NZHistory, New Zealand history online - flags

Flag of the Royal Navy's Inshore Flotilla

This flag was souvenired in 1965 from HMAS Curlew, one of the vessels in the Royal Navy’s Inshore Flotilla operating off the coast of Borneo during Confrontation. The emblems on the flag represent the flotilla’s minesweeping squadrons. The footprint symbolises those left by stokers on the teak decks of the 6th British Minesweeping Squadron. The kangaroo represents the Australian vessels which were attached to the 16th British Minesweeping Squadron. The kiwi represents HMNZ ships Santon and Hickleton, which served as part of the 11th British Minesweeping Squadron, represented by the red lion. In the centre of the flag is the ‘Three Legs of Man’ emblem (or Trinacria), which represents the flotilla’s support ship, HMS Manxman, named for the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.

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Saluting the flag

Detailed images

Saluting the flag became popular during the South African War. In this photograph, the boys remove their hats as the whole school assembles to salute the flag.

In 1902 the Blue Ensign formally became the New Zealand Flag. Three years later the government provided all schools with this flag, which was often used in tandem with the British flag to mark special dates and occasions. Most school buildings had a flagpole and for many children the school day began when they lined up to salute the flag before marching silently into the classroom to begin their lessons.

During the First World War flag ceremonies became more important as a symbol of patriotism and pride. Most schools unfurled the flag on special days throughout the war and children were trained in flag drills, marching in formation and waving the flag. The School Journal regularly published patriotic flag songs which children were expected to learn and sing as the flag was hoisted:

Flag Song

Some flags are red or white or green,
And some are yellow too.
But the dear, dear flag that we love best,
Is the red and white and blue.
Then hail the flag, the bonny flag,
Of red and white and blue.

We love our native country’s flag,
To it our hearts are true.
Above we wave in splendid folds,
The red and white and blue.
Then hail the flag, the bonny flag,
Of red and white and blue.

School Journal, June 1914, p. 80

Credit:

Auckland Libraries
Main image: Sir George Grey Special Collections, AWNS-19020814-1-3
Other image: Sir George Grey Special Collections, AWNS-19110706-14-4
Permission of Auckland Libraries Ngā Whare Mātauranga o Tāmaki Makaurau must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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Displaying patriotism - schools in the First World War

School patriotic display

As the war dragged on into 1917 there were calls for increased public displays of patriotism. Newly returned soldiers and parents wrote to local newspapers demanding that children be taught to sing patriotic songs and demonstrate their loyalty through flag ceremonies. The National Efficiency Board recommended that schools require all children to salute the flag when they entered the grounds.

In many schools children already gathered around the flagpole to remember the fallen, mark significant battles and salute or cheer the flag. This sense of loyalty was reinforced by singing the Flag Song.

Spies in the classroom?

The outbreak of the war brought suspicion of all things German. In 1915 the government passed the Alien Enemy Teachers Act, which prohibited the employment of teachers who were not British subjects and had at any time been citizens of a state with which the Empire was at war. Teachers around New Zealand were reported to the authorities by concerned parents or colleagues, while others were dismissed or forced to resign because of community pressure.

In late 1917 district education boards ordered that children salute the New Zealand flag at the start of each school day. Some teaching staff preferred the less militaristic ‘cheering of the flag’. This distinction was not always understood and teachers who challenged the order found themselves accused of ‘seditious’ or ‘traitorous behaviour’. A number of high-profile cases gripped newspaper readers during 1918.

Saluting the flag

Saluting the flag was common practice in New Zealand schools by the end of the war and in 1921 doing so once a week was made compulsory in public schools.

The Hawera & Normanby Star of 18 October 1918 reported on a ‘curious matter’ involving Hugh Goldsbury, a Quaker who was teaching at Umumuri School. Goldsbury was willing to cheer the flag but if forced to salute it would resign his position. The Wanganui Education Board initially accepted his resignation but rescinded this decision at a later meeting.

Earlier in 1918 Henry Mayo of Auckland Technical School had been convicted and fined £25 for describing the British flag as ‘a dirty rag not worth fighting for’. The Auckland Education Board still deemed him a ‘fit and proper person to be teaching young Britons’. Mayo had previously ‘acted in a patriotic way’ and the Board accepted his defence that on the day in question he was ‘not feeling well’.

NZ Wars flags

Many Māori in the 19th century saw the Union Jack as a potent symbol of Great Britain's power in New Zealand. In the New Zealand Wars, Māori parties who sought to resist government forces often devised their own flags to show their independence and counteract the 'mana' of the Union Jack.

King movement flags

The King Movement used three flags, bearing the words 'Kīngi' (King) and 'Niu Tireni' (New Zealand), for the appointment of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero as the first Māori King in 1857. The tradition continued with the crowning of Tāwhiao in 1861, and all successive monarchs have had their own personal flags drawn up for use at the residence at Tūrangawaewae, and when visiting other maraes which accept the monarch's authority. The monarch's flag is considered to be strictly tapu and is kept by a hereditary custodian until interred with the monarch upon death.

