It is clear that without the intervention of a European, the coat of arms of New Zealand might not have appeared for a very long time. Thanks to the great geographical discoveries of the Middle Ages, the foot of the white man entered this blessed land of distant islands. Having fallen under the protectorate of Great Britain, the New Zealanders followed the path of development imposed by guests from another hemisphere. The official symbol speaks about this directly, since in its elements one can guess the influence of Europe and in a lesser degree of national color.
Behind the scenes of history
Until 1911, the coats of arms of the British Empire and New Zealand were identical. With the receipt of the status of dominion in 1907, the question arose about the development of a new symbol, and even a corresponding competition was held. But the main symbol was the version provided by George V, King of Great Britain. Later, minor changes were made, since 1956 the version approved by Queen Elizabeth II has been used.
The coat of arms turned out to be somewhat pompous (due to the use of symbols of the English monarchy) and magnificent, using different colors, among which one or two cannot be named dominant. On the one hand, you can see gold, yellow, brown, which are associated with the local population, on the other hand, the main colors of the English flag are presented - blue, red, white.
Elements of the coat of arms of New Zealand
The most saturated is the central shield, it is divided into five unequal fields, each of which has its own symbols and signs: the Southern Cross constellation; The Golden Fleece; wheat sheaf; two hammers.
On the field of the shield, the central part is highlighted in the form of a vertical white strip, on which sailboats are located one above one. Ships symbolize the remoteness of New Zealand from the rest of the world (you can only get there by sea), as the first settlers from Europe did in their time. In addition, sailboats are symbols of the maritime trade, one of the important sectors of the country's economy.
Other economically important symbols are found in the rest of the shield. They symbolize: fleece - cattle breeding, wheat - agriculture, hammers - mining.
The coat of arms is interesting from the point of view of the chosen supporters. They are not presented as animals, real or fabulous. These are people, on the left there is a white woman with the national flag, she looks like a typical Englishwoman of the late XIX - early. XX century, on the right - an aboriginal, dressed in national clothes and armed with a spear. The coat of arms is crowned with a golden crown decorated with precious stones.
