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Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club (New Zealand)

image by Clay Moss, 28 February 2015
based on image in 1923 Album des Pavillions Nationaux located by David Prothero, 10 February 2015

Description of the flag
Historical development of the flags

See also:

Description of the flag

Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, New Zealand.
Established 1883 in Wellington as Port Nicholson Yacht Club.
1896. Plain Blue Ensign. Burgee quartered black and red.
1921. Granted title ‘royal’.
Burgee: white cross on burgee quartered upper hoist black, lower hoist red, fly quarters blue; crown in canton, blue plain anchor, inclined towards hoist, in centre of white cross.

The image is from the 1928 Flaggenbuch. In the 1923 Album des Pavillions Nationaux the burgee has the white cross and anchor, but no crown, and the fly quarters are black. This may be an error, or perhaps the white cross and anchor were added at some time before the title ‘royal’ was granted and a crown put in the canton?
1999. Probably changed to New Zealand Yacht Ensign, but still in Navy List 2009.
David Prothero, 10 February 2015

Port Nicholson was the original (and still official, I think) name for Wellington Harbour, at the southern tip of the North Island. The term still lives on in the names of several companies and organisations, and its Maori corruption ("Poneke", a Maorification of "Port Nicky") as the name of several sports teams and other groups.
James Dignan, 1 March 2015

Historical development of the flags

1883

May
Flag adopted (Yellow and black) New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 6870, 30 May 1883, Page 2

August
Robert Scott finalises purchase of Isca New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 6929, 7 August 1883, Page 2

October
Decision to design new flag (and create a signal system) Evening Post, Volume XXVI, Issue 82, 4 October 1883, Page 2

New flag (design unspecified) and signal system adopted New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 6986, 12 October 1883, Page 2

November
New flags and signals books now prepared and ready for the Club’s first sailing event Evening Post, Volume XXVI, Issue 112, 8 November 1883, Page 2

First sailing event New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 7011, 10 November 1883, Page 2

Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

1884 burgee

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

The Port Nicholson Yacht Club was founded 1883. First known burgee is the quartered black over red.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022, Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

1896 Blue Ensign

Evening Post, Volume LII, Issue 18, 15 June 1896, Page 5
The (Royal) Port Nicholson Yacht Club always flew the ensign undefaced.
Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

Te Aro Sailing Club (1907)

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

The Te Aro Sailing Club (1907, https://rpnyc.org.nz/blog/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-thorndon-dinghy-sailing-club) was given as quartered light blue over white. I'm not sure whether there would be any physical evidence of that colour determining the details of the original.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

Te Ruru Yacht Club

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

The Te Ruru Yacht Club (no date so far) would have a blue coloured anchor on white. Sources vary on whether the eventual anchor was fouled or not, and blue doesn't show too well in black and white. It is difficult to determine the details of the original.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

Creation and description of burgee New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7961, 18 November 1911, Page 16.
As you say, a Ruru in natural colours, navy blue background. Also, I agree it’s not great for recognition.

Article in the NZ Yachtsman 09 December 1911. The Wellington columnist Paul Freyberg writes “It depicts an owl in its natural colours perched on a branch with a black background.” Perhaps he sighted it and mistook the colour? Link here to a scan of his scrapbook with this article (in part a). This was a very informal club in its first years, organised by young men. My feeling is that it operated more as a flag to fly above the boatshed they socialised in. They got serious about officers and burgees in 1913 when their membership and sailing participation outstripped that of the PNYC.
Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

The anchor of the Te Ruru Yacht Club

image provided by Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

I have seen a lot of photos of yachts flying a square/rectangular white flag with a dark anchor. Until now as I haven’t seen a triangular one. I’ve assumed it must be the Club burgee: blue anchor on a white ground. However, after your prompt I see that F. Kiernan was the rear commodore in the 1913/14 season, and the 1915 season. I’ve seen photos of him associated with so many boats at that time it is just possible it is the Rear Commodore’s flag in the photos after all. There are links to some photos below.
Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

Links to images of the Te Ruru burgees
Taipare: http://www.wcyt.org.nz/abode/708/images_708/708_RPNYCTaipare,282,29.jpg.pagespeed.ce.B7cQz0biPT.jpg
Wairere: http://www.wcyt.org.nz/abode/708/images_708/708_RPNYCWairere,282,29.jpg.pagespeed.ce.9gGtIfLink.jpg
Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

Merged Yacht Club

Those three merged in 1915, although secondary sources sometimes indicate dates to 1917. After they did, and while the war lasted, they may have used a temporary combination of the three burgees.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022, Gavin Pascoe

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

For 1922, Lloyds' Register of Yachts show the merged burgee of the Port Nicholson Yacht Club. Black over red in the hoist, blue in the fly, with a white cross overall, bearing a tilted anchor. (Not fouled!)
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

Confirmed in the press Free Lance, Volume XV, Issue 802, 12 November 1915, Page 18
The last meeting minute of the Te Aro Sailing Club was dated 27 October 1915. It ends with the statement “Club formed 1906 Amalgamated 1915”. Link here.
See also RPNYC minutes here.
Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

Temporary/interim flag

image located by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022

An example of what it might look like is provided by Port Nicholson.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 June 2022, Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

New flag discussion minuted at meeting dated 03 November of the combined clubs (not described) here.

The drawing I did is really only a speculative sketch based on black and white photographs of many yachts flying it. The colouring is very much a guess, based on the thinking which must have informed the one designed in 1920.

Links to these pictures are below. Some images show clearly that the inner two cantons are different colours, and there is something in the middle white diamond, which I assume must be an anchor, as the minutes and newspaper articles say it was intended to reflect the burgee of all three clubs.

Nanette/fouled anchor

images located by Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

The image is blurry, but the anchor is very definitely fouled. These presentation burgees have always been presented to season champions by the Club. You can see the beginnings of the fouling line emerging beneath the stock, and although the shank and arms are mostly gone, you can see the chemical reaction the paint has left on the ground follows the pattern of a fouling line. This is the oldest actual Club burgee I’ve seen. The burgee is only consistently showed as fouled in printed matter from the 1960s.

The photo on the right is dated at the bottom 1928. The Commodore’s burgee definitely doesn’t have a fouled anchor. I don’t know what to say about that, except the 1924 rule book says: “The Club burgee is a white cross with blue anchor at intersection. Upper inner canton black with crown, lower inner canton red, outer cantons blue.” This agrees with what is in the Lloyds register.

Gavin Pascoe, 23 May 2023

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