Flag
March 29, 2016, 11:04 am
The Kiwis just spent millions of dollars to keep the flag they have flown since 1902.
Their flag was not being held for ransom, and no one wished to leave the Commonwealth. John Key, the current Prime Minister, simply thought it was time to rethink the original design.
The original flag features a small Union Jack and stars of the Southern Cross on a field of blue. Those favoring a change noted that the Kiwis’ flag looks incredibly similar to the Australian one, causing much confusion. In addition, it invoked the colonial era with its many injustices.
The public was invited to submit new designs and they did…..10,292 of them. A panel, including verillolologists (experts in flag design) whittled the list down to the finalist. The winner featured a silver fern, an iconic symbol to New Zealanders. Think it as the equivalent to Canada’s big, red maple leaf.
A photo from December shows the current New Zealand flag (left) and the alternative design currently up for a vote.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images News
The big vote was held last week and the silver fern design went down in flames. One critic remarked “It looks like a beach blanket”.
If I were Kiwi, I would have voted for the fern. If all nations’ flags looked like beach blankets, maybe we wouldn’t be fighting wars all the time.
1 Comment for this entry
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Greetings and welcome...
The Suitcase Lady Blog is now in its fifteenth year. I intend to keep following the advice from poet Mary Oliver, "Pay attention, be astonished and tell about it". Many thanks for being the people I tell it to.
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March 29th, 2016 on 12:01 PM
I totally agree with you, Mary.