What Happened to the "Red Flag" of New Zealand?

What happened to the old flag of New Zealand? Also called the "Red Duster", in this video we'll be looking at the origin of New Zealand's flag and its second, maritime and Maori flag.
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1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky
Division - Kevin MacLeod
Clean Soul - Kevin MacLeod
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#newzealand #flags #history

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

So the dodo was from Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, not New Zealand. The iconic flightless birds on New Zealand are the kiwis, and they're not extinct (there's also the Auckland teal, kakapo, Campbell teal, takahē, and weka...all not extinct either). Though the much larger flightless moas ARE extinct, but that didn't happen because of the Dutch but rather the Māori hunting them as they died off within a hundred years of human settlement.

[@Sodium361]

My thoughts exactly!

[@fnansjy456]

The moa Is extinct aswell as the haast eagle so no eagle chariot.... sad

[@SakuraAsranArt]

There's another large NZ bird that is extinct too. The Haasts Eagle hunted the moa and this bird was the size of a small car!!

[@JonK...]

Moas must have tasted good with a cheese sauce and side vegetables. The Maori obviously thought so for they hunted and ate them to extinction. PS: How do you do diacritical marks? Maori has them and I can't use them.

[@SakuraAsranArt]

@@JonK... I have no idea but I have family members who are fluent Maori speakers and I will ask on your behalf.

[@alexanderkarayannis6425]

While on the subject of flags, I am reminded of a true story that happened in Vancouver, Canada in 1967 when Canada had just adopted the new red flag (maple leaf) design, doing away with the Union Jack...This cute little old lady went into a store, and asked to buy one of those new Canadian flags she'd been hearing about...When the girl brought her a few to choose from, the old lady said in all innocence: "Well, It's very nice, but does it come in any other colours?..." 🤔🤭😁

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

Problem with the Maple Leaf Flag is that if you don't display it in the right proportions it looks really bad, and a lot of places only sell 5x3. When the maple leaf isn't large and on a perfect square it looks super dumb.

[@canada87699]

​@@rocksandforestquiver959shutup

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

New Zealand fun facts: NZ is home to the smallest dolphin on Earth, the Hector's dolphin. Found only around the South Island. The first non-Asian to reach Everest's summit, Sir Edmund Hillary, was from New Zealand. The Dutch named the islands, "Staten Landt", meaning the “Land of the (Dutch) States-General,” because he thought that this could possibly be connected to Staten Island (Isla de los Estados) off Tierra del Fuego, discovered by his countrymen in 1616, and believed at the time to be the northern tip of the Southern Continent.

[@Game_Hero]

Your knowledge will never fail to impress, O Dear Leader.

[@noahway13]

Ernest Rutherford. Top 1% of important scientists.

[@mitgproductions5662]

It's Maui Dolphin, a subspecies of Hector's Dolphin.

[@9delta988]

Thanks Kim Jong-un

[@ethank.6602]

The first non Asian? What woke shit have you been watching? He was the first human period, other than possibly Irvine 30 years prior. While Himalayan people do have higher blood cell counts that help with higher altitudes, this does not make them immune to the fact that there isn't enough air at the summit for ANY organic oxygen breathing being to survive, without supplementary oxygen. I hope this comment educates people who would read this an falsely assume some stupid ideological crap

[@Brian-----]

🙂 Don't remember where I heard it but I always will remember: "Events followed the usual pattern of the era. The Portuguese discovered it. The Spanish conquered it. The French ignored it. The Dutch named it New Holland. The British took it."

[@tbone6561]

Yes the Spanish were here first after the Maori, then came Abel Tasman, he was dutch, but they were not interested, it was James Cook who planted the English flag.

[@davidfarrer4332]

Love it! 😅😅😅👍🇬🇧

[@scrymglin]

The Australian flag has 2 more stars than the NZ flag. We use a five-star southern cross instead of the Kiwi's four-star. And we have the Commonwealth Star under the Union Jack which represents all the states and territories of Australia. Australia is a federation, while NZ is not, as far as I know (Kiwi's please correct me if I'm wrong).

[@thegreenlandshark6086]

Yeah that's correct New Zealand is a unitary state unlike Australia and Canada. Although we actually use to have provinces until they were abolished in 1876.

[@b1battledroid882]

can confirm, all 16 regions are unified and only exist for local governmental purposes

[@basura4136]

Wait, so what are those islands that New Zealand has? (Niue, Tokelau, etc)

[@thegreenlandshark6086]

@@basura4136 The legal status of those islands is a bit confusing and hard to explain. Basically they are not part of New Zealand proper, they are part of the "Realm of New Zealand". This basically means they have the same head of state as NZ (King Charles III as King of New Zealand). Tokelau is considered a dependent territory while Niue and the Cook Islands are in "free association" with NZ. You can read the Wikipedia page on the Realm for more information or there are some KZbin videos.

[@basura4136]

@@thegreenlandshark6086 thanks 🙏🏻

[@trunkage]

Is it always very suprising how people notice the 5 small stars on the Australian flag but completely miss the giant one

[@blury5730]

i just looked it up and i completely forgot it had a whole other star

[@fallenangel_899]

It probably ends up in peoples blind spots

[@blury5730]

@@fallenangel_899 good observation

[@damionkeeling3103]

When it's hanging down the big one can disappear under the folds and only the little ones can be seen.

