The New Zealand flag and ‘Empire Fervour’

Thursday, November 19, 2015
The New Zealand flag and ‘Empire Fervour’

See video clip of school flag-hoisting ceremony re-enactment

Massey University flag historian Malcolm Mulholland says some of the older generation of New Zealanders might remember marching and saluting the flag at school, but may not be aware of the history behind the ceremony.

In his just-completed paper titled For God, King and Empire: British Patriotism in New Zealand Schools – Waving the Flag in New Zealand Schools, he explores the flag-saluting Imperialism promoted in New Zealand schools from the late 1800s to the mid-1960s.

He says people should be aware of the historical context in which the current flag was legislated for and the ideals it promoted, such as all New Zealand children identifying firstly as citizens of the British Empire and secondly, as New Zealand citizens. His paper, with numerous historic references and quotes, outlines how intrinsically the current flag – and England’s Union Jack within it – was linked to the fostering “Empire fervour” and servitude to the “mother country.”

Five key events relating to the British Empire that occurred around the turn of the 20th century underpinned the fervent Imperialism promoted in schools, he says. These were: the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1897), the Boer War (1899-1902), the death of Queen Victoria (1901), the Royal Tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (1901), and the Coronation of King Edward VII (1902). “They were to all have a significant impact upon New Zealand society that was led by Imperialist Premier [King Dick] Richard Seddon, the same man who introduced the legislation for our current flag,” Mr Mulholland says.

The Hoisting the Flag Movement (also known as ‘Unfurling or Saluting the Flag’) was a development that spread throughout schools in New Zealand during the early 1900s. “It was designed to install patriotism towards Mother Britain within New Zealand children by paying reverence to a flag or flags (either the Union Jack, the New Zealand Flag, or both), performing military drills, and being regaled in the history of the British Empire,” he says.

By 1902 the ceremony had acquired a familiar form; local dignitaries would attend; several patriotic speeches regarding membership of the British Empire were delivered to the pupils; and a flag – either the Union Jack or the New Zealand Ensign – would be unfurled to the accompaniment of the national anthem, perhaps a verse of Rule Britannia, and the song ‘Red, White and Blue’, he explains.

There was, however, some confusion in schools about which flag should be unfurled, and on which occasions, with the Union Jack being the more popular over time and holding the superior position when flown with the New Zealand Ensign (flag).

The ceremonies began to decline by the 1960s, with a Bay of Plenty Times editorial commenting; “Such demonstrations of patriotism can and should be meaningful without having to resort to mass flag waving as indulged in by some other countries or to boring parades with the usual invitation to some dignitary or another who, with tedious long-windedness, trots out outworn clichés of patriotic fervour.”

Mr Mulholland, a senior researcher in the School of Māori Art, Knowledge and Education (Te Pūtahi-a-Toi) and a member of the Flag Consideration Panel, says the use of flags in schools began “during the zenith of the British Empire and the suggestion [by the Minister of Education Merv Wellington in 1984] of the practise being compulsory brought back nearly a century later, resulted in widespread disapproval.”

“The ‘Hoisting the Flag’ movement swept over all New Zealand schools and remained in some way, shape or form, for the best part of the first half of the 20th century as a way for New Zealand school pupils to exhibit their allegiance to both Empire and country,” he says in the paper.

“Confusion reigned regarding what flag to fly, but whether it be the Union Jack or the New Zealand Ensign, the purpose was clear; to inculcate New Zealand school children with a deep sense of patriotism and to act as a reminder of the British Empire.”

New Zealanders will shortly be voting on whether to keep the current flag or replace it with one of five alternative designs.

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