Ian Prior
27 February 2004
As a boy growing up in Masterton in the thirties the Prior family would attend the ANZAC Day parades at the gates of the Masterton Park when we would hear about the extraordinary loss of life of Wairarapa and New Zealand young men in the First World War had experienced.
The New Zealand Flag was in full flight above us as we sang ‘Lest we Forget’.
My father was a medical officer at Gallipoli and then in France at Passchendale in 1917. He was awarded the Military Cross and Bar for his extreme bravery under fire.
He did not tell us anything of what he saw or had to do as a medical officer. It has to be noted that at Passchendale the Generals were very reluctant to go up to the front lines and witness the extraordinary conditions being experienced by the soldiers brought from New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain and South Africa to fight and protect their countries from the ‘Hun’.
The progression of New Zealand from being a British colony to the status of being a Dominion represented an important stage in our growth as a nation and as an important member of the British Empire.
The Union Jack was an important emblem of our status at that time and during the Second World War when it was used widely and was seen as a visual emblem of New Zealand and New Zealanders standing with other countries against the forces of Hitler and Mussolini.
Much has happened since the end of the Second World War that provides evidence for the increasing independence of New Zealand with a bicultural society made up of the Maori - the Tangata Whenua and the Europeans coming from many countries but particularly Great Britain, Ireland and Scotland. We are now an independent nation state playing an important role in the Commonwealth and also having an important voice in the Pacific including helping to build up the strengths of smaller countries both Polynesian and Melanesian and as a member of the Pacific Forum. The part New Zealand has played in supporting the United Nations over recent years stands out.
We are a changing, emerging state that no longer seeks inspiration from the present flag. It is part of our history and the role that it has played can be respected. We are moving from a predominantly bicultural society to one that now involves an important component of Pacific island people and also immigrants from Asia.
We must now seek inspiration, visual excitement and stimulus to creativity and excellence from many directions and develop a flag that can be a source of pride to New Zealanders as we continue to impact strongly on the wider world in the many areas of commerce, sport, films, literature, tourism and creative thinking in which we have to strive to excel.
Over the years the development of high quality films in New Zealand has been a source of both local pride and often international interest. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series produced by Peter Jackson and his miraculous teams and the ‘Whale Rider’ produced by Nicki Caro and featuring Keisha Castle-Hughes have both enhanced the understanding of people of many countries of the world about the many contributions that New Zealand and New Zealanders can make.
The challenge in 2004 is to work out how we can very reasonably look again at how a new design of our national flag might help New Zealand as a nation stand up and be proud of our present state as an independent nation state that is widely respected for what New Zealand and its people are achieving in a number of fields.
Readers of the essay will have varying views on how these areas can best be developed but will I believe, agree that a National Flag that more truly represents our present day New Zealand nation and the part it can and should play with Pacific nations and on the world scene must now be the subject of major debate.
Their increasing involvement in our New Zealand society of Pacific islanders can help strengthen the case for including the Southern Cross as the proposed new flag.
The plan for seeking a referendum should be a necessary part of the process of considering the desirability of a new national flag. The decision on this step will rest with Parliament.
Ian Prior
27 February 2004
Read another essay by Dr Ian Prior: Canadian Experience