PAPUA NEW GUINEA

The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on July 1, 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a raggiana bird of paradise is silhouetted. Red and black have long been traditional colours of many Papua New Guinean tribes. Black-white-red was the colour of the German Empire's flag, which had colonised New Guinea prior to 1918. The bird of paradise is also found on the national Coat of Arms.