A koru flag was designed by

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...

in 1983 and proposed as a secondary flag for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Overview

As black is a traditional colour of the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, the flag has a black strip on the left side. There is a

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

green spiral which starts by taking up the entire width of the flag but decreases gradually, splitting it diagonally and finally curling up into a spiral on the right side. This curling

is based on a Māori pattern known as the ''

koru The ''koru'' () is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the id ...

'', and the corresponding white spiral alludes to Aotearoa, a Māori name for New Zealand meaning ''Land of the Long White Cloud''. Hundertwasser also saw the design as representing humanity in harmony with nature. It is claimed by some New Zealanders that the current flag of New Zealand is a reminder of British

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

and does not truly represent their culture; however, those who support the current flag say that it represents the history of the country as a part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and location in the southern hemisphere. The flag can be seen on the counter of the convenience store in the 1997 film ''

subUrbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include Commercial area, commercial and mixed-use development, mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a ...

''.

NZ flag design Modern Hundertwasser by Tomas Cottle

NZ flag design Koru (Black) by Andrew Fyfe

A design based on Hundertwasser's flag with the black bar removed was submitted by Tomas Cottle in the 2015–2016 New Zealand flag referendums under the name 'Modern Hundertwasser'. It was initially selected for inclusion in the long list of 40 designs, but was removed due to a copyright claim by the Hundertwasser Foundation.

References

External links

Hundertwasser koru flag
NZHistory, Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Flags of the World Proposed flags of New Zealand Māori politics Māori culture Flags introduced in 1983 {{flag-stub

Overview

See also

References

External links