SÍMBOLOS

Bandera

As New Zealand has no formal written constitution, the coat of arms does not have constitutional status or protection (as coats of arms do in many other countries). None of New Zealand’s national symbols – the flag, the anthem or the coat of arms – are mentioned in the New Zealand Constitution Act 1986.

The Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act from 1981 declares the New Zealand Ensign to be the New Zealand Flag, as depicted in the addendum.

The stars on the Flag represent the Southern Cross constellation, emphasising New Zealand’s location in the South Pacific Ocean. The Union Jack in the top left-hand corner of the Flag recognises New Zealand’s historical foundations as a former British colony and dominion.

The New Zealand Flag can be made to any size, with the length always twice the width.

Detalles técnicos

According to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage of New Zealand:

The Union Jack device is white and red, and sits within an area measuring sixty by thirty one-hundred-and-twentieths of the hoist of the flag.

The Southern Cross device sits on the fly of the flag. Each of the 4 red stars in the Southern Cross device has 5 points and a white border.

The background of the Union Jack and Southern Cross devices is blue.

The colours are white (Pantone SAFE) in the areas marked “1”, red (Pantone 186C) in the area marked “2”, and blue (Pantone 280C) in the area marked “3”.

Normativa de precedencia

According to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage of New Zealand, «except when flown with royal or vice-regal flags, the New Zealand Flag should always be given the Position of Honour in New Zealand. Within New Zealand, the New Zealand Flag takes precedence over all other national flags and house flags. However, international practice forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another in time of peace.»

«When the New Zealand Flag is flown with the flags of other nations, each flag should be the same size and should fly from a separate flagpole of the same height. A house flag may fly beneath the New Zealand Flag on the same flagpole.»

Escudo

New Zealand’s coat of arms features a Māori warrior and a European woman facing one another on either side of a British crown and a shield with symbols of New Zealand’s identity. The first New Zealand coat of arms was introduced in 1911, but many departments continued to use the British royal coat of arms. The current coat of arms was adopted in 1956.

At the centre is a shield, with three ships in the middle, indicative of the country’s reliance on trade and recalling the 19th-century settlement of the country by European migrants, principally from Great Britain. At either side of the shield are concise symbols of New Zealand’s identity:

the Southern Cross (also found on the New Zealand flag), representing the night sky over the country
a sheaf of wheat, in recognition of the country’s agricultural production
a lamb’s fleece, in acknowledgement of the pastoral economy, for so long crucial to the nation’s prosperity
two crossed hammers, representing mining, or industry more generally.

Below the shield and behind the words ‘New Zealand’ are two fern leaves, representations of the native vegetation.

Himno

According to John Wilson, from the official Encyclopedia of New Zealand (Te Ara):

New Zealand is unusual in having two national anthems of equal standing – ‘God save the queen’ (or king), and the more recent ‘God defend New Zealand’. When a member of the royal family is present the former is preferred. However, increasingly on public occasions and at international sporting fixtures ‘God defend New Zealand’ is sung.

The words were written in the 1870s by the Irish-born journalist and poet Thomas Bracken, and the music was composed by the Tasmanian-born teacher John Joseph Woods, as part of a competition in 1876. ‘God defend New Zealand’ became the national song of New Zealand in 1940, and a national anthem in 1977.

On public occasions it is now usually sung in both languages, with the first verse in Māori followed by the first verse in English.

Letra y música.

(primera estrofa en maorí)
E Ihowā Atua,
O ngā iwi mātou rā
Āta whakarangona;
Me aroha noa
Kia hua ko te pai;
Kia tau tō atawhai;
Manaakitia mai
Aotearoa.
(primera estrofa en inglés)
God of Nations at Thy feet,
In the bonds of love we meet,
Hear our voices, we entreat,
God defend our free land.
Guard Pacific’s triple star
From the shafts of strife and war,
Make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand.

Una versión bilingüe del himno de Nueva Zelanda puede escucharse aquí, cortesía de Frankie Stevens y el Department of Internal Affairs del Gobierno de Nueva Zelanda.

PRECEDENCIAS

The “Order of Precedence” in New Zealand is used at many functions and events at Government House, such as State and Royal welcomes, investiture ceremonies and events for the Diplomatic Corps. It indicates the relative precedence of constitutional office holders, public officials and certain others on State, official and other important occasions. It is a guide to be followed as appropriate to the circumstances of the occasion.

With the exception of the Sovereign and the Governor-General, the precedence of those listed varies from time to time and from national to local level, depending on the nature of the occasion. Individuals not specifically included in the Order of Precedence may also be accorded precedence ahead of some office holders who are listed, where that is appropriate to the occasion. The relationship between the host and the guests and the requirements of courtesy, hospitality and tikanga may override strict precedence.

For notes and further explanation of positional rankings, please see the attached Order of Precedence here.

Order of Precedence

The Sovereign (Notes 1 and 2)
The Governor-General or, while acting in the place of the Governor-General, the Administrator of the Government (Note 3)
The Prime Minister
The Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Chief Justice
The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps
The Deputy Prime Minister
Ministers of the Crown/ Members of the Executive Council (Note 4)
Former Governors-General
Ambassadors and High Commissioners in New Zealand and Chargés d’Affaires accredited to New Zealand (Note 5)
The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives
Leaders, including co-leaders and joint leaders, of political parties represented in the House of Representatives, other than Ministers of the Crown
Members of Parliament
Judges of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the High Court of New Zealand (Note 6)
Former Prime Ministers, former Speakers of the House of Representatives, former Chief Justices, and members of the Privy Council
Mayors of territorial authorities and chairpersons of regional councils, while in their own cities, districts and regions
The State Services Commissioner, Chief of Defence Force, Commissioner of Police, and Officers of Parliament (The Controller and Auditor-General, Chief Ombudsman, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment)
The Solicitor-General, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and Clerk of the Executive Council when attending a function involving the exercise of the position’s specific responsibilities
Chief executives of public service and non-public service departments (Note 7)
The Vice Chief of Defence Force, and Chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force, and other statutory office holders
Consuls-General and Consuls of countries without diplomatic representation in New Zealand
Members of New Zealand and British orders, and holders of decorations and medals in accordance with the Order of Wear in New Zealand (Note 8)

LEGISLACIÓN

Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981. Disponible aquí o aquí (pdf).

DOCUMENTOS

Para facilidad de consulta, se anexan los siguientes documentos en pdf:

Order of precedence in New Zealand, as issued by the Governor-General of New Zealand’s official webpage. Disponible aquí.

ENLACES DE INTERÉS

Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand is «the complete guide to our peoples, environment, history, culture and society». (https://teara.govt.nz/en)