History of the New Zealand Flag
Promoting patriotism: The flag in schools
Towards the end of the 19th century, the notion of using the flag to promote patriotic and imperial ideals was raised. As one member of the House of Representatives described it, to know the history of the flag was to 'have his heart warmed and his national feeling quickened, and be fired with love and affection for his flag'. Letters to the newspapers called on the Government and Education Boards to instil in children a respect for the flag, with flag raising ceremonies to heighten a sense of national identity and pride.
Children salute the flag during a health camp held
at
the Awapuni Race Course in Palmerston North, 1930
Children's Health Camps collection
The Government initially responded by making occasional gifts of flags to schools. During the fervour of the South African War when 'more flags were carried and paraded than there ever had been before', the Government extended its commitment by calling for tenders to supply schools with flags. With the support of successive Governors and Governors-General, patriotic societies such as the Navy League and the Victoria League also worked to encourage the use of the flag in schools. The Navy League made regular presentations of Union Jacks to schools from the early 1900s, and various Governors-General continued to oversee the donation of flags to schools by other organisations well into the 1940s.
The increasing popularity of saluting the flag in schools also prompted the New Zealand Journal of Education in 1903 to issue rules for 'flag drills' to be undertaken by primary school children marching in formation. These ceremonies were designed to encourage children to appreciate the honour of the flag, and by association, New Zealand's role in the British Empire. Weekly ceremonies to salute the flag even became compulsory in all public schools from 1921. Both the Union Jack and the New Zealand Flag were used in school ceremonies, suggesting that patriotism focused on ideas of Empire, rather than a distinct New Zealand identity.