View source for Flag of South Africa

{{short description|National flag}}
{{for|other flags of South Africa|List of South African flags}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use South African English|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name      = [[South Africa|Republic of South Africa]] 
| Article   = 
| Image     = Flag of South Africa.svg
| Nickname  = 
| Morenicks = 
| Use       = 110110
| Symbol    = {{FIAV|110110}}{{FIAV|normal}}{{FIAV|Mirror}} {{FIAV|Vertical normal}}
| Proportion = 2:3
| Adoption   = {{start date and age|1994|04|27|df=y}}
| Design    = A horizontal bicolour of red and blue with a black isosceles triangle based on the hoist-side and a green pall, a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y, centred over the partition lines and was edged in both white against the red and the blue bands and yellow against the triangle, in which the arms of the Y ends at the corners of the hoist and embraces the triangle on the hoist-side.
| Designer = [[Frederick Brownell]]
| Image2 = Flag_of_the_South_African_National_Defence_Force.svg
| Nickname2 = [[South African National Defence Force]]
| Adoption2 = {{start date and age|2003|4|25|df=y}}
| Use2 = 001000
| Symbol2 = {{FIAV|001000}}{{FIAV|normal}}{{FIAV|Mirror}}
| Image3 = Naval Ensign of South Africa.svg
| Nickname3 = [[South African Naval Ensign]]
| Use3 = 000001
| Symbol3 = {{FIAV|000001}}{{FIAV|normal}}{{FIAV|Mirror}}
| Adoption3 = {{start date and age|1998|3|16|df=y}}
}}

The '''flag of South Africa''' was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during [[South Africa]]'s [[South African general election, 1994|1994 general election]], to replace the [[Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)|previous flag used from 1928–1994]].

The flag has horizontal bands of red (on the top) and blue (on the bottom), of equal width, separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal "Y" shape, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side (and follow the flag's diagonals). The "Y" embraces a black [[isosceles triangle]] from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow or gold [[fimbriation|bands]]; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. The stripes at the fly end are in the 5:1:3:1:5 ratio. Three of the flag's colours were taken from the [[flag of the South African Republic]], itself derived from the [[flag of the Netherlands]], as well as the [[Union Jack]], while the remaining three colours were taken from the flag of the [[African National Congress]].
Nicknames for the flag include the ''Seskleur'' ({{literal translation|six colour}})<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Hannelee |first=Doubell |date=2008-10-20 |title=1994 |url=https://argief.litnet.co.za/article.php?news_id=54610 |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=BuzzSouthAfrica.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and the ''Rainbow Flag''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gumede |first=Rachael |date=2015-09-23 |title=South African Flag: Colors, Meaning & Rules About The National Symbol|url=https://buzzsouthafrica.com/interesting-facts-about-south-african-flag/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=BuzzSouthAfrica.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Colours ==
At the time of its adoption, the South African flag was the only national flag in the world to comprise six colours in its primary design and without a seal and brocade. The design and colours are a synopsis of principal elements of the country's flag history. The colours themselves have no essential meaning.<ref name="Brownell2015" />{{rp|18}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Colours
!Textile colour
![[Pantone]] equivalent
![[RGB]] hexadecimal
!RGB decimal
!Sample
|-
| '''[[Green]]'''
| CKS 42 c Spectrum green
| 3415 c
| #007A4D
| 0, 122, 77
| style="background: #007749;" |
|-
| '''[[Black]]'''
| CKS 401 c Blue black
|
| #000000
| 0, 0, 0
| style="background:#000;" |
|-
| '''[[White]]'''
| CKS 701 c National flag white ||
| #FFFFFF
| 255, 255, 255
| style="background:#fff;" |
|-
| '''[[Gold (color)|Gold]]'''
| CKS 724 c Gold yellow
| 1235 c
| #FFB612
| 255, 182, 18
| style="background: #FFB81C;" |
|-
| '''[[Red]]'''
| CKS 750 c Chilli red
| 179 c
| #DE3831
| 222, 56, 49
| style="background: #E03C31;" |
|-
| '''[[Blue]]'''
| CKS 762 c National flag blue
| Reflex blue c
| #002395
| 0, 35, 149
| style="background: #001489;" |
|}

