New Zealand National Symbols Quiz — 7 Free Questions

Question 1

Who wrote the words of God Defend New Zealand in the 1870s?

Question 2

What was the outcome of the binding March 2016 referendum on the New Zealand flag?

Question 3

What weapon does the Maori figure on the New Zealand coat of arms hold?

Question 4

Which earlier colonial flag did the four-star Southern Cross design replace for New Zealand government use in 1869?

Question 5

Which large, intelligent alpine parrot, notorious for damaging cars and equipment, is a symbol of the South Island high country?

Question 6

Which building, the circular executive wing of Parliament designed by Sir Basil Spence, is a national landmark known by a nickname for its shape?

Question 7

Which haka, composed by the Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha around 1820, is performed by the All Blacks before matches?

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About New Zealand National Symbols

This quiz is about the national symbols of New Zealand, Aotearoa, and nothing else: the flag and its history, the coat of arms, the two national anthems, the silver fern and the koru, the kiwi, and the plants, animals, foods and everyday objects that stand for the country. Eighty questions in four packs of twenty.

Every question is written the way people search: how many stars are on the flag, who wrote God Defend New Zealand, which bird is on the one-dollar coin, why is the pohutukawa called the Christmas tree, which haka do the All Blacks perform. The answer is one of four choices of the same kind, and the question never contains it. A short note after each answer fills in the background: when a symbol was adopted, who made it, what it means, and how it is used today.

The first pack covers the flag: the Union Jack and the four red stars of the Southern Cross, the difference from the Australian flag, the Red Ensign, the 1834 flag of the United Tribes, the Tino Rangatiratanga Maori flag, and the 2015 and 2016 referendums. The second pack covers the coat of arms, its supporters, shield and motto, and the two anthems, their writers and composers, and how they are performed. The third pack covers the silver fern, the koru and the kiwi in detail. The fourth covers the pohutukawa and kowhai, the tuatara, kea, kakapo and moa, pounamu, the Ka Mate haka, and cultural symbols from the pavlova and jandals to the Buzzy Bee, L and P, the Edmonds cookbook, the Beehive, Waitangi Day and the Anzac poppy.

About a sixth of the questions carry a photograph of the symbol named in the question, chosen so that it does not give the answer away. Every fact has been checked.