National colours of New Zealand

National colours of New Zealand orders include black, white or silver, and red ochre.

The national flag of New Zealand is predominantly dark blue and represents the sea and sky. In the top left corner is the union flag with the colours red and white. The Union flag represents the settlement of New Zealand by mainly British people after New Zealand became a British colony in 1840. The four stars on the flag are red with white outlines. The flag is flown from government buildings and schools and on days of national importance such as ANZAC day.

The national colours of the Māori, an indigenous people of Polynesian origin in New Zealand, are black, white and red.

On 13 March 1975, the Queen's Service Order was created by royal warrant. With the institution of the Queen's Service Order, red ochre was "given official sanction as a national orders colour". This colour has spiritual importance to the Māori by whom it is known as kōkōwai.

In 1989, a competition was run by a group named Te Kawariki to design a national Māori flag. The chosen flag became associated with the tino rangatiratanga or Māori sovereignty movement. It has gradually become a representative flag for Māori across New Zealand, but is still known as the Tino Rangatiratanga Flag. In 2009, the Minister of Māori Affairs stated that a Māori flag should be flown at Auckland Harbour Bridge on Waitangi Day, the National Day of New Zealand. The Tino Rangatiratanga Flag was recognised as the preferred Māori flag by Cabinet on 14 December 2009. On Waitangi Day 2012, it was flown for the first time at the Wellington Town Hall, and the mayor of Wellington said that it should be the "start of a long-running tradition".

In addition to the Queen's Service Order, decorations that include or consist of the national colours are the Order of New Zealand, the New Zealand Order of Merit the New Zealand Operational Service Medal, the New Zealand War Service Medal, and the New Zealand Service Medal 1946–1949.

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