== Symbolism ==
According to official South African government information, the South African flag is "a synopsis of principal elements of the country's flag history."  Although different people may attribute personal symbolism to the individual colours or colour combinations, "no universal symbolism should be attached to any of the colours."  The only symbolism in the flag is the V or Y shape, which can be interpreted as "the convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.za/|title=South African Government &#124; Let's grow South Africa together|website=www.gov.za}}</ref> Frederick Gordon Brownell who created the flag has said that the green Y-shaped part of the flag was influenced by the [[chasuble]]s worn by [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] priests, and stated that he was influenced to include it as he grew up Anglican.

From time to time explanations of the meanings or symbolism of the flag's colours are published in various media, including official government publications and speeches by government officials.

The flag consists of the four colours of the [[Flag of the South African Republic|Vierkleur]], expanded by the addition of black and gold signifying South Africa's mineral wealth. Three of the colours – black, green and gold – are found in the flag of the [[African National Congress]]. The other three – red, white and blue – are used in the modern [[flag of the Netherlands]] and the [[flag of the United Kingdom]]; the colours white and blue were also found in the [[Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)|old flag of South Africa]].
Former [[South African President]] [[F.W. de Klerk]], who proclaimed the new flag on 20 April 1994,<ref name="proc">South Africa ''Government Gazette'' No 15663 dated 20 April 1994</ref> stated in his autobiography, ''The Last Trek: a New Beginning'', that [[Vermilion|chilli red]] was chosen instead of plain red (which [[Anglo-African]]s would have preferred) or [[Orange (colour)|orange]] (as some [[Afrikaners]] would have preferred).

== History ==

=== 1902–1910 ===
{{Infobox flag
| Name = The South African Republic
| Article = 
| Image = Flag of Transvaal.svg
| Alt = 
| Noborder = <!-- Leave blank for rectangular flag; for non-rectangular flag, type "no". -->
| Nickname = Vierkleur
| Morenicks = 
}}
The [[Second Boer War|Second Anglo-Boer War]] between 1899 and 1902 ended with the [[Treaty of Vereeniging]] on 31 May 1902 and resulted in what is now South Africa falling under the British [[Union Flag]]. The former [[Boer Republics]] of the [[Orange Free State]] and the [[Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek]] (Transvaal) became British colonies along with the existing [[Cape Colony|Cape]] and [[Natal Colony|Natal]] colonies. Each was also entitled to a colonial flag following in the British tradition. 

===1910–1928===
{{Main|South Africa Red Ensign}}
On 31 May 1910 these four colonies came together to form the Union of South Africa and the individual colonial flags were no longer used and new South African flags came into being. Once again, as a British dominion the British Union Flag was to continue as the national flag and the standard British ensign pattern was used as a basis for distinctive South African flags.

As was the case throughout the [[British Empire]], the [[Red Ensign|Red]] and [[Blue Ensign]]s were the official flags for merchant and government vessels at sea, and the British Admiralty authorised them to be [[Defacement (flag)|defaced]] in the fly with the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|shield]] from the South African [[coat of arms]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fotw.fivestarflags.com/za_1910.html |title=South African Vessels Ensign |access-date=2005-03-20 |author=Flags of the World }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flaggenlexikon.de/fsuedafr.htm |title=Südafrika – Großbritannien Flaggensystem eingeführt |access-date=2008-05-26 |author=Volker Preuß|language=de}}</ref> These [[Ensign (flag)|ensigns]] were not intended to be used as the Union's national flag, although they were used by some people as such. Although these ensigns were primarily intended for maritime use, they were also flown on land.

