Pink, White, Green
Newfoundland's unofficial flag.
"Fishermen who were members of the society may well have flown the SOS (Star of the Sea) colours off their boats and houses and since they were the bulk of the population, this would have lent great weight to any symbol they employed en masse. Fishermen were, after all, the backbone of Newfoundland,"the men whose labour and sweat the country owes everything it possesses." What represented them could have very easily been seen as representing the country"
Carolyn Lambert, Memorial University of Newfoundland [1]
Last summer, I spent some time traveling around the Avalon Peninsula, more or less charting my way through as many of the coastal communities as I could. It was hard to not notice the Pink, White and Green flag, often seen flying beside the Provincial flag of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Provincial flag was designed by Christopher Pratt and legislated back in 1980 while Brian Peckford's government was in power. However, the unofficial flag with it's pop art colours, seems to be widely flown today owing to reasons pertaining to identity as well as novelty.
The pink colour strikes me as having a post modern appeal that seems to be unique when it comes to flags. This is just an assertion I make as an outsider looking in. However, you will not find a pink like it in any country's flag until you go to Brazil. Even then it's at a sub-national level with the state of Espirito Santo. The appeal of the colours have led to some diverse connections according to James K. Hiller of Memorial University of Newfoundland:
"The PWG tricolour is widely flown these days, appears on the masthead of The Independent newspaper and is available on car plates, t-shirts, hats, swimsuits and so on – sometimes with the byline "Republic of Newfoundland".[2] Even the province’s liquor commission has jumped onto the trend, with a new rum displaying the PWG on the label. The phenomenon has been called "Newf-chic"
James K. Hiller, Memorial University of Newfoundland [3]
It's well documented by historians that Newfoundland was never a "Republic", but that hasn't stoped the use of the byline. While crossing over to Newfoundland on the ferry, I saw several items in the tourist shop with "Republic of Newfoundland" stamped on them. Mired in myth, and that it represents independence to some, seems to have as much to do with the troubled post Confederation history of Newfoundland.
The colours of the flag never officially appeared in public until around 1870. That is when the Star of the Sea Association (SOS), a mutual benefit society founded in 1871 by the Catholic Church, eventually simplified its flag and started to use it in ceremonies and processions. It is considered by historians like Carolyn Lambert that the colours of the SOS are therefore the most likely origin of the Pink,White, and Green flag seen today.
Even though today, pink may be synonymous with the pop art movement, and also the highly mediated world of "chic", the Pink, White, and Green flag will probably never have any support to displace the current flag. Back in 2005 a poll was taken that showed only twenty five percent of Newfoundlanders would consider changing to the PWG flag. Cited as reasons were the financial costs of the change, and ironically that"pink" was not an appropriate colour for a flag.
Flags are complex and powerful symbols capable of stirring up nationalistic emotions in all of us. However, perhaps the words of James K. Hiller would be apt to consider in light of the issue:
"From the beginning of Newfoundland nationalism to the present, certain themes persist. There is a faith in the rich potential of natural resources, albeit a faith that is severely dented these days by the fisheries crisis, problems in the forest sector, and the difficulty in regulating multinational corporations. There is also the faith in the sterling virtues of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, even as they leave for Alberta and points west via ferries and planes, as well as pride in the province’s history and culture. Finally there is friction with an imperial centre (once London, now Ottawa) and a tendency to look for external scapegoats. It was always a defensive nationalism as well quick to take offense, and resentful of actual and perceived slights. Gerry Bannister is right to point out a major difference between the nationalism of Bond’s day, and that of the present. Bond’s was an optimistic vision, while today’s Newfoundland nationalism is haunted by the past and by dreams about an imagined world that has been lost - a world encapsulated in widely popular images of idealized outports complete with mummers and of an old St. John’s where poles and wires have miraculously disappeared and every house is newly painted. It is a nationalism that debates endlessly whether the right decision was taken in 1948 and hopes that a better deal with Canada might just happen. This is a remote possibility, perhaps, in which case the role of culture, history, and heritage, and the Pink, White, and Green become all the more important in cementing a sense of purpose, place and identity." [4]
Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS
notes: [1] http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/nflds/article/view/10176/10500
