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
Southern African Vexillological Association of the stars in fess touch the conjunction of the chevrons. The symbolism of the flag is as follows: At least one of the colours in this flag can be found in the national flag of each country in Southern Africa. The gold inverted chevron (the "V") alludes to vexillology. The five white stars, which are derived from the Southern Cross, and the white chevron, in turn allude to Southern Africa. (The Southern Cross itself has not been used since it is more closely associated with the flag of Australia and the flag of New Zealand). SAVA has published the