New Zealand National Flag 'Kia Kaha'

Two eyelets, not a pole sleeve.

Most flags get bought off the photo and then hung on the wrong thing. You order one for the antenna on the 4x4 or for a telescopic camp pole, it turns up with two eyelets down one edge, and you finish up in the dark with a handful of cable ties trying to make it work.

This is a rope-and-eyelet flag. There is a white polyester header band down the hoist edge with a metal eyelet in the top corner and another in the bottom corner. It ties, clips or screws to a halyard, a fence, a roof rack, an awning leg or a shed wall. It does not slide onto a pole, because there is no sleeve on it.

At 900mm x 1500mm it is a full-size flag rather than a car pennant, and for the money it is a display flag — a shed wall, a campsite, a clubroom, a weekend on the tracks. It is not a permanent flagpole flag that lives outside in the weather, and we are not going to pretend it is.

What It Does

• Shed, garage or man cave: two eyelets, two hooks or screws, and it is up. No pole, no rope, no drama.
• Strung across the awning: cable-tie or clip it between two awning legs so your mob can find the camp after dark.
• Kiwis working in Australia: half the crews on site are, and it goes straight up on the donga wall or in the crib room.
• Clubrooms and sports days: at 900mm x 1500mm it reads from the far side of a field, not just from the next table.
• On an existing halyard: if you already run a flagpole with a rope and snap clips, the eyelets take standard clips as they come.

Key Features

• Two metal eyelets: one in the top hoist corner and one in the bottom, set through a white woven polyester header band.
• No pole sleeve: there is no tube or casing down the hoist edge, so it will not slide onto a camp pole, a garden pole or a 4x4 antenna.
• Full display size: 900mm x 1500mm (0.9 m x 1.5 m).
• Printed polyester: lightweight woven polyester with the design printed on it. The supplier does not publish a fabric weight.
• Hemmed all round: the edges are folded over and machine-stitched with a single row of thread. There is no reinforced multi-row fly stitching.
• The design: Union Jack in the top hoist corner, four red stars of the Southern Cross across the fly half. No lettering or slogan is printed on it.
• Sold as one flag: flag only. No pole, no rope, no clips and no wall fixings in the box.
• Free delivery: Australia and New Zealand, 10 to 14 days from the day you order. Allow up to three weeks, and longer again for regional and remote addresses.

Limits

Here is what this flag will not do, so nobody finds out the hard way.

• It will not fit a sleeve pole: the hoist edge is a flat header band with eyelets, not a tube. If your pole, antenna or garden spike needs the flag threaded onto it, this is the wrong flag.
• It is not an official-spec flag: the supplier publishes no colour reference, no proportions and no standard, so we cannot tell you it matches the flag described in the New Zealand Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act. If it is going up for an official ceremony where the exact blue, red and proportions have to be right, that is a certified flag's job, not this one.
• It will not last flown full time: no colour-fastness, UV or wind rating is published for it, and the hems are a single row of stitching. Any flag goes at the fly end first, and there is nothing on this one built to slow that down. Treat it as a display flag you bring in, not a flag you leave up all year.
• We cannot describe the back: every photograph the supplier provides shows the front face only, and nothing is stated about how the reverse is printed. We are not going to guess at it.
• It is not a boat ensign: nothing here is rated for constant salt spray and marine wind loading, and no marine grade is claimed for it.

Q & A

Will it slide onto my 4x4 antenna or a telescopic camp pole?

No. It has two metal eyelets on a flat header band, so it needs something to tie or clip to. There is no sleeve to thread a pole through. This is the single most common mix-up on flags, so it is worth checking what your pole actually needs before you buy.

Does the flag have the words 'Kia Kaha' printed on it?

No. The listing name carries it, the flag does not. Every supplier photograph shows a plain New Zealand national flag with no lettering, wording or slogan on it. Kia kaha is te reo for stay strong.

What does the back look like?

Not specified by supplier. Every image supplied shows the front face, and nothing states whether the reverse is separately printed or simply shows through the fabric. We have not sighted the back of one, so we are not going to describe it.

Will it survive being flown outside all the time?

No rating exists to answer that honestly. What we can tell you is what is on it: a lightweight printed polyester with a single row of stitching on the hems and no reinforced fly. Flown around the clock in real wind it will fray at the fly end, the same as any flag without a reinforced fly. Hung on a wall or run up for the weekend, it is doing the job it is built for.

Does anything come with it?

Just the flag. No pole, no rope, no snap clips, no wall hooks. If you are hanging it on a wall, two screws or two hooks through the eyelets is all it takes.

How long will it take to get here?

10 to 14 days from the day you order, and worth allowing up to three weeks. Regional and remote addresses run longer again. Delivery is free to Australia and New Zealand.

Specs