Flag of New Zealand 1902 – present

The New Zealand flag hasn't always been our official flag. Although widely used since 1869, it was only formally adopted in 1902 amidst the pomp and patriotism of the South African War. For six decades before that, the Union Jack fluttered from New Zealand's flagpoles. But even that wasn't our first flag.

PLEASE NOTE: The country for this flag has always been known legally as New Zealand, or in the Maori Language as Nu Tireni, a translation for New Zealand. New Zealand has NOT changed its name and would need a country-wide referendum to do so.

In the last couple of years, some people (a minority of the population) have started ADDING Aotearoa before New Zealand so its one name with 3 parts, or even using it as an alternative as in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Note: The term Aotearoa is a fictional name. It was a lie invented by one Percival Smith in the 19th Century. He made up a number of them and they became accepted as a truth, which was a shame, as it debased the aboriginal inhabitants’ culture of these islands.