Stargazer Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) This might possibly be only of interest to the sole known Kiwi on the board, Russell McGregor, but as a flag hobbyist this caught my fancy as I learned this morning that New Zealand was contemplating changing its national flag to this one, which has come out first in a national referendum. Wow, very pretty flag, although one of the runner-ups is the same but with black replaced by red. It, too, looks nice. I wonder what Russell prefers (unless he would rather keep the existing flag with the Union jack. Here are the five finalists: Edited December 12, 2015 by Stargazer Link to comment
sunstoned Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 I wonder what the motivation really is for this change. Link to comment
Russell C McGregor Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Not sure how this is relevant to the board, but if we can have forty-seven threads on SSM and related topics, why not this one? With that in mind: I do prefer the old flag. But if we do change, for me it's a toss-up between the first and fifth options, with a slight lean in favour of the fifth. In answer to Sunstoned's question: this is kind of a personal hobbyhorse of the Prime Minister -- and when you head a government, you do have the opportunity to get your ideas on the agenda. The main argument is that our flag looks rather a lot like Australia's, so we want to differentiate ourselves. Link to comment
hagoth7 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 8 hours ago, sunstoned said: I wonder what the motivation really is for this change. Dunno. Canada changed their flag shortly after I was born, surely to commemorate the event. ;0) Seriously though: "Today, the maple leaf is a recognized symbol of Canada; it has also come to symbolize unity, tolerance, and peace." "The key point....was that Canada needed a flag that would be relevant to all Canadians, not just those of British descent." I would imagine that the proposed change in New Zealand has similar motivation. Link to comment
sunstoned Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 21 hours ago, hagoth7 said: Dunno. Canada changed their flag shortly after I was born, surely to commemorate the event. ;0) Seriously though: "Today, the maple leaf is a recognized symbol of Canada; it has also come to symbolize unity, tolerance, and peace." "The key point....was that Canada needed a flag that would be relevant to all Canadians, not just those of British descent." I would imagine that the proposed change in New Zealand has similar motivation. I do like the new leading design. I find it interesting that there is enough interest to justify this decision. Nations just don't change their flags that often. From what I have read there seems to be a push to have the union jack play a less prominent role. There is also a lot discussion centering around how the current flag is very similar to that of Australia. Link to comment
hagoth7 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) 4 hours ago, sunstoned said: I do like the new leading design. I completely agree. And I love New Zealand. One of my four favorite towns in the world is there. Quote I find it interesting that there is enough interest to justify this decision. Nations just don't change their flags that often. Over the years, being visibly associated with the British commonwealth (or "commonwealth of nations") and with the royal family has lost some of its luster. Being a unified nation of people from varying ethnic backgrounds has come more to the fore, as it did in Canada back in the 60's. Quote From what I have read there seems to be a push to have the union jack play a less prominent role. Which is why I cited Canada's shift decades ago in that context. Canada nixed the Union Jack back then for similar reasons. Edited December 14, 2015 by hagoth7 Link to comment
Walden Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 On 12/12/2015 at 1:40 PM, Stargazer said: This might possibly be only of interest to the sole known Kiwi on the board, Russell McGregor, but as a flag hobbyist this caught my fancy as I learned this morning that New Zealand was contemplating changing its national flag to this one, which has come out first in a national referendum. Wow, very pretty flag, although one of the runner-ups is the same but with black replaced by red. It, too, looks nice. I wonder what Russell prefers (unless he would rather keep the existing flag with the Union jack. Here are the five finalists: Nothing to add here really, but your remark that you are a "flag enthusiast" made me think of this: Fun with Flags Link to comment
Stargazer Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 On 12/13/2015 at 0:06 AM, Russell C McGregor said: Not sure how this is relevant to the board, but if we can have forty-seven threads on SSM and related topics, why not this one? With that in mind: I do prefer the old flag. But if we do change, for me it's a toss-up between the first and fifth options, with a slight lean in favour of the fifth. In answer to Sunstoned's question: this is kind of a personal hobbyhorse of the Prime Minister -- and when you head a government, you do have the opportunity to get your ideas on the agenda. The main argument is that our flag looks rather a lot like Australia's, so we want to differentiate ourselves. Ummm, Russell, it's the SOCIAL HALL. We have a centuries-old thread on adding three words to someone else's three words, nice food items, puns, and so on. Why NOT a thread on the NZ flag? 1 Link to comment
sunstoned Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 #1 and #5 both retain the southern cross star consolation. I think this will serve as a good bridge from the original flag to the new one. Link to comment
salgare Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I don't like 2,3 or 4 at all Link to comment
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