germ@namur: The silver fern

The silver fern, or ‘Ponga’ in the Māori language, is a medium-sized plant endemic to New Zealand which owes its name to the occasional silvery undersides of the fronds. The fronds of the silver fern are dark green on the upper side and the undersides are usually white; only in some northern populations are the fronds silver. The undersides reflect moonlight and they are used as tracking markers in the country’s forests. The perfect habitat for this type of fern is lowland forests as they thrive in moist, mild climates, but they can be found throughout the country.

The silver fern has deep historical roots. It first appeared as a national symbol in the 1880s when Pakeha (New Zealanders of European descent) identified as New Zealanders and no longer as Europeans living abroad, whereas previously the term New Zealanders was only used to refer to the Māori people. Quickly, Native Associations started to form, solidifying this new sense of nationalism and attachment to a newfound home. These associations chose the silver fern as their emblem, which not only grew popular among the citizens, but also came to be seen by foreigners as a symbol of the nation.

Māori people, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand, used the fern in several ways: the foliage to make bedding and the sap for medical purposes, for example. To this community, the fern represents strength, resistance and power. In relation to the silver fern there is the koru a “spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond”.This symbol is also quite important to the Māori culture and is frequently incorporated into many forms of artistic expression, such as carvings and tattoos.

To this day, the silver fern has continued to be used as a symbol by the national rugby teams and in other sports, as well as in the military and in the immigration department of the government. recently, New Zealanders used the silver fern as a symbol of resilience after the Christchurch terror attack in March 2019, with one artist modifying each frond of a fern to represent one casualty.

The silver fern is such an important symbol for the nation that on multiple occasions it has been suggested to incorporate it into the New Zealand flag. There have been a number of attempts to change the flag, but it was in 2015-2016 that the country held a referendum on whether to change the flag or keep the old one, featuring the Union Jack. Even the Prime Minister at the time, John Key, gave his support to the silver fern. But overall, this referendum split opinion and there was not much engagement among the general public. Criticisms of it included the huge costs of changing all the flags and logos, the relative importance of this matter compared to others such as immigration or Māori representation, and the different options for the flags supposedly being to be too logo-like. In the end, they decided to keep the original flag.

To sum up, we can see that this is a symbol that is deeply rooted in the New Zealand culture, that it has transcended the country and that it is representative of the nation abroad.

Lucía Domínguez Villar

Sources:

-WIXON, Karl ; The history of our national symbol

https://www.nzstory.govt.nz/blog/the-history-of-our-national-symbol/ [29/03/19]

- KEENAN, Danny ; Why is the Silver Fern New Zealand’s Symbol ? [29/03/19]

https://www.silverfernflag.org/press/why-is-the-silver-fern-new-zealands-symbol [30/03/19]

- The silver fern

https://kiwianatown.co.nz/kiwiana-displays/the-silver-fern/ [1/04/19]

- The significance of the silver fern

https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/significance-silver-fern[2/04/19]

- Cyathea dealbata

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyathea_dealbata [2/04/19]

- An illustration has become a symbol of resilience after the Christchurch terror attack [2/04/19]