National colours of New Zealand National colours of New Zealand National colours of New Zealand orders include black, white or silver, and red ochre. The national flag of New Zealand is predominantly dark blue and represents the sea and sky. In the top left corner is the union flag with the colours red and white. The Union flag represents the settlement of New Zealand by mainly British people after New Zealand became a British colony in 1840. The four stars on the flag are red with white outlines. The flag is flown from government buildings and schools and on days of national importance such as
Triband (flag) Triband (flag) The triband is one of the most common designs of flag, and is the design of some 30% of all current national flags. As the name suggests, the main feature of the design of a triband is three parallel bands of colour. If the three bands have three different colours, the triband is a tricolour. In its simplest form, the triband consists of three equally sized horizontal or vertical stripes and nothing else. Examples of "horizontal tribands" include the national flags of Austria and Germany, and examples of "vertical tribands" include the national flags of Nigeria and France.