Country profile: New Zealand

Before British colonisation, Māori chiefs from the north of the North Island adopted a first flag in 1834, that of the United Tribes of New Zealand, so that their merchant ships could be identified in ports.

The current flag derives from the British Blue Ensign bearing the Southern Cross, used by colonial government ships from 1869. It officially became New Zealand's national flag in 1902.

The flag is now protected by the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981, which sets out its design and use.

The two elements of the New Zealand flag have a clear meaning:

• Union Jack: placed in the canton, it recalls the country's colonial history and its ties with the United Kingdom.
• Southern Cross: its four red stars edged in white place New Zealand in the South Pacific, under the skies of the southern hemisphere.
• Blue field: it evokes the ocean surrounding the islands and the sky.

In 2015 and 2016, New Zealand held two referendums on a possible change of flag. The chosen alternative, a silver fern designed by Kyle Lockwood, was finally rejected in March 2016: 56.6% of voters chose to keep the current flag.

The New Zealand flag is often confused with that of Australia, which has white stars and a large seven-pointed star beneath the Union Jack, absent from the New Zealand flag.

The Māori flag (Tino rangatiratanga), black, white and red, designed in the late 1980s, has been recognised since 2009 as the flag of the Māori people and as such flies on some public buildings.