Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand South Wales, in 1841. The colony became self-governing in 1853 following the passing of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. In 1869 the Admiralty directed that "Governors ...administering the Governments of British Colonies and Dependencies be authorised to fly the Union Jack, with the Arms or Badge of the Colony emblazoned in the centre thereof". There was at the time no colonial badge for New Zealand. Accordingly, in October 1869 the decision was made of including a Jack with the "Southern Cross, as represented in the Blue Ensign by four five-pointed red stars in the fly, with white borders to
Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand rather than a representative of the British government. The New Zealand badge was replaced by the Royal Crest. The words "Dominion of New Zealand" were displayed on a gold scroll beneath the badge. As neither Governor-General Lord Bledisloe nor his ministers were sympathetic to the change, the old flag was retained, and the new flag was not flown until after Lord Galway's arrival in 1937. Minor stylistic changes were made around 1953, including changing the scroll's text to simply "New Zealand", since New Zealand was no longer styled as a Dominion. On 2 June 2008 a new design was adopted,