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Story: Kiwi

RNZAF Harvard

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RNZAF Harvard

A number of First World War regiments adopted the kiwi as their badge, but it was not until the 1960s that the Royal New Zealand Air Force made the kiwi their official emblem. Many have commented on the irony of a bird which is unable to fly becoming the symbol of a flying force.

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Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Jock Phillips

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Kiwi – Kiwi and people: early history, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10191/rnzaf-harvard (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 1 March 2009.