[@michaelmanning5379]

The former Canadian flag (i.e., before the iconic red maple leaf) was known as the Red Ensign. It resembled many British colonial flags with the Union Jack in the upper left canton, a field of red and a crest in the centre, which had the arms of England, Scotland, Ireland and France and three green maple leaves, by the way. Imagine my surprise when I visited Les Invalides in Paris and saw the section on Canada in WWI and saw that self same flag BUT it had a blue field! It turns out that the Royal Canadian Navy used Blue Ensigns until 1965. My 24-year-old self was flabbergasted.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

I think technically our first officially authorized distinct flag was a blue ensign with the 1868 Federal Shield, certified for use on ships owned by the new Canadian Government. The 1868 Red was also issued shortly afterwards for Merchant Ships, but I think it was less official technically for a while. Though it doesn't seem like the Blue was ever used by the Federal Government on land, they just used the Union Jack mostly and then the Red started being used on land even though that wasn't actually written into law until WW2 I believe.

[@randomobserver8168]

They used the White Ensign as ensign, the Blue Ensign as jack. The Red Ensign would have been the ensign on merchant vessels- if it appeared on naval vessels, perhaps in its role as national flag, it might have been flown from the mainmast. You'd need to ask a naval man which configurations were for in port versus at sea, as well.

[@randomobserver8168]

This mixture was common through the empire, with various colonies and dominions using the ensigns in the 19th century British pattern - white for naval ensign [usually the unmodified British white ensign in part because there were not many colonial naval vessels anyway], blue for naval jack and as ensign for merchant vessels on government service or commander by a naval reserve officer, and red for general merchant ensign. Which one would be flown on land as a symbol of government authority or, more rarely, local patriotism, varied widely. Usually it was red. Sometimes it was blue.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@randomobserver8168 Yeah the White Ensign was the same everywhere though

[@stevenvallarsa1765]

I saw the Canadian Blue Ensign for the first time ever just last year. History buff me someone didn't know or didn't remember it existed.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

Before Canada adopted its current maple leaf flag in 1965, the British red ensign was the defacto national flag. There was a blue ensign version used as well, mainly, I believe , as a public service flag.

[@Emsworth377]

Would love more NZ content. Thank you! Really appreciate the attempt at the pronunciation from a non-New Zealander. You haven't quite nailed them, but very much appreciated anyway...eg the 'a' is pronounced more like a 'u' than a hard 'a'. And the 'g' is soft like the 'g' in 'ring' or 'dung' So Waitangi is pronounced more like "why-tungy"

[@aussiedonaldduck2854]

Yes, as in "FUsh and ChUps"! 🤣😂

[@realtalunkarku]

​@@aussiedonaldduck2854 cringe

[@drivemenuts3011]

The video is full of clumsy misinformation. The British didn't attack the Maori. The British partnered with specific tribes to confiscate land from specific tribes. Tasman didn't make any bird extinct. The Maori did.

[@atinofspam3433]

Ive never understood how people confuse the NZ flag with the Aussie one. NZ has four stars AU has 6 NZ has red stars AU has white NZ stars have 5 points AU stars have 7 If we go off the logic that they’re really similar, and people should be confusing France, Italy and Ireland more than Australia or New Zealand

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

Literally just the Commonwealth Star is a dead giveaway

[@caad5258]

We really just should swap to the Silver fern. Much more distinctive and has a long tradition of representing the country.

[@voongnz]

It's easily understandable. It's that they are similar enough and they don't care to know the difference. Mostly not caring and not even have a thought about it unless it comes up. It doesn't take much to know, but that's how little they think about it to make a conscious effort.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@voongnz That is the problem really, people can't be bothered to learn. You see so many people commenting on how bad flags of the late British Empire were because they're "hard to tell apart" but for the most part that just simply isn't true, you just have to have an IQ above 5 and you'd go "Yeah they may all be red and blue ensigns but the badges are mostly extremely distinct" The only real shortcomings were mostly badges of very small and relatively unimportant places, generally fairly sparsely populated islands. Meanwhile if you look at a map of Europe or Africa I mean... good luck really being able to differentiate between half of those flags without deeply studying them. Tricolours galore with very little in the way of distinctive symbolism.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

There were also 2 Canadian ensigns, both a Red and a Blue, however we sort ended up with the opposite situation to New Zealand. The Red Ensign was used widely on land as the National Flag, in varying levels of official status as well as being the official merchant flag for use at sea, while the Blue Ensign was only ever used on Government and Naval/ Naval reserve ships, both as a jack and as an ensign depending on time period and service.

[@ReubenAotearoa.]

Kia ora Hillbert. Enjoyed the vid, and especially appreciate the effort you took with pronouncing Te Reo Māori kupu. Would be interested in seeing your take on the other flags too. :)

[@rogink]

That's odd. Kia Ora used to be a fruit drink in the UK. I had no idea it was Maori/NZ origin. I suspect it's no longer available because the ads are no longer acceptable (Google might provide the answer, if not cancelled!).

