23 Mar 2016

History - Grant Morris

From Afternoons, 3:27 pm on 23 March 2016

New Zealand, as you are probably aware, is right in the middle of a referendum on whether or not to change its flag. We are being asked to choose between the incumbent - a blue ensign with the Union Jack in the top left corner and some stars representing the Southern Cross - and a new design by Kyle Lockwood in which the Union Jack is replaced by a silver fern. But HOW COME the Union Jack? WHY Britain? Victoria University historian Grant Morris has given some thought to our historic ties to 'the mother country'.