[2] Newfoundland was never a republic. http://www.cbncompass.ca/Columnists/Ed-Roberts/2012-05-07/article-2972330/The-Pink,-White-and-Green-%26mdash-another-Newfoundland-myth/1
[3], [4] http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/5739/11065
"Fishermen who were members of the society may well have flown the SOS (Star of the Sea) colours off their boats and houses and since they were the bulk of the population, this would have lent great weight to any symbol they employed en masse. Fishermen were, after all, the backbone of Newfoundland,"the men whose labour and sweat the country owes everything it possesses." What represented them could have very easily been seen as representing the country"
Carolyn Lambert, Memorial University of Newfoundland [1]
 |
| Pink, White, Green, oil on canvas, 35" x 60", Emma Butler Gallery |
The pink colour strikes me as having a post modern appeal that seems to be unique when it comes to flags. This is just an assertion I make as an outsider looking in. However, you will not find a pink like it in any country's flag until you go to Brazil. Even then it's at a sub-national level with the state of Espirito Santo. The appeal of the colours have led to some diverse connections according to James K. Hiller of Memorial University of Newfoundland:
"The PWG tricolour is widely flown these days, appears on the masthead of The Independent newspaper and is available on car plates, t-shirts, hats, swimsuits and so on – sometimes with the byline "Republic of Newfoundland".[2] Even the province’s liquor commission has jumped onto the trend, with a new rum displaying the PWG on the label. The phenomenon has been called "Newf-chic"
James K. Hiller, Memorial University of Newfoundland [3]
It's well documented by historians that Newfoundland was never a "Republic", but that hasn't stoped the use of the byline. While crossing over to Newfoundland on the ferry, I saw several items in the tourist shop with "Republic of Newfoundland" stamped on them. Mired in myth, and that it represents independence to some, seems to have as much to do with the troubled post Confederation history of Newfoundland.
The colours of the flag never officially appeared in public until around 1870. That is when the Star of the Sea Association (SOS), a mutual benefit society founded in 1871 by the Catholic Church, eventually simplified its flag and started to use it in ceremonies and processions. It is considered by historians like Carolyn Lambert that the colours of the SOS are therefore the most likely origin of the Pink,White, and Green flag seen today.
Even though today, pink may be synonymous with the pop art movement, and also the highly mediated world of "chic", the Pink, White, and Green flag will probably never have any support to displace the current flag. Back in 2005 a poll was taken that showed only twenty five percent of Newfoundlanders would consider changing to the PWG flag. Cited as reasons were the financial costs of the change, and ironically that"pink" was not an appropriate colour for a flag.
Flags are complex and powerful symbols capable of stirring up nationalistic emotions in all of us. However, perhaps the words of James K. Hiller would be apt to consider in light of the issue:
"From the beginning of Newfoundland nationalism to the present, certain themes persist. There is a faith in the rich potential of natural resources, albeit a faith that is severely dented these days by the fisheries crisis, problems in the forest sector, and the difficulty in regulating multinational corporations. There is also the faith in the sterling virtues of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, even as they leave for Alberta and points west via ferries and planes, as well as pride in the province’s history and culture. Finally there is friction with an imperial centre (once London, now Ottawa) and a tendency to look for external scapegoats. It was always a defensive nationalism as well quick to take offense, and resentful of actual and perceived slights. Gerry Bannister is right to point out a major difference between the nationalism of Bond’s day, and that of the present. Bond’s was an optimistic vision, while today’s Newfoundland nationalism is haunted by the past and by dreams about an imagined world that has been lost - a world encapsulated in widely popular images of idealized outports complete with mummers and of an old St. John’s where poles and wires have miraculously disappeared and every house is newly painted. It is a nationalism that debates endlessly whether the right decision was taken in 1948 and hopes that a better deal with Canada might just happen. This is a remote possibility, perhaps, in which case the role of culture, history, and heritage, and the Pink, White, and Green become all the more important in cementing a sense of purpose, place and identity." [4]
Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS
notes: [1] http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/nflds/article/view/10176/10500
[2] Newfoundland was never a republic. http://www.cbncompass.ca/Columnists/Ed-Roberts/2012-05-07/article-2972330/The-Pink,-White-and-Green-%26mdash-another-Newfoundland-myth/1
[3], [4] http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/5739/11065
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