<gallery widths="135">
File:South Africa Flag 1910-1912.svg|{{FIAV|historical}} The [[South Africa Red Ensign]] was South Africa's ''de facto'' national flag between 1910 and 1928 and was flown at times from Government buildings.
File:Red Ensign of South Africa (1912-1951).svg|{{FIAV|historical}} The design of the Red Ensign was modified slightly in 1912 when the shield was placed on a white disc so as to make it more distinguishable. The Red Ensign continued to be used as the flag of the South African merchant marine until 1951.<ref name=msa>Merchant Shipping Act 1951 (South Africa); South Africa ''Government Gazette'' No 6085 dated 25 July 1958.</ref>
File:Red Ensign of South Africa (1912–1928, with coat of arms).svg|{{FIAV|historical}} A variant of South Africa Red Ensign with the full coat of arms of South Africa on a white disc. Commonly flown by civilians.
File:Blue Ensign of South Africa (1910–1912).svg|{{FIAV|historical}} The [[Blue Ensign]] was flown over the Union's offices abroad between 1910 and 1912. 
</gallery>

These flags never enjoyed much popular support due to the animosities lingering after the Anglo-Boer War – the Afrikaner descendants of the Dutch settlers from the former Boer Republics saw it as a British flag, and the English-speakers saw it was not the Union Flag alone.<ref name=apb>{{cite book | first =A.P. | last =Burgers  | title =The South African flag book: the history of South African flags from Dias to Mandela | publisher = Protea Book House | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-1869191122| pages = 152–153}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first =Allison | last =Murphy  | title =The South African family encyclopaedia | publisher = Struik Publishers | year = 1989 | isbn = 0869778870| page = 124}}</ref>

===1928–1994===
{{Main|Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = Union of South Africa<br>(1928–1961)<br>Republic of South Africa<br>(1961–1994)
| Article = 
| Image = Flag_of_South_Africa_(1928–1994).svg
| Alt = 
| Noborder = <!-- Leave blank for rectangular flag; for non-rectangular flag, type "no". -->
| Nickname = Oranje, Blanje, Blou
| Morenicks = 
| Use = 111110
| Symbol = {{FIAV|historical}}{{FIAV|111110}}{{FIAV|normal}}{{FIAV|Mirror}}
| Proportion = 2:3
| Adoption = 31 May 1928
| Relinquished = {{end date and age|1994|04|27}}
| Design = 
| Designer = 
}}
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Flag of South Africa (1928–1982, small flags).svg
| width1 = 
| caption1 = Three small flags on the flag of South Africa, used from 1928 to 1982.
| image2 = Flag of South Africa (1982–1994, small flags).svg
| width2 = 
| caption2 = Three small flags on the flag of South Africa, used from 1982 to 1994.
| footer = The three flags in the centre representing the former British colonies of [[Cape Province|Cape Colony]] and [[Natal Colony|Natal]] with the Union Flag on the left, followed by the flags of the former Boer republics of [[Orange Free State]] and the [[South African Republic]] on the right. The Union Flag is shown with [[Union Jack#Flying|the hoist on the right]].
}}
Due to the lack of popularity of these flags, there were intermittent discussions about the desirability of a more distinctive national flag for South Africa after 1910,<ref name="Brownell2015" />{{rp|70}} it was only after a coalition government took office in 1925 that a bill was introduced in [[Parliament of South Africa|Parliament]] to introduce a national flag for the Union.  This provoked an often violent controversy that lasted for three years based on whether the British Union Flag should be included in the new flag design or not. The [[Natal Province]] even threatened to [[Natal covenant|secede from the Union]] should it be decided to remove it.

Finally, a compromise was reached that resulted in the adoption of a separate flag for the Union in late 1927 and the design was first hoisted on 31 May 1928. The design was based on the so-called Van Riebeeck flag or "[[Prince's Flag]]" (''Prinsenvlag'' in [[Afrikaans]]) that was originally the [[Flag of the Netherlands|Dutch flag]]; it consisted of orange, white, and blue horizontal stripes. A version of this flag had been used as the flag of the [[Dutch East India Company]] (known as the VOC) at the Cape (with the VOC logo in the centre) from 1652 until 1795. The South African addition to the design was the inclusion of three smaller flags centred in the white stripe. The miniature flags were the British [[Union Flag]] (mirrored) towards the hoist, the [[flag of the Orange Free State]] hanging vertically in the middle and the [[Flag of the South African Republic|Transvaal Vierkleur]] towards the fly. The position of each of the miniature flags is such that each has equal status. However, to ensure that the Dutch flag in the canton of the Orange Free State flag is placed nearest to the upper hoist of the main flag, the Free State flag must be reversed.  The British Union Flag, which is nearest to the hoist and is thus in a more favoured position, is spread horizontally from the Free State flag towards the hoist and is thus also reversed.  Although placed horizontally furthest from the hoist, to balance the British Union Flag, the Vierkleur is the only one of the miniature flags which is spread in the same direction as the main flag. This compensates for its otherwise less favourable position.  In this arrangement, each of the miniature flags enjoy equal precedence.<ref name="Brownell1993" /> Note that the miniature flags of the [[Transvaal Republic]] and the [[Orange Free State]] both contain miniature flags of the [[Netherlands]], while the miniature flag of the [[United Kingdom]] is a composition of the flags of [[England]], [[Scotland]] and the [[Anglo-Irish people]], making the old South African flag the only former national flag in the world containing five flags within three flags within a flag.

