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
Götheborg (ship) ordinary, rectangular flag. Swedish warships, or ships carrying a military commander, fly the Swedish ensign a triple-tailed or swallowtail and tongue version of the rectangular flag. The Swedish East India Company displayed a fork-tailed or swallow-tailed flag on their ships. The intention was that the ship should resemble a warship and thereby not attract pirates. This was against the rules and regulations for flags at that time. The use of the swallowtail was prohibited in a royal decree in 1751, but the SOIC ignored this and ordered their flags in Canton instead. In a memorandum to the Riksdag in 2012,