[@fallenangel_899]

@@rogink I think it's still in production but it's popularity had declined a lot in the past decades. Kia Ora is the common Maori greeting, you'll hear it often in New Zealand. There are other Maori words widely used around the world like "Kiwi" and "Mana"

[@eckeall2121]

Kia ora Hilbert, It's always nice to see a video on our country and history. I'm a descendant of both Māori and Pākehā (Eruopean New Zealander), and have some knowledge of Māori flag history and cloak making that I would like to share. Flags were not used in Māori culture before contact with Europeans. The kaitaka is a kind of cloak, and although it is used to display identity and authority through the tāniko symbols on its borders and the quality of its weave, it is an item of clothing made from muka (fibre from harakeke, NZ flax), not a flag that is displayed in the wind or hung on a building. The first recorded Māori flag was made by Ngāti Kahungunu, who in response to seeing british soldiers using battle flags in an invasion force, made their own battle banner from the red coats of fallen british soldiers sewn together. This flag is not commonly known about but is the first example of a European style flag made by Māori. Nowadays there are many Māori flags, related to different movements and identities within the Māori world. I look forward to seeing a well researched video about our flags in the future.

[@_Ben___]

Excellent comment mate, I've been trying to look it up off his bad pronunciation. I think it's quite a common thing for other cultures to view each other through their culture. So I guess to Hilbert, a symbolic peice of textile becomes a flag.

[@evltwin984]

@B enedictus whatever professor, explain his dutch extintion of the dodo then

[@eckeall2121]

@@_Ben___ Tbf the pronunciation of kaitaka isn't that bad, but I'm guessing he didn't have the time/resources/inclination to find someone to help him one on one with pronunciation in this video. Hopefully he will if he ends up doing a while video on Māori flags.

[@eckeall2121]

@B enedictus Although I agree you can expand definitions outwards as much as possible to try capture any object that might resemble the core definition, I also think it's worth pointing out that no one here in NZ where kaitaka come from would consider them to be flags. They fulfill some of the same roles as flags, but then so do the carvings on our meeting houses, and I don't think anyone would find it useful to argue that our carvings /are/ flags. It's still interesting to consider how different cultures use different artforms and objects to communicate similar concepts. I think a better analogue to our traditional cloaks isn't flags, but rather place settings in british culture, silverware and fine china. They are a status symbol, passed down through generations, valued by the family, and brought out on special occasions or to manaaki important guests (I can't think of an english equivalent to manaaki in this context rn). The value in them also comes from the labour hours and skill required to create the place setting, unlike flags which can be mass produced but still bare the symbols and therefor the value it needs to function. An even closer analogue would be the woolen jumper your nana knitted for you and added personalized symbols into. Is it a flag? Sure, if you want it to be. Is it a kākahu, like a kaitaka? Yes, not a shadow of a doubt.

[@eckeall2121]

@B enedictus Also his pronunciation, in terms of vowels and consonants, is actually pretty good! At a glance, he pronounces the G in Waitangi (all NG sounds in te reo are pronounced softly as in most English dialects pronunciations of singer or ringer), but otherwise the sounds he makes aren't bad. The main mistake he makes is in emphasis and vowel length, which is phonetic in te reo. Instead of kaiTAka and waiTAngi, he should emphasise the double (and therefor longer) vowel cluster, as in KAItaka and WAItangi. This isn't a mistake specific to northern British English, and instead is just how english speakers in general tend to mispronounce Māori words.

[@carlbeeblebronx9061]

United tribes of Northland New Zealand arranged at a meeting with missionaries. First created to use as a flag of maritime registration with Lloyds of London . Reason for this was that Northland tribes built a few brigs to trade vegetables mainly Kumara ( sweet potato) with the starving New South Wales colony , After the first ships were unloaded the Australians claimed/stole the brigs as unregistered 'salvage' ( nation of criminals , no surprises there. ) Subsequent vessels sailed under the United tribes flag mentioned

[@josephradley3160]

At the time of British colonial expansion (including occupation of Australia and NZ) the Royal Navy had three ensigns, White, Blue and Red. The colour of the ensign flown by each ship depended on the flag assigned to the admiral commanding those ships. As Admirals of the Blue were, during Victoria's reign, usually assigned to the Indian and Pacific, Admirals of the Red to the American stations and Admirals of the White in Europe this set the trend for those nations choosing their flags.

[@Volcano-Man]

Squadrons in the fleet at Trafalgar had, Red, White and Blue ensigns. As a sign of respect to Nelson, ever since Trafalgar the Grey Funnel Line has flown the flag of his Squadron.

[@mancubwwa]

Also it is the White Ensign that is flown by the midern Royal Navy. Red is today flown by merchant ships and blue by government non-military ships, which are very few so people tend to forget it's still in use

[@JMM33RanMA]

There is a similar controversy about the "Bunker Hill" flag used in the American Revolution. The common depiction is with a blue field, and that is currently used as the unofficial flag of New England [though each state has it's own official flag]. But it is argued the the original field was red, as Massachusetts Colony had used a British red ensign with a white canton.

[@JonK...]

New England is a region of New South Wales not a state of the Disunited States of America

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@JonK... Nah, "New England" is also a region of the northeastern coastal states of the US. Essentially everything north and east of New York is referred to as "New England". A region of maybe like half a dozen US states. (Most of the smallest US states).

[@JMM33RanMA]

@@mikespearwood3914 Thanks for saving me the trouble of a reply.

[@va3ngc]

Canada's old flag was a form of the red ensign. Instead of the Southern Cross, it had the Coat of Arms of the country. Too bad they didn't do the Big Dipper and the North Star, that would have been cool.

[@glrasshopper]

There are more flags to add to the list too: NZ White Ensign (used by RNZN), RNSAF Ensign, NZ Civil Air Ensign, and the Governor General's flag

[@lachlandoyle9782]

Looks like there’s a good number of fellow Kiwi’s watching! Great videos, good effort on the pronunciations! Would love to see the video talking about Māori flags!