The choice of the ''Prinsenvlag'' (which was believed to be the first flag hoisted on South African soil by Jan van Riebeeck of the VOC) as the basis upon which to design the South African flag had more to do with compromise than Afrikaner political desires, since the ''Prinsenvlag'' was politically neutral, as it was no longer the national flag of any nation. A further element of this compromise was that the British Union Flag would continue to fly alongside the new South African national flag over official buildings. This dual flag arrangement continued until 1957 when the British Union Flag lost its official status per an [[Act of Parliament]].

Following a [[South African republic referendum, 1960|referendum]] the country became a [[republic]] on 31 May 1961, but the design of the flag remained unchanged. However, there was intense pressure to change the flag, particularly from Afrikaners who still resented the fact that the British Union Flag was a part of the flag. In 1968, the then [[Prime Minister of South Africa|Prime Minister]], [[John Vorster]], proposed the adoption of a new flag from 1971, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the declaration of a republic but this never materialised.<ref name="Glasgow Herald">{{Cite news | newspaper= The [[Glasgow Herald]] | title= New flag | date = 12 September 1968 |page= 18 col C | access-date = 2016-04-18 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4eg9AAAAIBAJ&pg=2838,2158422&dq=south+africa+change+flag+1971&hl=en }}</ref>

Since 2019, public display of this flag in South Africa is considered [[hate speech]] (for being a potential symbol of [[apartheid]] and [[white supremacy]]) and therefore prohibited, with exceptions for artistic, academic and journalistic purposes, as well as for museums & places of historical interest.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/why-apartheid-flag-banned-south-africa-hate-speech/ | title=Breaking: It's now 'illegal' to display the apartheid flag in South Africa | date=21 August 2019 }}</ref>

<gallery>
Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg|{{center|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag from 1928–1982}}
Flag of South Africa (1982–1994).svg|{{center|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag from 1982–1994}}
</gallery>

===1994–present===
[[File:New South African flag unveiling.jpg|thumb|South African Ambassador to the U.S. [[Harry Schwarz]] presenting the new flag to the U.S. president [[Bill Clinton]] and vice president [[Al Gore]] in May 1994.]]

The present South African national flag was first flown on 27 April 1994,<ref name=firstraising>{{youTube|id=Sed-dqbZgkc|title=Raising of the New South African Flag}}</ref> the day of the [[South African general election, 1994|1994 election]]. However, the flag was first intended to be an interim flag only, and its design was decided upon only a week beforehand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?56323-1/south-african-election-special-2|title=South African Election Special, 2|website=C-SPAN.org}}</ref>

The choice of a new flag was part of the negotiation process set in motion when [[Nelson Mandela]] was released from prison in 1990. When a nationwide public competition was held in 1993, the National Symbols Commission received more than 7,000 designs.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4196976.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161008201708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4196976.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 October 2016 |title=Finding Symbols For New S. Africa : Citizens Submit 7,000 Flag Designs|date=27 October 1993}}</ref> Six designs were shortlisted and presented to the public and the Negotiating Council, but none elicited enthusiastic support. A number of design studios were then contacted to submit further proposals, but these also did not find favour. [[Parliament of South Africa|Parliament]] went into [[recess (motion)|recess]] at the end of 1993 without a suitable candidate for the new national flag.

