Tessa McKenzie, one of the individuals involved in designing the Fiji flag, has spoken about the thought process behind the design, colors, and representation of Fiji embedded in the flag.
Mckenzie says there was a government competition to draw up the National Flag of Fiji and she was confident to take part given her past experiences from Boys Scout and Girl Guides, so she knew a lot about flags.
She says the thought of having the Union Jack was important in terms of knowing and maintaining our history whether, it be good or bad part and learning from it, hence the Union Jack was on her initial design.
Mckenzie says the blue color was a reminder of the blue sky and blue waters that surrounded our country while the three staple foods for Fijians - banana, coconut and sugarcane were also added to the flag.
She highlighted that the lion was not a symbol of the British Lion but a symbol of power.
Mckenzie says she won the competition and was given $100 which she shared with the other designer.
She says in those days, money was a lot and she spent it on buying kids' school supplies for painting.
