One of these 4 designs might well be New Zealand's next flag

One of these four designs might be New Zealand&#039;s next flag

(Image credit: New Zealand)

published 1 September 2015

On Tuesday morning, New Zealand unveiled four final designs for a new national flag that will go to a vote in November. Three of the designs feature a silver fern leaf while the fourth depicts a koru, or unfurling fern frond. The voters' choice will then be pitted against New Zealand's current flag in a second referendum next March.

A 12-person commission winnowed down 10,292 submissions to 40 semifinalists, then finally these four designs. "It is important that those designs are timeless, can work in a variety of contexts, are simple, uncluttered, balanced, and have good contrast," explained John Burrows, a professor and the chairman of the flag commission. In a recent poll, The New Zealand Herald reports, 53 percent of New Zealanders favored keeping the 1903 flag, which features Britain's Union Jack design and the Southern Cross constellation.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox