Flag of the Cook Islands Rarotonga and Mangaia). The blue represents the ocean and the peaceful nature of the inhabitants. From 1973 to 1979, the flag was green with the stars in yellow shifted towards the fly. The green colour represented the continuous growth and life of the islands; the yellow represented the faith, love, happiness, and commitment shown by the islanders. The circle represented the union of the islands and the union between the islanders and the land itself. Flag of the Cook Islands The flag of the Cook Islands, officially known as the Cook Islands Ensign, is based on the traditional design for
Flag of Papua New Guinea Flag of Papua New Guinea The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on 1 July 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a raggiana bird-of-paradise is silhouetted. The design was chosen through a nationwide design competition in early 1971. The winning designer was Susan Karike Huhume, who was 15 years old at the time. Red and black have long been traditional colours of many Papua New Guinean tribes. Black-white-red was the colour of the German Empire flag, which had colonised New Guinea prior to 1918. The bird-of-paradise is also found on the national coat-of-arms.