Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand in the centre of the Southern Cross." Succeeding Governors found it convenient to use this flag on shore and it became accepted as the official viceregal flag. In 1907 New Zealand's status was officially transformed from self-governing colony to Dominion. To mark the transition to independence, the New Zealand Government recommended that the garland of laurels on the Governor’s flag should be replaced by one of fern leaves; the fern leaf was already recognised as one of New Zealand's national symbols. In a letter of 5 January 1908 the Governor requested that the garland around the badge on his flag
New Zealand flag debate and decide on a final shortlist of four suitable options for the first referendum. Public consultation took place between May and June 2015. As part of the public engagement process, flag designs and symbolism/value suggestions were solicited until 16 July, which resulted in a total of 10,292 design suggestions. From the submitted designs, the Flag Consideration Panel selected an initial longlist of 40 (publicly revealed on 10 August), then a final shortlist of 4 (publicly revealed on 1 September) to contend in the first referendum. After public disappointment with the official shortlist, a social media campaign aimed to add the