In February 1994, [[Cyril Ramaphosa]] and [[Roelf Meyer]], the chief negotiators of the [[African National Congress]] and the [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] government of the day respectively, were given the task of resolving the flag issue. A final design was adopted on 15 March 1994, derived from a design developed by the State Herald [[Fred Brownell]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27155475|title=Fred Brownell: The man who made South Africa's flag|date=27 April 2014|access-date=27 April 2014|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref group = note>[[Eastern Cape]] artist Thembani Hastings Mqhayi believes that Brownell is wrongly credited and proposes that the flag is based on one of several designs that he submitted in 1994. In response the [[Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture]], [[Nathi Mthethwa]], denied that Mqhayi's submissions played a part. See: {{cite news |last1=Sangotsha |first1=Vuyolwethu |title=Eastern Cape artist claiming to be rightful designer of SA's flag, takes matter to court |url=https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2022-08-16-eastern-cape-artist-claiming-to-be-rightful-designer-of-sas-flag-takes-matter-to-court/ |access-date=19 August 2022 |agency=DispatchLive |publisher=dispatchlive.co.za |date=16 August 2022}} </ref>  who had also claimed to have previously designed the [[Flag of Namibia|Namibian flag]].{{citation needed|reason=Not as per [[Namibian flag#Design]]|date=June 2020}} This interim flag was hoisted officially for the first time on 27 April 1994, the day when the nation's first fully inclusive elections commenced which resulted in [[Nelson Mandela]] being inaugurated as South Africa's first democratically elected president on 10 May 1994.<ref name="Bornman2006" /> The flag was well received by most South Africans, though a small minority objected to it; hundreds of [[Afrikaner Volksfront]] members in [[Bloemfontein]] burned the flag in protest a few weeks before the April 1994 elections.<ref name=firstraising/>

[[File:Pm cricket shots09 6058.jpg|thumb|left|The flag flying at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]].]]

The proclamation of the new national flag by [[South African President]] [[F. W. de Klerk]] was only published on 20 April 1994,<ref name="proc"/> a mere seven days before the flag was to be inaugurated, sparking a frantic last-minute flurry for flag manufacturers. As stated in South Africa's post-apartheid interim constitution, the flag was to be introduced on an interim probationary period of five years, after which there would be discussion about whether or not to change the national flag in the [[Constitution of South Africa|final draft of the constitution]]. The Constitutional Assembly was charged with the responsibility of drafting the country's new constitution and had called for submissions, inter alia, on the issues of its various national symbols.  It received 118 submissions recommending the retention of the new flag and 35 suggesting changes to it.  Thus on 28 September 1995 it decided that the flag should be retained unchanged and accordingly it was included as Section One of the Constitution of South Africa which came into force in February 1997.<ref name="Berry2015" />

== Proper display of the flag ==
The South African government published guidelines for proper display of the flag at designated flag stations, in Government Notice 510 of 8 June 2001 (Gazette number 22356). These rules apply only to official flag stations and not to the general public.

The [[Southern African Vexillological Association]] (SAVA), a non-official association for the study of flags, published their own guide for proper display of the flag in 2002.  This guide has no official authority but was drawn up with generally accepted [[vexillological]] etiquette and principles in mind.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/no-need-to-get-in-a-flap-over-flag-etiquette-94265|title=No need to get in a flap over flag etiquette |work=IOL News |date=12 September 2002|access-date=2013-03-23}}</ref>

== Official description ==

An addendum to the Transitional Executive Council agenda (April 1994) described the flag in pseudo-[[blazon|heraldic terms]] as follows:

''The National flag shall be rectangular in the proportion of two in the width to three to the length; [[division of the field|per pall]] from the hoist, the upper band red (chilli) and lower band blue, with a black triangle at the hoist; over the partition lines a green [[pall (heraldry)|pall]] one fifth the width of the flag, [[fimbriated]] white against the red and blue, and gold against the black triangle at the hoist, and the width of the pall and its fimbriations is one third the width of the flag.''

