Coat of arms of New Zealand 1908 received 78 designs. The winning entry was a design by James McDonald, a draughtsman in the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. Some adjustments were made to the design, and the arms were granted by Royal Warrant of King George V on 26 August 1911. The warrant was published in the "New Zealand Gazette" of 11 January 1912. The arms have remained similar to the original design, with minor changes made in 1956. The central shield has remained unaltered since 1911. It comprises a quartered shield containing in the first quarter four stars representing the Southern Cross constellation (as
Flag of the Solomon Islands design stirred up much debate in the community and it too was scrapped. Ultimately, the last design was created by a New Zealander teaching at the King George VI School, in the eastern part of the capital Honiara. This was in spite of the fact that preference was supposed to be given to local submissions by Solomon Islanders. The stars stood for the country's provinces and not the Southern Cross, unlike the flags of nearby Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa. It was ratified as the new flag of the islands on 18 November 1977, eight months before