Flag of New Caledonia Flag of New Caledonia Up to 2010, the only flag used to represent New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France, was the flag of France, a tricolor featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (hoist side), white, and red known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour. However, in July 2010 the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a wish to fly the Kanak flag alongside the French tricolor. In 2008 the government of New Caledonia debated the introduction of an official regional flag and anthem, as required by the Accord de Nouméa. A flag
History of the Pacific Islands now commonly known as New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands around 1500 BC. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific. From about the 11th century Polynesians also arrived and mixed with the populations of the archipelago. Europeans first sighted New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands in the late 18th century. The British explorer James Cook sighted Grande Terre in 1774 and named it "New Caledonia", Caledonia being the Latin name for Scotland. During the same voyage he also named the islands to the north of New Caledonia the New Hebrides