Sunday, May 3, 2009

Papua New Guinea - Provincial Flags 2001


10 Toea, Enga Province
The background is divided into black (for the national flag) and green (for vegetation) triangles. At the centre is a yellow, black and white Dendrobium engae orchid (the provincial flower).

15 Toea, Simbu (Chimbu) Province
The bird of paradise and Southern Cross from the national flag are combined with two red spears (representing leadership), a white chain (for unity) and a yellow coffee branch (for the main cash crop).

20 Toea, Manus Province
A yellow Manus Friarbird flies over brown (land) and blue (sea) triangles. The 5 Manus Green Snails represent the five regions.
Here is the extract from the interview with the designer of the Manus provincial flag Luke Bulei, where he explains the meaning of the flag elements and colours:

..."Many of our people have interpreted the flag and the symbols in it wrongly, either intentionally or because of misunderstanding. In 1977, Worei Community School was informed of the Manus Provincial Flag Design Competition. With limited resources and assistance, I decided to take part in what was to represent the people of Manus later. At the time I was working on the entry, the symbols and colours had specific meanings.

The colour brown represents the inland people and the blue represents the island people. The Chauka is only found in the Manus province. It is not found in any other place in PNG. My second reason for selecting the chauka is that it heralds the coming of dawn and signals the going down of the sun. Thirdly the chauka often warns us of dangers. Fourthly it informs us whether the hunting trip will be successful or not. And of course the NBC Radio Station in Manus had become Maus Bilong Chauka several years before. The other important symbol on the Manus Flag is the green snail. Like the Chauka, the green snail is unique to the Manus province."...

50 Toea, Central Province
The silhouette of a lakatoi canoe represents tradition. It is set over a blue background representing the sea. A large star (for Central Province) and five smaller stars (the 5 districts) are set over a red background representing the land.

2 Kina, New Ireland Province
The Southern Cross (a guide to seafarers and indicator of the seasons) is shown over a blue background for the sea. A silhouette of a paradise drongo (a bird found only in New Ireland) is shown on an orange background.

5 Kina, Sandaun (West Sepik) Province
Black and red triangles form the background, with the gold bird of paradise symbol from the national flag set over the red. Six stars (representing the 6 districts) are set above a light blue setting sun with yellow rays (the provincial symbol).

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