28 October 2026 · Founding Document recognition request
The request is precise: on 28 October 2026, keep the New Zealand Flag flying on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and authorise the Declaration of Independence Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand — the original 1834 United Tribes flag referred to by He Wakaputanga — to fly from the western flag pole for that day.
The request
This is not a request to remove, replace or alter the legal status of the New Zealand Flag.
Authorise the Declaration of Independence Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand — the original 1834 United Tribes flag — to fly from the western flag pole of the Auckland Harbour Bridge on 28 October 2026, while the New Zealand Flag continues to fly on the bridge.
The request is directed to the Government because NZ Transport Agency guidance says Government determines whether other flags may be flown on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and on what occasions. The same guidance states that the Ministry of Transport is responsible for the Government’s flag-flying protocols.
NZTA’s State Highway Control Manual identifies the western flag pole as the pole used for additional authorised flags on specified occasions. The proposal therefore uses the bridge’s existing flag protocol rather than asking for a new structure or for the New Zealand Flag to cease flying.
Formal letter, evidence brief, Māori MP CC schedule and source index.
CompleteCondensed factual basis and operational decision request.
CompleteNo approval is represented on this page until an attributable Government response is received.
PendingDimensions, material, installation timing and weather/wind restrictions require NZTA confirmation after approval.
PendingWhy 28 October?
The date is not arbitrary. The connection between 28 October and the flag is written into the 1835 document itself.
Terminology used on this page: “Founding Document” refers to He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand. “Declaration of Independence Flag” refers to the original 1834 United Tribes flag expressly referred to as “our flag” in Article 4 of that document. Official source titles are retained in the evidence register below.
Thirteen northern rangatira wrote to King William IV seeking protection. Official records also identify concerns about foreign intervention and misconduct by British subjects. The letter does not itself record a cession of rangatira law-making authority.
Twenty-five northern rangatira gathered at Waitangi and selected one of three flag designs. Manatū Taonga records that the chosen flag was raised and HMS Alligator fired a 21-gun salute. King William IV later approved the revised design and the Admiralty circulated a drawing for recognition.
The surviving United Kingdom National Archives record, CO 209/1 no. 14, is reproduced by Te Ara. It shows the smaller red St George’s Cross in the blue canton bordered in black, with four white eight-pointed stars. That is the design specified by this request.
He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni — the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand — was first signed on 28 October 1835. Article 4 directs that the declaration be sent to the King and expressly thanks him for approving “our flag”. That primary-text reference is the direct documentary connection between the Founding Document, the 28 October date and the 1834 flag now described on this page as the Declaration of Independence Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand.
The later New Zealand Blue Ensign arose through a different governmental process. The New Zealand Ensign Act 1901 traced the ensign to colonial-government vessel use and described it as the recognised flag of the colony. The Act does not mention the United Tribes flag or purport to determine the status of the earlier rangatira authority.
Recorded by Manatū Taonga / NZHistory.
HMS Alligator saluted the selected flag after it was raised.
CO 209/1 no. 14 records the original design with the smaller red cross bordered in black.
Article 4 of He Wakaputanga expressly refers back to the King’s approval of the rangatira’s flag.
What is not being asked
The narrow decision is whether the Government will authorise the Declaration of Independence Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand — the original 1834 United Tribes flag — to fly alongside the New Zealand Flag on 28 October 2026.
Evidence register
Original writing © Kiri Campbell. Please share the page link; request permission before reproducing original content. Third-party material remains attributed to its sources.