The Fern Spurned

New Zealand has voted to keep its current flag by a margin of 57 per cent to 43 per cent in a nationwide poll that ended Thursday. More than two million people voted in the ballot to decide whether to keep the British Union Jack on their flag or replace it with a silver fern. The current flag has been the national symbol since 1902. It was up against a new design that was winnowed from more than 10,000 entries submitted by the public.

Those advocating change argued the flag was a relic of the nation’s colonial past and too similar to Australia’s flag. But the alternative design failed to gain momentum.

(Courtesy The Province Newspaper via The Associated Press)