, to the address at the bottom of the<br />
page. Alternatively you can make an online submission at<br />
www.tpk.govt.nz/maoriflag<br />
The final date for all submissions is 5pm on Friday 28 August 2009.<br />
The final report to the Minster of Mäori Affairs will include an analysis<br />
of all submissions received.<br />
What is the Purpose of a <strong>Flag</strong>?<br />
To represent a place, organisation, or person, generally on a rectangular<br />
piece of cloth. <strong>Flag</strong>s today are used to symbolise nationhood and<br />
identity.<br />
<strong>Flag</strong> History<br />
<strong>Flag</strong>s have been used in one form or another for more than 4,000<br />
years. They were used as a means of communication, initially for<br />
military purposes and then for identifying signals at sea.<br />
They evolved to represent royal houses, then countries and other levels<br />
of government, businesses, military ranks and units, sports teams, and<br />
political parties.<br />
New Zealand <strong>Flag</strong> History<br />
The need to select an official New Zealand flag arose in 1830 when<br />
a trading ship was seized in Sydney by Customs officials for sailing<br />
without a flag or register.<br />
At that time Australia was under British navigation laws which said<br />
that every ship must carry an official certificate detailing nationality<br />
of the ship. Without a flag, New Zealand’s trading ships continued the<br />
risk of being seized.<br />
It is believed that during the Sydney seizure and detainment, Patuone<br />
and Taonui from <strong>Te</strong> Taitokerau were on-board. It was reported at the<br />
time that Mäori were ‘exceedingly indignant’ upon hearing the news of<br />
the ship’s fate.<br />
<strong>National</strong> Mäori <strong>Flag</strong> Consultation<br />
<strong>Te</strong> <strong>Puni</strong> Kökiri, <strong>Te</strong> <strong>Puni</strong> Kökiri House<br />
143 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011, PO Box 3943,<br />
Wellington 6140, New Zealand<br />
maoriflag@tpk.govt.nz<br />
www.tpk.govt.nz/maoriflag<br />
Kia Whakamana<br />
He Haki Mäori<br />
<strong>Recognising</strong> a <strong>National</strong><br />
Mäori <strong>Flag</strong>
<strong>National</strong> <strong>Flag</strong> of New Zealand<br />
(<strong>Flag</strong> of the Independent Tribes) 1<br />
The New Zealand <strong>Flag</strong><br />
The Mäori <strong>Flag</strong><br />
(the Tino Rangatiratanga g <strong>Flag</strong>)<br />
When James Busby arrived as British Resident in 1833, he suggested<br />
that a New Zealand flag be adopted.<br />
Aside from solving the problems with trans-Tasman trade, Busby also<br />
saw the flag as a way of encouraging Mäori chiefs to work together,<br />
paving the way for some form of collective government.<br />
On 20 March 1834, 25 chiefs from the Far North and their followers<br />
gathered at Waitangi to choose a flag from three designed by Rev<br />
Henry Williams, a senior missionary of the Church Missionary Society<br />
and former lieutenant of the Royal Navy.<br />
Busby sent the following account of the selection of the flag to<br />
Governor Bourke in New South Wales on 22 March 1834:<br />
“They were then asked in regular succession upon which of the three<br />
<strong>Flag</strong>s their choice fell, and their votes were taken down by a son of<br />
one of their number who has been educated by the Missionaries,<br />
and who with several others appeared on this occasion respectably<br />
dressed in European clothing.<br />
I was glad to observe that they gave their votes freely, and appeared<br />
to have a good understanding of the nature of the proceeding.<br />
The votes given for the respective <strong>Flag</strong>s were 3, 10 & 12, and the<br />
greatest number having proved in favour of the <strong>Flag</strong> previously<br />
adopted by the Missionaries it was declared to be the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Flag</strong><br />
of New Zealand, and having been immediately hoisted on the <strong>Flag</strong><br />
staff was saluted with 21 guns by the Ship of war.” 22<br />
