Lockwood silver fern flag

Lockwood silver fern flag

Preferred Alternative New Zealand Flag
Proportion	1:2
Designed by	Kyle Lockwood

The black, white and blue silver fern flag is a proposed flag for New Zealand by architectural designer Kyle Lockwood. It was first designed using different colours in 2000. It was voted as the preferred alternative New Zealand flag in the first of two New Zealand flag referendums in December 2015, and was used in the second flag referendum in a binding contest against the current New Zealand flag, in March 2016, despite a UMR poll predicting a vote of 35%, the Silver Fern Flag gained a significant minority in the second referendum with 43.2% of the vote, whilst the existing flag won with 56.6% of the vote.

The design of the flag combines the silver fern flag (toward the hoist) with the stars of the current national flag. The silver fern frond is a popular symbol of the people of New Zealand, while the stellar constellation known as the southern cross represents the antipodean location of the country in the Southern Hemisphere. The multiple pinnates on the silver fern leaf represent New Zealand's multicultural society, a single fern spreading upwards representing one people growing into the future. Black, white and red are the national colours of New Zealand traditionally associated with the Māori people, while blue is dominant in the current national flag, and symbolises the South Pacific Ocean.

Kyle Lockwood's original Silver fern flag sketch from 2000

Kyle Lockwood's prototype Silver fern flag which won a newspaper competition in 2004

The official Preferred Alternative New Zealand Flag voted by New Zealand in the first flag referendum