Southland region (New Zealand)

Last modified: 2021-12-11 by ian macdonald
Keywords: southland | rugby |
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• Southland brand flag
  • Variant with text
• Flag from Spirit of a Nation branding
• Rugby fan flag
• Southland District
  • Invercargill
  • Riverton (Aparima) town flag

See also:

• New Zealand
• Subdivisions and dependencies of New Zealand
• Sport regions of New Zealand
• Clickable map of New Zealand (traditional provinces)
• Clickable map of New Zealand (sport regions)
• Stewart Island

Southland brand flag

image by Eugene Ipavec, 23 September 2010

I have just come back from Southland (District) and saw this flag.
Phil Day, 2 June 2009

From the Southland website:

“The changing face of the Southland region with its dynamic and positive growth has led to the launch of a fresh, new Southland brand logo. The former Southland Spirit of a Nation brand has been revitalised and updated with a new logo and communications campaign that reflects the history, the region, the people of Southland and the growth the region has experienced in recent years.

The colours of the new logo reflected the colours of Southland with pale blue representing clean skies and giant vistas, dark blue representing abundant oceans and clear night skies and natural green for lush pastures and the agricultural strength of the region. The Koru, a symbol of new beginnings and growth, reflected the new era for the region and further growth that will come in the future”

So the Spirit of a Nation flag is superceded. At the Venture Southland page, we see the flag flying: Only the image part of the logo - diagonally black-blue-green from the top hoist, with white curves, including a koru, separating the colours.
Jonathan Dixon, 3 June 2009

Variant with text

image by Eugene Ipavec, 23 September 2010

Online photos http://www.southlandnz.com/Home/News/ArticleType/ArticleView/ArticleID/54.aspx and http://www.southlandnz.com/Home/News/ArticleType/ArticleView/ArticleID/138.aspx suggest that there is also a version with writing in the green section.
Eugene Ipavec, 23 September 2010

Flag from Spirit of a Nation branding

image submitted by Glenys Carson, 26 June 2002, modified by James Dignan, 6 April 2005

Southland New Zealand Spirit of a Nation is the official brand chosen by the local authorities approximately 5 years ago to both capture and promote the lifestyle and personal qualities of Southlanders. This is the official flag of Southland and the logo is reproduced on a wide range of merchandise.

Elements of the logo:
Koru (fern): symbol of strong Maori heritage
The curved shape of the fly portion of the koru: the rolling landscape of Southland and the story-line of our people.
Sun (upper fly): as bright future.
Three pale blue items: stars of the Southern Cross.
Blue rectangle: blue of the clean crisp air and pristine waters.
Figure: Spirit of the people of Southland.
Glenys Carson, 26 June 2002

The flag can be seen on the "Southland New Zealand Spirit of a Nation" website. As you can see, the sun in the upper fly is pale yellow, not white as in the image sent by Glenys Carson.
James Dignan, 6 April 2005

The usual sport’s fans flags are quartered maroon and gold.
James Dignan, 29 March 1999

Maroon and yellow are the colours that are used in regional sports uniforms, particularly those of rugby.
Robbie Ellis, 10 March 1999

The maroon of the Southland and North Harbour flags and playing strips is nearer the colour on the Latvian flag — a very dark red.
James Dignan, 5 April 1999

The flag that you associate with the Southland rugby team in New Zealand is out of date. Several years ago the uniforms got an overhaul to maroon and blue as can be found on their website www.rugbysouthland.co.nz. One of the reasons for this was to reduce the confusion with several other teams using similar colours. I recall seeing their new flag as a vertical tricolor with maroon, white and blue where the white is at a smaller ratio to the others.
Chris Rodgers, 23 January 2005