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Red Peak flag

Other names	Red Peak, First to the Light
Proportion	1:2
Design	Simplified geometric elements based on tāniko pattern representing land, sky, inspired by Rangi and Papa mythology, and a reference to heritage from the 1902 New Zealand flag
Designed by	Aaron Dustin

The Red Peak flag (also called "First to the Light") was designed by Aaron Dustin in 2015 for consideration in the 2015/2016 flag referenda for New Zealand.

According to its designer, Aaron Dustin, the First to the Light flag represents the uniqueness of New Zealand's land, light and position. The chevron refers to the collision of two tectonic plates which form the Southern Alps and New Zealand is one of the first countries to see the dawn of the new day. The design also references the story of Rangi and Papa, a creation myth in native Māori mythology. The design of the First to the Light flag itself references traditional Maori weaving tāniko patterns and the tip of the stars from the current New Zealand flag.

History

The flag was designed by Aaron Dustin along with 17 other flag designs in May to July 2015 as part of the New Zealand Government call for alternative flag designs, and submitted under the pseudonym Andor Unista from Wellington. In August 2015 Red Peak was selected in the long list of 40 flag designs by the Flag Consideration Panel. A quantitative survey conducted from 25 to 31 August 2015 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 New Zealanders concluded that the the flag design ranked 35th place overall, and was the fourth least preferred flag design. Furthermore, within specific groups, it ranked last place (40th) according to people that identify as Māori or Green voters.

After public disappointment with the official shortlist of four options, a social media campaign was launched on 2 September for the Red Peak flag, a design well-liked by supporters of changing the New Zealand flag who disapprove of the silver fern flag and other similar proposed designs. Despite not being selected by the official Flag Consideration Panel, the Red Peak design is considered a favourable alternative and is supported by a grassroots social media campaign for its inclusion in any public referendum for a new national flag design. An online petition to support inclusion of the flag design as an option for the referendum gained support from 50,000 petitioners in less than two weeks, and was handed over by the family of the petition's creator and Rowan Simpson to David Seymour at Parliament on 16 September 2015.

Support for inclusion in referendum

Party leaders:

• ACT Party leader David Seymour
• Green Party co-leader James Shaw
• Labour Party leader Andrew Little, conditional on the government's agreement to alter the referendum so that Kiwis are first asked whether they want change.
• Māori Party co-leader Marama Fox

Editorial boards:

• New Zealand Herald
• The Dominion Post

Similar designs

Wā kāinga / Home flag

Like Red Peak, the Wā kāinga / Home flag by Studio Alexander, an Auckland-based design studio, also makes use of a white chevron surrounded by red, blue, and black triangles, although its interpretation of the resulting space is different. According to the official description of the design submitted to the government by designers Grant Alexander (principal), Alice Murray, Thomas Lawlor, and Jared McDowell, each of the flag's coloured triangles represents a particular cultural tradition of New Zealand: red for the Māori first peoples, blue for the British settlers, and black for the strength and optimism of its multicultural future. Furthermore, the white space between the colours recalls the Maihi (diagonal bargeboards) on front of a traditional Māori meeting house and symbolizes the "coming together" of all three cultures. In this respect, the design's symbolism is reminiscent of the flag of South Africa.

Wā kāinga / Home met with initial success. On 27 July 2015, it won the $20,000 grand prize at a flag competition hosted by the Morgan Foundation (economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan, believing the government's design brief to be too vague, had set up his own competition to help stimulate public discussion and creativity; Morgan's own brief sought flag designs that would honour the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi). In doing so, Wā kāinga / Home defeated just under 1,000 other submissions. Fresh off this victory, Wā kāinga / Home also survived the first round of the government's official flag competition when on 10 August 2015 the Flag Consideration Panel publicly announced its long list of 40 alternative flag designs. Like Red Peak, however, Wā kāinga / Home subsequently faltered on 1 September 2015, failing to make the government's final four.

See also

• New Zealand flag debate
• List of New Zealand flags

References

1. ^ "Red Peak by Aaron Dustin". New Zealand Government. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
2. Flag, A New Zealand. "A New Zealand Flag". A New Zealand Flag. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
3. "There are 18 flags by Andor Unista". flagpost.nz. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
4. Audrey Young (10 August 2015). "A new flag: The final 40". NZ Herald. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
5. NZ Flag Referendum (‘Red Peak’) Quantitative Survey (PDF), UMR Research, August 2015
6. NZ Flag Referendum (extended edition) Quantitative Survey (PDF), UMR Research, August 2015
7. Simpson, Rowan (2015-09-02). "Dear John".
8. "New Zealanders offered flag shortlist ask: can we have this one instead?". The Guardian. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
9. "Hang up the fern!". The Economist. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
10. Wilson, Cat (3 September 2015). "Petition · Prime Minister John Key: Red Peaks for New Zealand Flag". Change.org. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
11. Claire Trevett (15 September 2015). "Red Peak: 50,000 strong petition handed over at Parliament". Retrieved 16 September 2015.
12. Seymour, David (2014-09-14). "The Flag Referendum and Red Peak". Free Thoughts blog. ACT Party.
13. "Red Peak: Politicians fling flag barbs". Radionz.co.nz. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
14. "Red Peak: Andrew Little's pick". Stuff.co.nz. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
15. "Red Peak: Politicians fling flag barbs". Radionz.co.nz. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
16. "Editorial: Little should lighten up on flag options". New Zealand Herald. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
17. "Editorial: John Key should add the Red Peak flag to the final four". New Zealand Herald. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
18. "Gareth Morgan Announces Winner of $20k Flag Competition". designmyflag.nz. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
19. "Gareth Morgan Announces Winner of $20k Flag Competition". designmyflag.nz. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
20. "From 1,000 entries, this is the winner of Gareth Morgan's new flag design competition". tvnz.co.nz. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
21. "Gareth Morgan Announces Winner of $20k Flag Competition". designmyflag.nz. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
22. "Morgan Foundation Flag Competition Judging Results". designmyflag.nz. Morgan Foundation. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

External links

• Official website of the flag

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