Story: Flags

Hiraina Marsden, Jan Dobson and Linda Munn (pictured) designed what became known as the tino rangatiratanga flag in 1989. The black represents Te Kore (the void), the space beyond the world of everyday experience. White represents Te Ao Marama, the world of light. Red represents coming into being and life, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother. The koru (spiral, symbolising an unfurling fern frond) in the centre suggests the unfolding and renewal of life.