[@_Ben___]

There's no such thing bro, he's so wrong it's funny. They had weaving, but not cloth. They had pouwhenua, but not flag poles. He has me in hysterics at the start.

[@lachlandoyle9782]

@@_Ben___ I understand before Europeans came they didn’t have flags. However, afterwards they do so I’m interested to see a video where he talks about these designs

[@frasermcconnell6944]

Would love to see a vid on Māori flags, good effort on the pronunciation too :)

[@bethmarriott9292]

Hi Hilbert! UK born NZer here - Can't wait for you to mention the referendum we had recently on changing the flag and the flag that WON 🤣

[@nickvickers3486]

The flag did indeed win! I'm British and not a big fan of referenda and The NZ flag referendum (or referenda as I think their were 2 votes?) along with the Aussie one that the late QEII won really do show the problems with these votes. I agree, Hilbert could do a great video on the NZ flag referendum debacle!

[@bethmarriott9292]

@@nickvickers3486 it was like the Boaty McBoatface saga but somehow on a level to be more impactful had the referendum results actually been implemented 😭 one of those "ask a group of people to do anything and they will, fundamentally, be people" scenarios

[@RatelHBadger]

Still think to this day the laser kiwi should have been given the nod.

[@nickvickers3486]

@@RatelHBadger That was the coolest flag ever!

[@scelestus2717]

I would love to see more about the Maori flags! Love your work Hilbert!

[@balpreetsingh6834]

Waiting for the time when we will finally have the Laser Kiwi flag as the official one. The current one is just a placeholder.

[@SakuraAsranArt]

I am also waiting for Laser Kiwi flag! We were cheated!!

[@insertnamehere5809]

What about the flag with the Hokey Pokey ice cream 🍦 & the sheep? 🐑

[@GregMcCall]

A key comparison between flags was the southern cross. The NZ difference is symbolic. The more south (in this case) you get, the more atmosphere you look through compared to other nations closer to the equator. The more atmosphere reduces the light so that its more red and dimmer. Hence the red stars and not displaying epsolin (5th brightest star). Hence, a nation that symbolises the southern cross but seeing it further south through more atmosphere.

[@BulletHole]

0:30 they are the ancestors, not the descendants.. descendants means they descend from them, as in down the family tree. An ancestor is anyone you descend from. In families, to descend means to "come from." You descend from your parents, who descend from their parents, who descend from their parents, and so on. That chain of parents and children are your ancestors. The confusion between ancestor and descendant is often a careless mistake. For those unsure of the difference, remember ancestor comes first in the dictionary and in life. Your ancestors are at the top: they came first, then you, then your descendents, who are at the bottom

[@insertnamehere5809]

Australia also had the Red Ensign in the same style of the one we have now.

[@thelandofnod123]

There is still a red ensign, reserved for merchant vessels and allowed to be flown on land during merchant navy day. The original red ensign was also reserved for land use (in addition to being flown by registered Australia. vessels) by non governmental parties although you could also see Australian Imperial Forces using it in both World Wars.

[@davidreichert9392]

If you ask me, the Silver Fern is the most beautiful national symbol of any country in the world, and I'll never understand why New Zealanders continue to have a flag without it.

[@geoffhughes225]

Probably because the vote was for the existing flag

[@pamelaroyce5285]

Someone else commented about it. Apparently some people thought it could be too easily confused with the flag of the Islamicists known as ISIS. That’s too bad. What if they used the silver fern on a blue background instead?

[@BirdsfromHuntingdon]

When most of us Kiwis think of the fern, we think of sports team logos and corporate logos.

[@johnmoser1162]

Not sure if you got it right - the Red Ensign is the flag for British civil shipping and has zero to do with Maori or New Zealand. Prior to 1707 it was flown by the Royal Navy.

[@BlazeBuds]

Exactly! If anything the same as Australia it was changed when we became a corporation not a country, just like every other country is these days. Nothing to do with what this person says. Also fun fact, technically NZ isn't even a country! In the Australian 1901 constitution NZ is named as a state, considering it was never voted on for them to leave, its still technically a state of Australia

[@johnmoser1162]

@@BlazeBuds Oh dear ... I hope you guys can settle it peacefully ... may be with a Rugby Match ... 🙂

[@mitgproductions5662]

​​@@BlazeBuds That's not right, the clause in question states that if New Zealand wanted to, Australia would let New Zealand become a state.

[@gregduncan3242]

I'd be interested in seeing a video about the Māori flags

[@richardsharpe3314]

You missed the opportunity to talk about the referendum we had to change the flags a few years ago. The Lazar kiwi would have been an awesome option

[@alexanderkarayannis6425]

A lot of New Zealanders consider the fern leaf (black in a white background) the symbol and flag of their country and print it on a lot of souvenirs and stuff, also the kiwi bird and/or a combination of the two...This existing flag is a remnant of Colonialism and despite a recent effort to change it, it remains the official flag of NZ, regardless...

[@deiniolbythynnwr926]

It remains the flag because most New Zealanders reject that bullshit.

[@RunawayTrain2502]

Yeah, lots of former British colonies have their own colours as well. NZ has Black/White (focus on black), Australia has Gold/Green/Gold. South Africa has Gold/Green, Canada has Red/White and Ireland has dark Green.

[@atinofspam3433]

not to mention all the alternatives for the NZ flag were wank, although I thought Red Peak was the best.

