Last modified: 2006-09-23 by jonathan dixon
Keywords: otago | lawrence | plough | sheep | sheaf: wheat | pick | shovel | pick and shovel |
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The New Zealand town of Lawrence has just chosen a flag. The following is from the article in the July 1 2006 Otago Daily Times (by David Conway) on the flag:
“[The flag is]... a distinctive blue and gold flag, incorporating [items from] the original coat of arms of the fromer Lawrence Borough, has been created by a Dunedin company after the idea was investigated by the Lawrence Heritage and Opportunities Working Party.
“The flag incorporates four quarters, each symbolising a part of the town's heritage. The symbols are a single-furrow plough, a sheep, a wheat sheaf, and the pick and shovel used to commemorate the discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully in 1861.
“The words 'Lawrence 1861' appear on the flag, which is being looked on as a first step towards 150th anniversary celebrations in 2011.”
The blue and gold are the colours of Otago Province. Unfortunately the flag does look a bit like it was designed by a "Heritage and Opportunities Working Party" rather than someone who knew about flags, but that's beside the point.
As far as the town itself is concerned, Lawrence is a small town of
about 600 people located in inland South Otago, 60 km as the crow
flies (90km by road) southwest from Dunedin. It is an important site
in New Zealand history, as it was close to the location of the
discovery of gold which led to the Otago Gold Rush of 1861. The town
was named for Sir Henry Lawrence, a hero of the Indian Lucknow
military campaign of 1857.
James Dignan, 1 July 2006