Pai Mārire flags

The Pai Mārire or Hauhau faith also believed in the power of flags, with the 'Niu Pole' and its three flags prominent in religious ceremonies. The 'Riki' flag or pennant was a war flag, while the 'Ruru' flag represented peace. The relative positions of 'Ruru' and 'Riki' on the Niu pole were believed to indicate whether the spirit behind the gathering was peaceful or hostile. The third flag used on the pole was the personal flag of the priest conducting the ceremony.

Te Ua Haumēne, the leader of the Pai Mārire movement, also had his own personal flag, which featured the word 'Kenana' (Canaan) to show that he identified with the Jews. The five apostles of the church also had personal flags decorated with various distinctive symbols, such as crosses, stars and crescents.

Te Kooti's flags

Te Kooti's use of flags in the New Zealand Wars is also notable, with the designs of each flag being altered as his success or failure dictated. Perhaps his most famous flag is that dubbed 'Te Wepu' (the whip), made for Ngāti Kahungunu by nuns at the Greenmeadows Missionary School. Measuring 52 ft by 4ft (or just under 16m by 1.2m), it was captured by Te Kooti in 1868 and remained in his possession until reseized by Gilbert Mair near Rotorua in 1870. Te Wepu was decorated with a crescent moon, a cross, a six-pointed star, a mountain representing New Zealand and a bleeding heart, thought to symbolise the sufferings of the Māori people. The fate of Te Wepu is unknown, but there are stories of it having been used as a duster, cut up or stolen from the Dominion Museum.

Use of flags by the government

Flags were also used to reward or thank Māori who supported the government during the New Zealand Wars, with the government continuing this tradition as a mark of recognition in the early 1900s. The British or New Zealand Red Ensign with the name of the hapu or a notable ancestor worked into the design was a common gift from either Queen Victoria or the government, as the colour red was often preferred by Māori for its properties of 'mana' or rank. The customary use of the Red Ensign by Māori on significant occasions is still provided for in the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act 1981.

Other groups had tribute paid to them with flags of different designs, such as that presented by the ladies of Whanganui to the lower Whanganui iwi in 1865 to mark their success at Moutoa Island. Today the Moutoa flag is believed to be held at the Whanganui Regional Museum.

Imperial and colonial troops also had their services recognised with flags. The Taranaki Militia and Rifle Volunteers' efforts in 1860 were rewarded by the presentation of an impressive flag in 1861, designed and sewn by the women of the area.

Taranaki Volunteers flag

The Taranaki Militia and Rifle Volunteers' efforts in 1860 were rewarded by the presentation in 1861 of an impressive flag designed and sewn by local women. The words 'South Africa' was added to the corps' colours following their participation in the South African War.

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Cowan Collection, B-K 544
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image

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Moutoa flag

Māori men in front of the Moutoa flag, which was presented by the ‘ladies’ of Whanganui to lower Whanganui iwi in 1865 to mark their success in battle at Moutoa Island in May 1864.

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Cowan Collection, 1/2-012420
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image

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Tribal flags with red ensigns

Various iwi/hapu names are shown on Red Ensigns flying at a reception for His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales (later Edward, Duke of Windsor) during his visit to Rotorua in 1920. A version of the United Tribes flag can be seen at the top of the string of flags, while a Union Jack features towards the bottom of the photograph.

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PAColl-7081-03
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image

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Te Kooti flag

An ink drawing by Gilbert Mair of Te Kooti’s triangular pennant, ‘Te Wepu’ (the whip). This flag was made for Ngāti Kahungunu by nuns at the Greenmeadows Missionary School. It measured 52 ft (16 m) by 4 ft (1.2 m). Captured by Te Kooti in 1868, it remained in his possession until seized by Gilbert Mair near Rotorua in 1870. Te Wepu was decorated with a crescent moon, a cross, a six-pointed star, a mountain representing New Zealand, and a bleeding heart that is thought to have symbolised the sufferings of the Māori people.

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Cowan Collection, A-173-030
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image

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Flags of Pai Mārire

The top flag depicted by W.F. Gordon is the personal flag of Te Ua Haumēne, founder of the Pai Mārire faith. The word ‘Kenana’ (Canaan) represents Te Ua’s identification with the Jews. The lower flags are those of Tītokowaru and Peehi Tūroa, two apostles of the faith.

Credit:

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

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King movement flags

The three flags depicted by W.F. Gordon on the left are those used by the King Movement to mark the appointment of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero as the first Māori King in 1857. Gordon drew the flags when they were flown at Mataitawa, Taranaki on the anniversary of Pōtatau's accession in 1862.

The two flags depicted on the right are believed to have been used by supporters of the Pai Mārire faith in the 1860s.

Credit:

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

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