Nu Tireni · Evidence Series · Part 02 · 1834
What exactly happened when the United Tribes flag was chosen?
The United Tribes flag was not a later commemorative invention. Its selection, naval salute, royal approval and design are documented in official and archival records.
Archival record + official history
The practical trigger was maritime trade. NZHistory records that the Hokianga-built Sir George Murray had been seized in Sydney because vessels needed recognised nationality documentation and a flag. The islands were not a British colony, so locally built ships could not simply register as British.
On 20 March 1834, 25 northern rangatira gathered at Waitangi and chose between three designs. NZHistory records a vote of 12, 10 and 3. The winning flag was raised and HMS Alligator fired a 21-gun salute.
The surviving British archival record is especially important. Te Ara reproduces the United Kingdom National Archives item CO 209/1 no. 14, which records the national flag selected by the assembled chiefs in the presence of Captain George R. Lambert of HMS Alligator and British Resident James Busby.
The original design has a large red St George’s Cross on white. In the blue canton is a smaller red St George’s Cross bordered in black, with four white eight-pointed stars. Later reproductions changed the black border to white.
NZHistory records that the flag was sent through New South Wales, then to King William IV, who approved the revised design. A drawing was circulated through the Admiralty with instructions that it be recognised.
What the evidence supports
Rangatira themselves selected the flag in a recorded vote. Britain’s official representative and a Royal Navy captain were present. HMS Alligator saluted the flag, and King William IV later approved the design.
The original black fimbriation is supported by the UK archival drawing.
What it does not establish by itself
The salute alone does not define the full legal content of the rangatira jurisdiction, nor does the absence of a similar salute invalidate a later flag established by another legal process.
Primary and official sources
Manatū Taonga / NZHistory — United Tribes flag ↗
Te Ara / UK National Archives — original 1834 flag, CO 209/1 no. 14 ↗