SHAW SAVILL & ALBION CO. LTD.

The house flag is white with a red cross and a dark-blue canton containing a further red cross and white stars. The familiar stars have six points, but publications and a postcard show four- or five-pointed forms; some show angled stars. Many drawings centre the main cross, whereas the museum flag and film views put its intersection nearer the hoist. The museum description itself gives five-pointed stars, while Jan Mertens describes six-pointed stars and additional white crosses in the blue fields. Rosanoski’s company-provided image has a wider main cross and squatter stars. The museum example is dated about 1951. The funnel is buff, described by Talbot-Booth as a deeper, more buff pink than Bibby’s, later simply deep buff; Brown 1982 also gives pinkish buff.

The design resembles the first New Zealand national flag, but differs in fimbriation and star points. Adoption is variously dated 1858 and 1862, and neither the adopter nor the reason is documented. Stuart Park suggests identification with the 1834 flag and possible simplification. Rosanoski compares the similar flag flown by William Wakefield on Tory in 1839, with three angled stars, apparently made from an incomplete 1835 published description. New Zealand’s official flag had become the Union Flag in 1840, so he notes no conflict with a contemporary official British design. An anonymous comment records continued company use into the mid-1970s.

The fleet commodore used a swallow-tailed version of the house flag.

Ocean Ships 1967 assigns this funnel to Northern Star, although its black-and-white photograph does not show the design clearly. At her 1962 launch she had the usual funnel.