
The Koru Flag
The
Koru Flag has been proposed as a secondary flag
for New
Zealand
. It was designed by
Friedensreich Hundertwasser in
1983.
It
is claimed by some New Zealanders that the current flag of New Zealand is a reminder of
British colonialism 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 and location in
the southern
hemisphere
.
As black is a traditional colour of the
MÄori, the flag has a black flagstaff on the
left. There is a fern 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
fern is based on a MÄori pattern known as the
koru, and the corresponding white
spiral alludes to
Aotearoa, a MÄori name
for New Zealand meaning
Land of the Long White
Cloud.
Hundertwasser also saw
the design as representing humanity in harmony with nature.
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