KwaZulu-Natal local flag (South Africa) (original) (raw)

SAVA Member Geoff Caruth has prepared a design for a "local" or unofficial flag for the province of KwaZulu-Natal. According to Caruth:

The province and its predecessors, the Province of Natal, the Colony of Nataland the Republiek Natalia has a flag history that stretches back over 170 years. Although the present South African government has created new Coats of Arms for all nine Provinces, it has taken the decision not to have separate provincial flags unlike in most other parts of the world.

However there is no reason why an unofficial or "popular" or local flag cannot be flown. Anguilla's beautiful Dolphin banner, the Newfoundland "Native" Flagand the local flags of the French Overseas territories are some examples of the type of flag being proposed for KwaZulu-Natal. In designing such a flag for KwaZulu-Natal the colours of the South African national flag have been used to create a simple allegorical design - the Black Wildebeest (Gnu), long associated with the province - as found on its former colonial badge, and hence colonial ensigns and also used as a sporting emblem - in full charge across the green fields of this fertile Province, with the sun setting against the blue sky.

image by_Martin Grieve_, 11 July 2008

Two combinations of the colours have been chosen. Whilst the yellow fimbriations on the sun with the white edged Wildebeest may be pictorially more correct, most people seem to prefer the golden edged Wildebeest and the white fimbriated sun, saying that the white edged Wildebeest looked "cold"!

As with the South African national flag, no other specific meanings are given to the colours or layout, although some people have suggested that amongst other things, they imagine they see the sun setting over the British empire (like Britannia's broken trident in the flag of Barbados) recalling the province's previous epithet of being the "Last Colonial Outpost".

The flag has been manufactured in various sizes and will now be "marketed". It will be interesting to see if it finds favour amongst the inhabitants of KwaZulu-Natal".
Bruce Berry, 11 July 2008