Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand

The Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand is an official flag of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

and is flown continuously in the presence of the Governor-General of New Zealand

Governor-General of New Zealand

The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....

. The flag in its present from was adopted in 2008. It is a blue flag with the shield of the arms of New Zealand

Coat of arms of New Zealand

The coat of arms of New Zealand is the official symbol of New Zealand. The initial coat of arms was granted by King George V on the 26 August 1911, and the current version was granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.-History and design:...

royally crowned—the official description being "A flag of a blue field thereon the Arms of New Zealand ensigned by the Royal Crown all proper".

Flown at places like the Governor-General's residence

Government House, Wellington

Government House in Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand is the principal residence of the Governor-General of New Zealand. It was designed by Claude Paton in the office of John Campbell, Government Architect. Built between 1908 and 1910, the house's grounds total 12 ha, and the house is 4200 m²...

and on official vehicles used by the Governor-General, the flag takes precedence over the national flag

Flag of New Zealand

The flag of New Zealand is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right. The stars represent the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross....

, but not the head of state's flag

Queen's Personal New Zealand Flag

The Queen's Personal Flag for New Zealand, also known as the New Zealand Royal Standard, is the personal flag of Queen Elizabeth II in her role as Queen of New Zealand. The flag was approved for use in 1962. It is used by the Queen only when she is in New Zealand or attending an event abroad in...

New Zealand as self-governing colony
Self-governing colony
A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...

In 1869 the Admiralty directed that "Governors ...administering the Governments of British Colonies and Dependencies be authorised to fly the Union Jack, with the Arms or Badge of the Colony emblazoned in the centre thereof". There was at the time no colonial badge for New Zealand.

Accordingly in October 1869 the decision was made to including a Jack with the "Southern Cross, as represented in the Blue Ensign by four five-pointed red stars in the fly, with white borders to correspond to the colouring of the Jack; in the Jack by four five-pointed white stars on the red ground of the St George's Cross; and in the pendant by four stars near the staff similar to those in the Ensign".
In October 1874 Sir James Fergusson

Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet

Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet GCSI, PC was a British soldier, Conservative politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...

announced that, "... that the seal or badge to be worn in the Union Jack used by the Governor of New Zealand when embarked in any boat or other vessel shall be the Southern Cross as represented by four five-pointed red stars emblazoned on the white shield aforesaid, and the monogram NZ in red letters in the centre of the Southern Cross.

Succeeding Governors found it convenient to use this flag on shore and it became accepted as the official vice-regal flag.

New Zealand as dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...

and, later, realm
Realm
A realm is a dominion of a monarch or other sovereign ruler.The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century...

In 1907 New Zealand's status was officially transformed from self-governing colony

Self-governing colony

A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...

to dominion

Dominion

A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...

. To mark the transition to independence

Independence of New Zealand

The independence of New Zealand is a matter of continued academic and social debate. New Zealand has no fixed date of independence, instead independence came about as a result of New Zealand's evolving constitutional status. New Zealand evolved as one of the British Dominions, colonies within the...

, the New Zealand Government requested that the garland of laurels on the Governor’s flag should be replaced by one of fern leaves, the fern leaf was already recognised as one of New Zealand's national symbols.

In a letter of 5 January 1908 the Governor requested that the garland around the badge on his flag be changed from the usual green laurel leaves to a garland of fern leaves, and referred to the garland of maple leaves surrounding the badge on the Flag of the Governor General of Canada

Flag of the Governor General of Canada

The Flag of the Governor General of Canada was adopted in 1981. It features Canada's royal crest; a crowned lion holding a red maple leaf in its paw, standing on a wreath of the official colours of Canada , on a blue background...

as a precedent. This was approved without hesitation, since the regulations only stipulated that the device on the flags of Governors should be surrounded by a “green garland”. The type of leaves was not specified.
A new design was adopted in January 1931, to reflect the Balfour Declaration of 1926 whereby the Governor General was now the representative of the monarch

Monarchy in New Zealand

The monarchy of New Zealand also referred to as The Crown in Right of New Zealand, Her Majesty in Right of New Zealand, or The Queen in Right of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of the Realm of New Zealand,...

in the Dominion of New Zealand, rather than a representative of the British government. The New Zealand badge was replaced by the Royal Crest. The words “Dominion of New Zealand” were displayed on a gold scroll beneath the badge.

As neither Governor-General Lord Bledisloe

Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe

-External links:*...

nor his ministers were sympathetic to the change, the old flag was retained, and the new flag was not flown until after Lord Galway

George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway

-External links:* by the office of the Governor-General...

's arrival.

Minor stylistic changes were made around 1953, including changing the scroll's text to “New Zealand”.

On 2 June 2008 a new design was adopted, the timing coinciding with the official observance of the Queen's birthday..

New Zealand as self-governing colonySelf-governing colonyA self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...

See also

New Zealand as self-governing colony
Self-governing colony
A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...