[@alexanderkarayannis6425]

...Not to mention the white (or rather silver) Fern Leaf on the All Blacks Jersey, rather than any hint of the Union Jack!...This is a national team that represents the country internationally, by the way...

[@shadowbanned1999]

Colonization was the best thing to happen to my country. Nobody here sees the silver fern as the flag of NZ it's just a flag for sports. Nobody wants our flag changed except crazy leftists and government folk who see it as a way to launder coin. The union jack is apart of who we are and where we come from. I am grateful to have once belonged to the greatest empire on earth in all of history.

[@cerebrummaximus3762]

I wonder if Hilbert feels successful he gets comments already just seconds after posting?

[@aidanwotherspoon905]

The red ensign is the name of the old flag of Canada (before we adopted the Maple Leaf 1/4-1/2-1/4 tricolour) that was the Union Jack canton on a red field with Canada’s coat of Arms

[@pimmpslap]

Maori is pronounced pretty much as you read it with the exception of "wh" which depending on dialect is "f" or just "w" and "ng" which is hard to explain when you don't know linguistic terms but it's basically pronounced how it sounds in a word like "doing" but at the start of it's own syllable. Maori being a syllabary that would probably be better written in a similar way to Japanese kana.

[@pimmpslap]

And I guess the vowels have a certain way to be pronounced that may not be the same as standard and people have trouble with combining the vowel sounds when next to each other but they also stay consistent so once you know, you know.

[@pimmpslap]

Also John Key held a referendum to change the flag but all the options sucked and we voted to stay. Controversially they had decided not to put the Silver Fern on Black in the running, which majority of us Kiwis already identify with, because "it might get confused with Isis flags"

[@haydengoodall6767]

​@@pimmpslap We couldn't have been mistaken if we'd got laserkiwi. Oh what could have been.

[@UnenlagiafraMaknoeja]

Interested in the Maori flag video!

[@AholeAtheist]

As a kiwi with dutch ancestry and one of your early subscribers I'm stoked to see you making videos about New Zealand. We even got a Wilhelmus in there. Get in!

[@BirdsfromHuntingdon]

KZbin removed your replies to my comment, what did I say that was wrong? Māori tribes were conquering land from other Māori tribes before Europeans came, that is fact. Are you a woke Karen?

[@AholeAtheist]

@@BirdsfromHuntingdon aRe YoU a WoKe KaReN? Well I'm not an asleep Boomer. That's for sure. It always fascinates me, people who comment on history channels who clearly have no interest in history.

[@BirdsfromHuntingdon]

@@AholeAtheist I love history, there is nothing more fascinating. You didn’t debunk what I’ve said at all lol, your username checks out for sure.

[@AholeAtheist]

@@BirdsfromHuntingdon I'd debunk it, but I can't see it anymore. Probably because it's factually incorrect racist bullshit.

[@BirdsfromHuntingdon]

@@AholeAtheist All I said was that Māori tribes were competing with other Māori tribes prior to European arrival, which is a fact. That was enough to send you on some silly tirade claiming how I’m a racist who doesn’t know history and doesn’t belong in NZ. Good luck getting rid of us. You and the co governance supporting minority are a laugh. Just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean they are a racist.

[@stephenbonnett164]

Interesting but not entirely accurate. When Captain Cook explored New Zealand in 1769 he was sailing under the Red Ensign. When he claimed the territory for Great Britain he did so by hoisting the Red Ensign on land. At this time the Red Ensign was the official British colonial flag. As such it was also the official flag of the American colonies until George Washington added some white stripes

[@Emsworth377]

I like the NZ naval flag: the reverse of the red ensign. White ensign with red stars.

[@davidlally592]

Correct, ie the UKs flag in its canton the rest is white. But instead of thereon, a St Georges cross, it is plain white with, in red, the 4 NZ stars (for the RNZN). Similarly the R Australian Navy uses a plain white ensign, but again instead of the Georges cross, the 5 stars (+ the large cross below the canton) appear thereon. And where, in the UK, the RNR (reserve) now uses a plain blue ensign (no badges etc), hence the RNZNR and RANR ensigns are white with the stars in blue not red thereon.

[@TrystaneTheBlack]

You're probably the first to properly mention how New Zealand came to be a British colony.. all other channels will just say something like "The British conquered..." which is so far from the truth. Glad to hear somebody actually took some time to learn about our history before making a video on it.

[@caad5258]

A treaty was signed with some of the Iwi of the Islands, with major differences between the English and Maori versions. Then this treaty was repeatedly broken by the British government to facilitate the confiscation of Maori land, so that it could be sold and exploited. Several Iwi fought wars to resist these confiscations, and were very successful in pioneering Trench Warfare. So the British Army often resorted to targeting the Maori villages which the Iwi were unable to defend, but reliant on for supplies. There isn't a lot of context here that vindicates the British Government. It is the same pattern of conquest that the Native peoples of America experienced.

[@haydengoodall6767]

​@@caad5258 Yes those events did occur and today the NZ crown for the past 30-40 years has been in the investigate and negotiation process with multiple iwi through the treaty claims process. Though we also know events aren't so black and white, Maori are smart peoples and quickly learnt how to play the English trading game. There was still continual intertribal warfare occurring and tribes who were assignees to the treaty were being attacked by the Independant iwi, so the crown had a duty of care toward their new sovereigns. Yes the NZ crown on behalf of majority Pakeha settlers and their descendants is reconciling its past behaviours toward all iwi and their descendants. I also believe that that the iwis must be honest with themselves and introspect on their actions toward each other and to those settler families who were unfortunate victims in the antagonism. But hey like fat freddys said we can't haul the catch if we don't all pull as one. Stay hearty.

