Newfoundland

Newfoundland
Country	Canada
Province	Newfoundland and Labrador
Adopted	March 1974
Designed by	Newfoundland Fishermen's Star of the Sea Association
Proportions	1:2

The unofficial flag of Newfoundland, Canada, is a vertical tricolor of green on the hoist, white in the middle, and pink on the fly. The 1:2 flag was made public by the Newfoundland Fisherman’s Star of the Sea Association around 1890.

Symbolism

The pink represents the Tudor rose of the English monarchy, the royal line under which Newfoundland was discovered and explored and early settlement begun. The white symbolizes Scotland, since it is the national color, white also represents unity between the English and Irish colours displayed in the Newfoundland flag. The green has long been symbolic of Ireland's identity and thus represents the Irish settlers in Newfoundland.

Originations

Historical evidence indicates that the "Pink, White and Green" flag first appeared in the late 1880s to early 1890s as the flag of the Roman Catholic fraternal group the Newfoundland Fishermen's Star of the Sea Association, which was formed in St. John's in 1871.

History

The flag of Newfoundland had been released to the public by the Newfoundland Fisherman’s Star of the Sea Association in 1890. The flag had been recognized by the public by 1974. The flag is still not official according to the Canadian government.

Controversy

Newfoundland flag being flown.

Around the turn of the 20th century the "Pink White and Green" flag gained significant social and possibly commercial use, primarily by Roman Catholic groups in the St. John's and surrounding area. It remained controversial, however, as many Protestants did not accept it as their own flag, feeling that it was, in fact, a Roman Catholic/Irish nationalist flag. Bishop Michael Fleming, credited in popular legend as its creator was, in fact, a self-fashioned leader of the Irish community in Newfoundland and pursued an "Irish nationalistic" agenda in taking on the local British establishment, even to the point of intervening to get particular men elected. In 1904, the "Pink, White and Green" was a central symbol for those opposed to confederation with Canada, a sentiment supported by Roman Catholic Archbishop Michael F. Howley and his clergy, particularly on the east coast, thus further associating the flag with the Catholic Church and Irish nationalism in the eyes of many Protestants.

Flags

England (1610-1862)

Newfoundland (1862-1870)

Newfoundland (1870-1904)

Dominion of Newfoundland (1918-1949)

Newfoundland (1974-)

The flag of the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1918 to 1949 was the regular british colonial flag with the red background and the British flag in the canton in the top left. In the middle right was the seal of the region.

The flag had been removed once many of the Canadian flags had removed the British canton. The new unofficial flag had replaced it in 1974 or when it was released in 1890.

References

Featured Article	Newfoundland
This page was featured on the VexiWiki main page on April 2024.