THE UNION JACK

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XX, Issue 5259, 19 October 1915, Page 7

THE UNION JACK

SIZE, SHAPE AND DESIGN. A correspondent writes to ask the Lyttelton Times the size and design of the New Zealand ensign, and this is not a difficult question to answer, although official facts arc not available in regard to the ensign, but only to the Union Jack. It may be taken, however, that the ensign is a blue ffag with the Union Jack in the first quarter and a Southern Cross, of red fivepointed stars with a, narrow white margin standing upright on the outer half of the blue ground.

The official size of the Union Jack, according to the. Defence Office records. is f3oi n. by 30in., a double square, the length being called “the fly” and the depth “the hoist.’’ 'Hie width of St. George’s Cross is onefifth of lie hoist. When St. Andrew's Cross was first added (in 1003), it lading a white saltire on a blue field, a white bonier was added to St. George's eros-. a fifteenth the width of the hoist. St. Patrick's Cross (added in 1801) was a red saltire on a white field, (nit if it had been added in its entirety it Votlld have entirely covered St. Andrew's Cross, which was the same size. Therefore the two diagonal crosses were divided into strips, St. Andrew's half and St. Patrick s a third of its former width. To make the combination correct in heraldry. which objects to colour on colour. a small white strip was added to St. Patrick’s Cross. In the first quarter —that is to >av, tile top quarter next tin* staff—the white strip representing St. Andrew's Cross was placed uppermost, because Scotland was the senior member of the Union. Tr> the second, or top outside, quarter St. Patrick’s Cross is shown uppermost, and the same order is observed in the third and fourth quarters, the effect being to break the continuity of direction of the arms of the St. Patrick Red Cross.

The commonly accepted origin of the name .lack is the fact that King •James 1. signed himself “Jacques.” It may be taken for granted that a New Zealand ensign (iOin. by 30in. would conform to official standards, although it is common to see both the Union Jack and the ensign with the hoist much more than half the length of the fly.