[@TrystaneTheBlack]

@@caad5258 I'm well aware of my own history

[@Glockas]

I will just add post 1864 the Blue Ensign wasn't used by the Royal Navy, but instead was used by Government vessels. So the coast guard, RFA, UK border force etc. The UK, New Zealand and Australia follow the same pattern today as well (Red for civil, Blue for state and White for naval), and quite a few commonwealth countries follow similar patterns.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

The Navy did use it for Reserve Vessels though which would include commandeered vessels or armed merchantmen with a certain number of Naval Officers

[@michaelgask]

Thanks Hilbert... very appropriate Frisian interlude this time 😁

[@RatelHBadger]

It got replaced by the laser kiwi flag, but then replaced by the blue background because the laser kiwi was just too badass.

[@MrDDiRusso]

The New Zealand flag resembles the Australian flag. That makes it confusing.

[@markpullar3993]

Yes but they are different

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

People always be saying this but 1: They're EXTREMELY easy to tell apart at more than a passing glance 2: Have you ever seriously looked at all of the flags of Africa or Europe side by side? It's HILARIOUS how few people can tell an Irish Flag from an Italian one and in several cases on both continents countries have near identical or identical flags in differing proportions. Blue and Red Ensigns are incredibly distinct from one another if you actually look at the insignia.

[@BlazeBuds]

Australia has 7 stars and NZ 5 i believe. Fun fact. NZ is still technically a state of Australia anyway. Its in the 1901 constitution as a state and has never been voted on to leave Australia

[@hart-of-gold]

@@BlazeBuds Australia has 6 white stars and NZ 4 red stars. Also, New Zealand isn't a state but an invitee to be a state in the Australian constitution. Australian states voted to join the Commonwealth, New Zealand voted not to. Western Australia was borderline but ended up joining the Commonwealth.

[@caad5258]

Agreed, we should switch to the Silver Fern. It is much more distinct and interesting.

[@Game_Hero]

I want that video on flags because indigenous flags are rarely mentionned. I wonder if other indigenous peoples, like in the Americas, had flags before their modern ones (or objects that played a similar role)

[@blackfield1885]

nah

[@Game_Hero]

@@blackfield1885 What about the Iroquois and Wabanaki wampums of the 18th century?

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

In the Americas you'll usually see Eagle Staffs or something similar treated in the same way as a flag or regimental colour, closest thing most tribes had as far as I can tell/ they seem to remember.

[@shadowbanned1999]

Flags represent nations. That insurrectionist racial flag deserves to be burned

[@Game_Hero]

@@shadowbanned1999 Indigenous nations are nations for a reason. Nation does not equal country even if the two terms get wrongly mixed up a lot. They are nations with rich languages, culture and history and so have flags to represent that and should be respected. It's not some sort of "race" insurrection but of rich cultural nations expressing themselves.

[@doppel5627]

Blue ensign is not a Royal Navy flag. it is a state ensign, flown by state agencies. Royal Navy uses the white flag with red cross and Union Jack in the canton

[@l4zrh4wk]

It's totally baffling to me that NZ has been looking for a new flag to distinguish itself from AUZ for years and yet they have a ready baked alternative that, frankly, looks much better IMO. Just change the official flag to the Red Ensign!

[@bradbradson4543]

I think the Maori flag video will be even more interesting

[@_Ben___]

There wasn't one pre-european

[@michaelpudney9368]

Was wondering when you'd make this video 🤣😄. Yes please I would love to see a video discussing the history of Māori flags 🙂, particularly te kara (the united tribes of New Zealand) and tino rangatiratanga.

[@rogink]

I have followed Hilbert's videos for a while now and he is brilliant with pronunciation, whether it modern day Maori or early Anglo-Saxon. So I'm baffled with how he pronounces 'ensign'. He uses the literal spelling and calls it 'N-sign'. Whenever I've heard naval flags referred to, it's always 'en-suhn'.

[@ianholloway3778]

The Cambridge English Dictionary has it as en-sighn but the Collins English Dictionary has it as en-sun so nobody knows the correct pronunciation!

[@andyanderson5326]

Subscribed very interesting video.

[@jayyvonkush1941]

"The New Zealand Red Ensign, adopted in 1903, is based on the British Red Ensign. The Union Jack appears in the first quarter, and the Southern Cross, represented by four five-pointed white stars, is featured in the fly. This flag was flown on New Zealand merchant ships during both world wars." I mean there is no need to be so confusing.

[@coyotelong4349]

They wanted to make sure the NZ flag is confused with the AUS flag 100% more frequently

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

More like in the mid 1800s nobody could fathom people one day commonly not being able to tell the difference between Red and White stars

[@kalinsapotato]

Except NZ's flag came first so it was more the other way around. Australian's truly were the first shitposters and it all started with their flag.

[@theshenpartei]

Can you do the other flags of New Zealand that came out a couple years ago

[@MuriKakari]

Will the Maori flags video include all the NZ proposed flags? Because those are some of the most beautiful flags

[@creatoruser736]

When your voice was giving out you should have said "I'm Batman."

