New Zealand's ‘First National Flag’

Te Ao Hou, March 1965, Page 32

New Zealand's ‘First National Flag’ The flag was hoisted amid much ceremony, and was declared to be the national flag of New Zealand. But apart from the fact that ships bearing it had the protection of the British navy, the flag meant little to the Maoris in the north, and nothing at all to the people in other parts of the country. Ten years later, resentment against the growing strength of the newcomers found expression in the famous incident in which Hone Heke four times cut down the Pakeha flagstaff at Kororareka, regarding it as a ‘rahui’, a post erected to claim possession of the land. When war broke out in the 1860s, many sections of the Maori people sought new symbols to serve as a source of strength and a rallying-point in their struggle. Under their The figure on this Hauhau flag is making the magic gesture believed to ward off the enemy bullets.

This drawing of the flag of the Maori King was made in 1863 at Ngaruawahia. Many of the Maori King Movement flags had three symbols similar to these ones. According to several writers, they represent the three islands of New Zealand. This figure is on a Hauhan pennant, one of several flags in the Dominion Museum. The cross and the border of the flag are red, on a white ground; the figure is red and black, with a blue strip at the neck. new flags they fought, and many died. The huge pennant at the top of this page is Te Wepu (The Whip), one of the war standards of Te Kooti. Fifty-two feet in length (representing, it is said, the weeks of the year) and four feet deep, it was of bright red silk with white embroidery. Te Wepu was made by Catholic nuns in Hawkes Bay for chiefs of the Ngati Kahungunu tribe, but was captured in battle by Te Kooti, who reinterpreted its imagery: the bleeding heart symbolised the sufferings of the Maori people and their determination to fight for their land, and the mountain symbolised Aotearoa. According to some accounts the crescent moon represented the Old Testament, and the cross the New Testament. Another well known flag belonging to Te Kooti is illustrated in an earlier issue of Te Ao Hou (No. 45, page 11). The Hauhau flag illustrated on page 32 is one of several that are now in the Auckland Museum. The figure is five feet high, and is

This red and white flag flew at Gate Pa, near Tauranga, during the heroic battle of 1864. The star is said to represent the Star of Bethlehem. The flag of Titokowaru, the famous Taranaki warrior who fought against the Pakeha in the 1860s. It is red and white, and seven feet six inches in length. The flag of Te Ua, prophet of the Hauhau faith. ‘Kenana’ is the Maori form of Canaan in the Bible. The outer area of the flag is red, and so is the lowest of the three symbols. The lettering and the other two symbols are black. This handsome flag, captured in the Hunua ranges in 1863, hangs in the entrance to the Auckland Public Library. It is red, white and black (in the drawing the black area is represented by stripes). red on a white ground, with a red surrounding area. Altogether this huge flag is 20 feet long by 12 feet deep. The tall flagpoles or ‘niu’ which were the centres of worship of the Hauhau cult were hung with many different flags. One kind, of which several have survived, was known as a ‘Riki’, and represented the Angel Gabriel; it was usually a pennant with a cross at the wider end. Gabriel was regarded as an avenging angel, and was believed to have inspired, the prophet Te Ua. In Te Ua's flag ‘Kenana’ the trefoil device, which may have been copied from a playing card, is said to represent the Trinity.