Schedule One of the Constitution of South Africa (1996) replaced the heraldic definition and described the flag in plain English as follows:<ref>{{cite web|title=Schedule 1 to the South African Constitution, 1996|url=https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-schedule-1-national-flag|publisher=South African Government|access-date=20 June 2022}}</ref>

# ''The national flag is rectangular; it is one and a half times as long as it is wide. ''
# ''It is black, gold, green, white, chilli red and blue. ''
# ''It has a green Y-shaped band that is one fifth as wide as the flag. The centre lines of the band start in the top and bottom corners next to the flag post, converge in the centre of the flag, and continue horizontally to the middle of the free edge. ''
# ''The green band is edged, above and below in white, and towards the flag post end, in gold. Each edging is one fifteenth as wide as the flag. ''
# ''The triangle next to the flag post is black. ''
# ''The upper horizontal band is chilli red and the lower horizontal band is blue. These bands are each one third as wide as the flag.''

==See also==
* [[List of South African flags]]
* [[Coat of arms of South Africa]]
* [[National anthem of South Africa]]
* [[National symbols of South Africa]]
* [[Southern African Vexillological Association]]

==Note==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="Brownell1993">{{cite book|last=Brownell|first=F. G. |author-link=Fred Brownell|title=National and Provincial Symbols and Flora and Fauna Emblems of the Republic of South Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fo4yAQAAIAAJ|year=1993|publisher=C. van Rensburg|isbn=978-0-86846-074-1}}</ref>
<ref name="Brownell2015">{{cite thesis|first=Frederick G |last=Brownell|author-link=Fred Brownell|title= Convergence and Unification : The National Flag of South Africa (1994) in historical perspective |type=PhD|publisher=University of Pretoria|location= Pretoria|date=2015|hdl=2263/50847}}</ref>
<ref name="Bornman2006">{{cite journal|last=Bornman|first =E. |date=2006|title= National symbols and nation-building in the post-apartheid South Africa|journal=International Journal of Intercultural Relations|volume= 30|issue =3 |pages =383–399 |hdl=10500/23252|doi=10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.09.005|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
<ref name="Berry2015">{{citation|first=Bruce B.|last= Berry |title= "Zero to Hero" – the role of the national flag in nation building in post-apartheid South Africa|publisher= 26th International Congress of Vexillology|location= [[Sydney]]|date= September 2015}}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Saker|first=Harry |title=The South African flag controversy, 1925-1928|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYgaAAAAYAAJ|year=1980|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Cape Town|isbn=9780195701722 }}
* {{cite book|last=Pama|first=C|title=Die vlae van Suider-Afrika|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AkVNAAACAAJ|year=1984|publisher=Tafelberg|language=af|isbn=978-0-624-02070-7}}
* {{cite journal|last=Brownell|first=F.G.|author-link=Fred Brownell|title= The Union Jack over Southern and Central Africa: 1795–1994|journal=SAVA Journal|date=March 1994|isbn=0-620-18833-2}}
* {{cite journal|last=Van Zyl|first=J.A.|title= The History of Flags of South Africa before 1900|journal=SAVA Journal|date=April 1995|isbn=0-620-19798-6}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Flags of South Africa (since 1994)}}
{{wikiquote|Flag of South Africa}}
*[http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/democracy/3878-fred-brownell-and-the-creation-of-the-south-african-flag Fred Brownell and the creation of the South African flag] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826005004/http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/democracy/3878-fred-brownell-and-the-creation-of-the-south-african-flag |date=26 August 2018 }}
* [http://www.savaflags.org.za Southern African Vexillological Association (SAVA)]
* {{FOTW|id=za|title=South Africa}}
* {{FOTW|id=za_old|title=South Africa (1928-1994)}}
* {{FOTW|id=za_1910|title=South Africa (1910-1928)}}

{{Africa topic|Flag of|title=[[Flags of Africa]]}}
{{nationalflags}}
{{Portal bar|South Africa|Heraldry}}

[[Category:Flags introduced in 1994|South Africa]]
[[Category:Flags of South Africa]]
[[Category:National symbols of South Africa]]
[[Category:South African heraldry]]
[[Category:Flags of Africa|South Africa]]
[[Category:National flags|South Africa]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in South Africa]]