Susan Karike Huhume (–11 April 2017) was a

Papua New Guinean Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

housewife, who, as a schoolgirl, designed the colours of her country's national flag. She married Nanny Huhume and they had four children and twelve grandchildren. She died in April 2017 after suffering a stroke and was buried on 28 July 2017.

Background

In 1971, when Karike was aged 15, her school, the Catholic Mission School at

Yule Island Yule Island is a small island in Central Province, Papua New Guinea. It is located 160 km NW from Port Moresby, on the south coast of Papua New Guinea. History Yule Island was probably named after Charles Bampfield Yule, a Royal Navy offic ...

in Central Province was visited by the Selection Committee on Constitutional Development on 12 February. The committee already had a preliminary design for a new flag for Papua New Guinea, which had been designed by an Australian artist, Hal Holman. Nevertheless, they asked students to create a new colour palette for the flag. Karike did not believe the original colours of blue, yellow and green were traditional enough, nor did she like the vertical stripes that the flag was split into. She used a diagonal line and the colours red, black and yellow, as well as keeping the motifs of the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

and the bird of paradise. The new design for the flag was drawn in a page torn from her exercise book. It was presented to the committee on 1 March 1971 and was formally adopted as the

flag of Papua New Guinea The flag of Papua New Guinea ( Tok Pisin: ''plak bilong Papua Niugini'') was adopted on 1 July 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a Raggiana bird-of-paradise is silhouetted. The design was chosen through a nationwid ...

on 4 March 1971.

Awards and recognition

In 2017, the Papua New Guinea National Museum & Art Gallery was redeveloped and a new gallery was named after Karike. Despite designing the colours of the national flag, Karike's achievement went largely unrecognised during her lifetime. She received no pension from the government and lived in poverty. The three-month delay between her death and her burial was due to the fact that the Prime Minister's office had promised her family that she would have a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

, yet rescinded on this promise.

Gallery

File:Flag of Papua New Guinea (1970–1971).svg, Hal Holman's initial flag design File:Flag photo Papua New Guinea.jpg, The flag in Beijing. File:2016 Paralympics Parade of Nations Papua New Guinea cr.jpg, The flag paraded at the

2016 Paralympic Games The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karike, Susan 1950s births 2017 deaths Papua New Guinean women Flag designers People from Gulf Province 20th-century women