[@toveychurchill6468]

2:21 personally, I think this flag looks very awesome

[@Neptune_1337]

Im Still Mad that They Didn't Use the Laser Kiwi Flag

[@michaeladams1608]

Had a flick through the comments but didn't see any mention of it. I've always heard the word ensign pronounced as en-sin no idea which is more proper or correct, nor do I care that much. Just thought I'd let you know. Love the vids 👍

[@the_alex_ellis_channel6923]

And to this day the rest of the world does a fantastic job confusing the NZ and Australian flags! Makes me wish one or both of us would change the flag so people don't mix them up. Nothing worse than going to major international event to represent your country and being greeted by the wrong flag.

[@captainjoshuagleiberman2778]

Ironically Canada's flags were reveresed until the Maple Leaf. The flag of Canada was the Red Duster and the flag of the Merchant Navy and the Jack for the Royal Canadian Navy was the Blue Duster.

[@glennfolau6959]

As a proud Kiwi, I am a supporter of a new flag. I believe it's time to "sack the jack". This has proven highly controversial, as there are many who retain strong ties to our colonial forbears, yet others who say the current flag is outdated, and doesn't reflect the fact that NZ, is a Sovereign nation in the South Pacific, extremely multi ethnic. There have been attempts to consider a name change. New Zealand is named after a Dutch province, Zeeland, hence Nieuw Zeeland, which most Kiwis have very little affinity or affiliation with. Abel Tasman is a most interesting character, he discovered Tasmania, but somehow missed Australia. He has two remarkable voyages which many don't know of. I only just found out about them.

[@t.robinson4774]

A video on the various New Zealand flags please.

[@misterbacon4933]

Yes, make that vlog about the new suggested new flag!

[@shaneharrison9388]

In Australia, the red duster , without referendum under the 1953 flag act changed to the corporation of Australia, maritime blue flag. Lest we forget.

[@Christian_Paul_nz]

New Zealand's national flag is the blue ensign. It is usually flown over official and other, mainly non-military, establishments and venues on land. The red ensign, which you have called the "old flag" is still very much current. It is used by merchant vessels and other civilian, sea-going vessels and certain naval posts overland. There is also a white ensign, which is flown on naval and other government-owned, sea-going vessels during daylight hours in peacetime. In wartime, naval vessels fly the white ensign day and night. New Zealand also has an air force ensign and a civil air ensign that display a light blue background.

[@kevinmahernz]

Thank you for this. Never knew the red ensign existed till now!

[@kawaiiarchive357]

Dutch eating dodo Vs. their prime minister gave me a hardy chuckle.

[@YasminAzar101]

I cant believe I'm watching, "fun with flags" by Hector . A big bang refrence as with many big bang subject matters and sly comments tweaked in I've found it to be a program with lots of import, to matters of importance . Well I've enjoyed it as I'm watching english language vids and my first of your vids I saw was the africaans/arabic language one. So , can you tell me Hector where the arabic language originated from?. I'd love to know as I'm seriously thinking about learning arabic soon. But I'm mastering my english first. Lol.

[@GregMcCall]

Re Autralia and the Blue/Red ensign. So many people had the blue ensign returning home from WW2 that Menzies changed the blue ensign from a government flag to a peoples flag and religated the old people's flage, the red ensign, to merchant vessels. The Flag act, act No1 of 1954, the first act signed by queen Elizabeth outside of england, made the blue ensign the official flag of Australia. BUT, it wasn't officially the Australian national flag. That didn't happen to about 1992 with a change to the flag act.

[@ferrjuan]

But what about the most badass New Zealand flag ever, the Kiwi with laser eyes flag!

[@DaveyA4]

I'm keen on the flag vid !!!

[@sriharshacv7760]

They should have used Fern leaf or something. It looks super cool (The one used by their Cricket team).

[@FairyCRat]

We want laser kiwi!

[@goodlookingcorpse]

The Australian version of the Red Ensign has become associated with Covid conspiracy theorists.

[@AMacdonald-hg8nj]

Regarding Ensigns First off, it is pronounced "en-sin", in the old English tradition of not pronouncing every letter because it's a lazy language. Flags are naval in origin, so ensigns were often used to denote who owned the ship or what port it was from. The ensign flew from the stern of the ship when underway, otherwise national colours could be flown there. The British had three naval ensigns - the White, the Blue, and the Red. Originally this was to denote the three fleets or Squadrons, but it seems there were changes in precedence and roles, depending upon tastes of whomever was First Sea Lord or dynastic changes. The squadrons were Home Waters and the North Atlantic, The South Seas, and the Mediterranean. Hence admirals were distinguished as Admiral of the Blue or Admiral of the White, etc. By the mid 18th century, The Red ensign is arguably the first of the three solid field flags - with or without cantons, and was widely adopted for use by merchantmen and then as the de facto colonial flag in overseas territory. This latter use is more likely due to it's availability than anything else. Nelson used the White Ensign at Trafalgar, and this lead to it's adoption as the standard naval ensign for the entire Royal Navy by 1864. The blue was reserved for Government Departments such as Customs and other services on land or at sea. The Red was designated as purely for Merchant use, although it was very often co-opted for private use on boats and ships throughout the commonwealth. Many Commonwealth countries adopted the Red or Blue Ensigns for their flags, as we see in the video for New Zealand. In Canada, it was never the official flag, but it's widespread use and the desire to have something unique to the Dominion prompted the Canadian Government to adopt it with the dominion's heraldic shield for official use on buildings ships, and offices in 1923 by an order in council. The official flag however was still the Flag of Union, and remained so until the adoption of the "Maple Leaf" emblem in 1965.

