History of the New Zealand Flag
Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand (1834-1840)
Trading troubles
The idea of a flag to represent New Zealand was first broached in 1830, when the Hokianga-built trading ship Sir George Murray was seized in Sydney by Customs officials for sailing without a flag or register. Australia, New Zealand's major trading market, was subject to British navigation laws which ruled that every ship must carry an official certificate detailing construction, ownership and nationality of the ship. At that time, New Zealand was not yet a British colony and New Zealand-built ships could not sail under a British flag or register. Without a flag to represent the new nation, trading ships and their valuable cargoes would continue to be seized.
The seizure of the Sir George Murray and her detainment in Neutral Bay occurred whilst two principal Maori chiefs, believed to be Patuone and Taonui, were on board, and reports at the time indicate that the Maori population were 'exceedingly indignant' upon hearing the news of the ship's fate. In New South Wales also, there was sympathy for New Zealand's plight and the weekly Australian called for amending legislation to remove any obstacle to New Zealand's increasing trade with Port Jackson. While a temporary licence was granted in August 1831 allowing the Sir George Murray to return to Sydney for trading, the need for an official flag to mark New Zealand-built ships was clear.
Busby takes up the cause
Upon arriving in the Bay of Islands in 1833 to take up the position of British Resident, James Busby almost immediately wrote to the Colonial Secretary in New South Wales suggesting that a New Zealand flag be adopted. Aside from solving the problems with trans-Tasman trade, Busby also saw the flag as a way of encouraging Maori chiefs to work together, paving the way for some form of collective government. The Australian authorities agreed wholeheartedly with his proposal for a flag, and some months later forwarded a possible design, consisting of a white background with four blue horizontal bands across it and the Union Jack in the top left-hand corner. This design was, however, deemed unsuitable by Busby as it contained no red, 'a colour to which the New Zealanders are particularly partial, and which they are accustomed to consider as indicative of rank'. The senior missionary of the Church Missionary Society, Rev. Henry Williams, was enlisted to design an alternative flag, drawing on his experience as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. The three flag designs he produced were then sent to Governor Bourke in New South Wales, who had the designs sewn up and forwarded to Busby by way of HMS Alligator.
Maori chiefs choose a flag
On 20 March 1834, 25 chiefs from the Far North and their followers gathered at Waitangi to choose a flag to represent New Zealand. A number of missionaries, settlers and the commanders of 10 British and 3 American ships were also in attendance at the occasion. Following Busby's address, each chief was called forward in turn to select a flag, while the son of one of the chiefs recorded the votes. The preferred design, a flag already used by the Church Missionary Society, received 12 out of the 25 votes, with the other two designs receiving 10 and 3 votes respectively. Busby declared the chosen flag the national flag of New Zealand and had it hoisted on a central flagpole, accompanied by a 21 gun salute from HMS Alligator.
The new flag was then sent back to New South Wales for passage to King William IV. Governor Bourke also enclosed a drawing of the flag's design, which shows a large flag, with the red cross of St. George on a white background, and a smaller red St.George's cross in the top left-hand corner on a blue background. The smaller cross had a wide black border and a white 8 pointed star featured in each of the blue quarters divided by the cross. The King approved the flag, and a drawing of it was circulated through the Admiralty with instructions to recognise it as New Zealand's flag. It came to be known as the Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand in recognition of the title used by the same chiefs when they met again
Differing descriptions
Descriptions of the flag published in the New South Wales Gazette, the Admiralty's flag book of 1845 and William Yate's account of New Zealand in 1835 differ from the original in respect of the colour of the border around the smaller St. George's cross and the number of points on the stars. One version, with a white border around the cross and six-pointed stars, was hoisted by the New Zealand Company when Colonel William Wakefield and the Tory landed at Petone beach in September 1839. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa holds a flag believed to be that used by Wakefield. The Shaw Savill and Albion shipping company adopted a very similar version as a house flag.
Significance of the flag
Busby's hope that the flag would provide a means for encouraging Maori to act collectively was partially fulfilled when many of the chiefs involved went on to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1835. To Maori, the United Tribes flag was significant in that Britain had recognised New Zealand as an independent nation with its own flag, and in doing so, had acknowledged the mana of the Maori chiefs. As only northern chiefs were involved in choosing the flag, it became particularly significant to northern Maori. By way of oral history and tradition, the flag remains important to successive generations of northern Maori today. The flag could be sighted flying in various locations around the Bay of Islands, as well as on ships plying their trade to Sydney. Ships calling at other ports in New Zealand led to the flag's use in other parts of the country as well.
Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, the Union Jack replaced the Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand as the official flag of New Zealand. The new Lieutenant -Governor, William Hobson, forcibly removed the United Tribes flag from the Bay of Islands, and had the New Zealand Company's version of the flag hauled down at Port Nicholson.
Some Maori, including Hone Heke, believed that Maori should have the right to fly the United Tribes flag alongside the Union Jack, in recognition of their equal status with the government. Heke's repeated felling of the flagstaff at Kororareka between 1844 and 1846 was a vivid rejection of the Union Jack, which was viewed as a symbol of British power over Maori. Similarly, Tarawhaiti's act of hoisting the United Tribes flag on the island of Ruapuke in 1844 symbolised Maori independence. The use of the United Tribes flag design on the back of a medal presented to a soldier of the South African War suggests that before the current flag was instituted, the United Tribes flag may also have been used to represent a distinct New Zealand identity, separate from that of the British Empire and Union Jack.