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National
and Local Flags of Oceania.
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Some country
headings are linked to map and information about that country in Oceania.
To print a flag of a country, press 'Print this flag' and set your printer to
landscape.
Printed flag measures approx 240mm (9.5 inches) across.
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The
flag is blue with an isoceles triangle on the fly, it's red edged equal sides
extending to a point midway along the hoist. At the fly, within the triangle is
an American bald eagle in flight, the eagle is 'proper' (natural colours). It's
left claw holds a staff (fue), and in the right a club.
American Samoa
is an unincorporated territory administered by the US Department of the Interior. | |
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Australia flies a version
of the British Blue Ensign, with the Union Jack in the chief canton. The Southern
Cross, a prominent southern constellation, is depicted at the fly. The large Commonwealth
of Australia star beneath the Union flag represents the states and territories
of Australia.
The
shape, size and position of the stars was amended over the years, until the final
design was specified on 15 April, 1954. | |
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Cook Islands flies another
version of the British Blue Ensign, with the Union Jack in the chief canton. The
circle of fifteen white stars depicted at the fly represents the fifteen main
islands of the Cooks.
The
Cook Islands were discovered in 1773 by Capt James Cook and is (at 2006) a independant
state in loose association with New Zealand. | |
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Fijian flag, one of the first to adopt a blue ensign with light blue.
The
Union Flag is in the chief canton, with the shield from the
republic's coat
of arms at the fly. On the chief (the top third of the shield) is a crowned lion.
Below the chief, the shield is quartered by the St George's cross on a white field.
The quarters of the shield show; sugar cane, a coconut palm, a peace dove and
a banana bunch. | |
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In a central circle,
within a white band is a red pirogue -a twin hulled canoe that can be paddled
or sailed, behind which is a radiant sun. The five rowers represent the five départménts
of French Polynesia.
French Polynesia is an overseas territory of France,
so the Tricolore is the official flag -although the local flag is recognised.
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| Hawaii
was declared a state of the US in 1959. | |
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Kiribati's flag is identical to it's coat of arms so is thus named an armorial
banner. Rising from the sea is a gold radiant sun, above which flies a frigate
bird (Fregata minor) both on a red field.
Kiribati's flag dates
from 1937 and was created for the former British colony of Gilbert and Ellice
Islands. The shield was incorporated into the British Blue Ensign but with independance
in 1979, the islands became Kiribati and Tuvalu respectively.
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The long arms of the star
are said to depict a christian cross, while the 24 points represent the islands'
municipalities. The twin stripes represent the parallel island chains of Ratak
(sunrise, white) and Ralik (sunset, orange). The stripes widen and rise towards
the fly. The Marshall
Islands were part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1945-86,
becoming self governing in 1979 and fully independant in 1986.
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The blue of the flag represents
the Pacific Ocean, the four stars represent the four island states (Chuuk, Kosrae,
Pohnpei and Yap) that make up the federation.
Two of the original six Trust Territories (Palau and Marshall Islands) opted for
separate independance.
Prior to independance in 1986 the islands were
part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. | |
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The royal blue field is
divided by a gold stripe representing the equator. The position of the 12 pointed
star reflects Nauru's position one degree south of the equator.
Part of the
German Empire from 1888, tiny Nauru came under Australian administration after
1918. During WWIl Nauru was under control of the Japanese who deported most of
the inhabitants to Truk atoll -1600 km away. | |
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Settled by both England
and France in the early 19th century, it became a French possession in 1853 and
served as a penal colony 1864 until 1910. The
status of the French Territory of New Caledonia allows for a local flag to be
flown with the Tricolore but never on it's own. | |
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The Union flag is in the
chief canton, the Southern Cross on the fly, made up of 4 white bordered red stars
all of differing size.
Discovered around 800AD by Polynesian Maori navigators who
named it Aotearoa ('Land of the Long White Cloud').
NZ was visited by the
Dutch explorer Capt Abel Tasman in 1642, giving NZ it's present name. In 1769
NZ was claimed for
England by Capt James Cook.
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One of many designs for
a new national flag. The stylised silver fern* in the centre represents
New Zealand and New Zealanders, and the vertical red bar at the hoist and at the
fly is a colour that has a strong association with the Maori people.
*
Trademark of NZFlag.com
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| New
Zealand overseas territory | |
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colours red and black were chosen because of their widespread use in the counry's
indigenous art.
The field comprises two rightangled triangles descending diagonally
from the top of the hoist. The upper red triangle depicts in gold, the kumui
(bird of paradise) in flight, whose feathers were used for ornamenting traditional
headdresses. In the black triangle, the five stars represent the Southern Cross
as it appears over Papua New Guinea. | |
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The flag of the remote British
overseas territory of Pitcairn Islands is the Blue Ensign with the Pitcairn Islands
arms at the fly.
Pitcairn, Dulcie, Oeno, plus smaller islands of the
Pitcairn group, lie about 3500km northeast of New Zealand. | |
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| Samoa's
flag was jointly created by the kings of the rival kingdoms of Malietoa and Tamasese.
It combined elements of their flags with the four star Southern Cross of New Zealand,
A smaller 5th star was added in 1949.
Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) became
the first Polynesian nation to be granted independance -as a constitutional monarchy
within the British Commonwealth.
Samoa's flag was granted in 1948 when Samoa
was a territory of NZ. | |
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The five stars represent
the 5 main island groups, the diagonal stripe the sun, the blue and green triangles
the sea and land.
Solomon Islands consist of hundreds of islands in the Melanesian archipelago.
First sighted by Europeans in 1568, they became a British colony in 1883. Self
government was granted in 1976, and independance within the Commonwealth in 1978.
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New Zealand overseas territory | |
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In 1862, King George Tupou
l commanded that his country's flag should symbolise the Christian faith. The
new flag was red with a red cross on a white canton.
Tonga,
a British protectorate from 1900, gained independance as an hereditary monarchy
within the Commonwealth in 1970. | |
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| Tuvalu
flies a light blue version of the British Blue Ensign. The 9 yellow stars represent
the 9 major islands approximating their position within the archipelago.
First reached by Europeans in 1795, the islands were a source of slave labour
in the mid 19th century. A British protectorate (as the Ellice part of the Gilbert
and Ellice Islands) from 1915 to 1975 when the two groups separated to become
Kiribati and Tuvalu respectively. | |
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The golden 'Y' shape depicts
the layout of the 70 islands of the Vanuatu archipelago. A gold charge set in
the black triangle at the hoist depicts a curled boar's tusk, a symbol of prosperity.
Within the tusk are two crossed namale ferns symbolising peace.
Jointly administered by Britain and France from 1906 and in 1980, New Hebrdes
became Vanuatu as an independant republic within the former British Commonwealth.
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status of the French Territory of Wallis and Futuna allows for a local flag to
be flown with the Tricolore but never on it's own. | |
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