[@leighblackler1157]

From NEW ZEALAND!!!!! LOVE SEEING OUR COUNTRY

[@rogerwilco2]

1:!3 The dodo is not from New Zealand but from Mauritius. Also Abel Tasman is from Lutjegast in Groningen.

[@Foreign0817]

I wonder if the New Zealand flag would change in the future. Integrate some Maori elements into it, a fusion of the two peoples, now one... Or not. It's still neat. 🇳🇿

[@gwendixon74]

there was a referendum a couple of years ago and was quashed so not going to change for a long time

[@RahulReddy-eq5zy]

​@@gwendixon74 Red Peak is a good example of this and was a great flag proposal

[@gwendixon74]

@Rahul Reddy very few wonted it changed in first place, so it was a total waste of time and money 26 mil if remember rightly.

[@RahulReddy-eq5zy]

@@gwendixon74 meant to reply to the original comment but yeah, the flag referendum was a waste of time and money. However out of all options, I personally backed Red Peak and would have been very happy with it as the flag

[@alanbrooke144]

So many, many mistakes and errors! Which is quite impressive considering that anyone with access to the internet could easily get the facts.

[@AORD72]

Exactly, Maori never had flags before Europeans arrived, they didn't even have cloth.

[@juliusschwencke142]

..quite right. Presentation is amateurish, considering the historical content and the insistence of certain royal and parliamentary warrants required before flags are approved.

[@HS-su3cf]

For a moment I thought Batman had hijacked Hilbert's channel.

[@bushmanphotos]

never ever ever heard of anybody thinking a red flag was a "quasi NZ flag." You made that up. Just because merchant ships fly something different does not make it "quasi" anything or remotely official. It has NEVER EVER been an alternative NZ flag. It simply denoted a NZ merchant vessel and all merchant vessels to this day are notorious for flying different flags at different times for a wide variety of reasons.

[@isaacmawson84]

I'm so looking forward to having a wiki page

[@isaacmawson84]

The foreign muck has been taken off the red duster now, us Maori use the red because it's easy to see in dense Aotearoan bush, there will be a green ensign for New Zealanders on their OE in the future for urban environments, and they will sow patches of the blue ensign without the foreign muck on it onto their backpacks so people know they are Moari, all people under the stars, must be shite being in the northern hemisphere where it's like yeah we got one star for the flag, New Zealanders are like, there is whole galaxy there, our galaxy

[@mockbattles]

The United Tribes Flag is the only officially gazetted flag on NZ since 1834.

[@DevauneRatteray]

So Canada also had the red Ensign for thier flag and Bermuda now is the only country that still uses the red ensign as their flag

[@Nastyswimmer]

The red, white and blue ensigns were all originally used by the Royal Navy, signifying which squadron a ship of the line belonged to - red, white or blue. Frigates and other smaller vessels that were not line-of-battle ships all flew the red ensign. In 1864 it was decided that the Navy would continue to use the white ensign whilst the red ensign would be used only for merchant vessels (the merchant fleet had already been using it for half a century, which led to confusion with naval vessels) and the blue ensign would be used by ships in government service but NOT part of the Royal Navy.

[@BkismNJ]

New Zealand’s blue flag signifies being surrounded water, and leaving the sangria red of empire.

[@WindowsSurfaceOfficial]

0:48 I am not a Dutch but that music is cool

[@saltyspaceman5697]

Laser Kiwi is the unofficial NZ flag

[@samgunn12]

In the 1966 movie, Grand Prix there is a shot of flags representing the driver’s nationalities at the starting line of one of the races. In that line up is the red duster. Since the movie was shot at actual F1 races, it always confused me as to why that particular flag was featured. I am still non the wiser.

[@stensoft]

There is one more official NZ flag: the White Ensign for military ships. And then there is also the Laser Kiwi flag.

[@AORD72]

Maori never had flags before Europeans arrived. They didn't have cloth, they had woven flax but no cloth.

[@joshuayang0331]

Union jack+southern cross is a simple but great design and I'd hope they still use it in the future. But if they want a change, I suggest that the Laser eye kiwi is the best(It would be the most unique flag in the world). In the end, it's up to the people of New Zealand to decide.

[@caad5258]

What could have been

[@JoDusepo]

5:34 That's the Dutch gh sound, right? ;)

[@spidif2544]

Australia also had a red version until the 1950s

[@robbyfn]

you left out the New Zealand White Ensign that is used by the Royal New Zealand Navy

[@TheBroTee]

what's that falas name who cut down the flag, I forgot 🤔

[@ScarletRebel96]

0:48 I always love this part

[@jacobdistefano5673]

It’s not a history with hilbert video without the appearance of the Dutch

[@justtheilluminativ282]

1:13 yo, that’s my meme!!!

[@davidmcdonald3314]

Umm... Australian Southern Cross includes the 5th star of the constellation ("Epsilon" or "Ginan"). The seven pointed star (on the left and not part of the cross) represents the six states that federated to form Australia and one point for all the territories. Note that the New Zealand Southern Cross does not include Epsilon / Ginan. The red ensigns may also be flown on land in specifically nautical settings (e.g. maritime rescue organisations, lighthouses, sailor's refuges, etcetera - not that many of these still exist - most, like manned lighthouses and sailor's refuges, no longer exist)