By Sally Kidson
17 November 2005
A group of Nelson property owners has designed an alternative national
flag and is flying it in upper Trafalgar St to gauge public reaction.
Nelson lawyer Brian Smythe said the new-look flag was the work of the
partners of Heritage Partnership, who owned the building where his practice
was based. Mr Smythe said the partners had designed the flag in response
to high-profile Wellington businessman Lloyd Morrison's push to get New
Zealand's current flag replaced with a black flag with a silver fern.
Mr Morrison's petition fell short of getting the numbers required to force a referendum, and the partners felt this was because people saw the silver fern as an appropriate sporting emblem, but not a national flag.
The partners had engaged Nelson designer Ren Olykan to design a flag to see if he could come up with a design from their brief.
The design on the right hand-side of the flag represented some of the "essential features" of New Zealand in the form of a stylised mountain.
The steps symbolised snowpeaks, forests, pasture, sandshore and the sea, while the koru represented a waka and Aotearoa: the land of the long white cloud, he said.
"We feel the flag is inspiring and looks ahead to our future. It embodies key national elements including symbols associated with our national culture. Most importantly, it would clearly differentiate us from Australia."
Response from the public had so far been positive, he said. But the RSA had indicated they thought New Zealand should stick with its current flag because of the history attached to it.
Those who wanted to comment on the flag could write to Flag Design, Box
279, Nelson.
The Nelson Mail
© Fairfax New Zealand Limited 2005.