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Story: Coat of arms

Royal approval for revised coat of arms

In 1956 the New Zealand government agreed to revise the 1911 coat of arms. Queen Elizabeth II approved the changes and initialled both the letter sent to her by New Zealand Prime Minister Sidney Holland and the new version of the coat of arms.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: IA9/35 a-b

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Stephen Levine, Coat of arms – A new coat of arms, 1956, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/35063/royal-approval-for-revised-coat-of-arms (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Stephen Levine, published 17 April 2012.