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
National colours of New Zealand ANZAC day. The national colours of the Māori, an indigenous people of Polynesian origin in New Zealand, are black, white and red. On 13 March 1975, the Queen's Service Order was created by royal warrant. With the institution of the Queen's Service Order, red ochre was "given official sanction as a national orders colour". This colour has spiritual importance to the Māori by whom it is known as "kōkōwai". In 1989, a competition was run by a group named Te Kawariki to design a national Māori flag. The chosen flag became associated with the tino rangatiratanga or Māori sovereignty movement.