The flag was also adopted as the <strong>Flag</strong> of the Independent Tribes of<br />
New Zealand, and served as the official flag of New Zealand until<br />
the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840 when it was<br />
replaced with the British flag, the Union Jack.<br />
1 McLintock, A H editor (1966) An Encyclopedia of New Zealand.<br />
2 Busby to Governor, 22 March 1834, C O 209/1, Australian Joint Copying Project,<br />
Public Record Office, London. Archives New Zealand/<strong>Te</strong> Whare Tohu Tuhituhinga<br />
O Aotearoa Head Office, Wellington.<br />
3 Ministry of Culture and Heritage.<br />
The New Zealand <strong>Flag</strong> is the symbol of the realm, government and<br />
people of New Zealand.<br />
Its royal blue background symbolises the sea and sky around us. The<br />
stars of the Southern Cross emphasise this country’s location in the<br />
South Pacific Ocean. The Union Jack <strong>Flag</strong> gives recognition to our<br />
historical foundations and the fact that New Zealand was once a British<br />
colony and dominion.<br />
The New Zealand <strong>Flag</strong> may be flown on any day of the year. It is<br />
particularly appropriate to fly it on days of national significance, such as<br />
Anzac Day, and on other important occasions.<br />
The New Zealand Red Ensign<br />
The New Zealand Red Ensign has served two purposes in history.<br />
Firstly, it is one of the flags authorised to be flown by New Zealand<br />
ships. Secondly, it was a common gift to Mäori from Queen Victoria or<br />
the government.<br />
When the Red Ensign was used to reward or thank Mäori, a hapu or<br />
ancestors name was worked into the design. Red was often preferred by<br />
Mäori for its properties of ‘mana’ or rank.<br />
The customary use of the Red Ensign by Mäori on significant occasions<br />
is still provided for today.<br />
A specific provision in the <strong>Flag</strong>s, Emblems and Names Protection Act<br />
1981 permits Mäori to adapt the flag (by adding words or emblems).<br />
The red ensign can only be flown in this manner on occasions that are<br />
of significance to Mäori. 3<br />
This is perhaps the most recognised Mäori flag in New Zealand.<br />
In 1989 a competition was run by a group named <strong>Te</strong> Kawariki to<br />
design a national Mäori flag.<br />
Most of the entries however, were considered inappropriate because<br />
they were designed around a bi-racial rather than a specific Mäori<br />
theme.<br />
The only flag that met the criteria of recognising Mäori history,<br />
expressing a Mäori purpose and using a Mäori design, was one<br />
designed by Kawariki members - Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and<br />
Linda Munn. Another member of <strong>Te</strong> Kawariki, Walter Erstich, gave<br />
the explanation to the design (below).<br />
After some revision by other members of <strong>Te</strong> Kawariki, the<br />
final version was eventually approved as the winner of the<br />
competition and unveiled as the national Mäori flag, at Waitangi,<br />
on Waitangi Day 1990. It has also become known as the ‘Tino<br />
Rangatiratanga’ flag.<br />
Explanation of design:<br />
Black represents <strong>Te</strong> Korekore, the realm of potential, the heavens,<br />
the long darkness from which the world emerged. Black also<br />
represents the male element - formless, floating and passive.<br />
White represents <strong>Te</strong> Ao Märama the realm of being, the world of<br />
light, the physical world. White also symbolises purity, harmony<br />
enlightenment, and balance.<br />
Red represents <strong>Te</strong> Whei Ao, the realm of coming into being. Red<br />
also represents active, flashing, southern, falling, emergence,<br />
forest, land, and gestation. Red is the female element,<br />
Papatuanuku, the earth mother, the sustainer of all living things.<br />
Red is also the colour of earth from which the first human<br />
was made.<br />
The Koru (the curling frond shape) represents the unfolding of<br />
new life, rebirth, continuity, renewal and hope for the future.