The Secret History Behind Samoa's Flag
Samoa's flag was designed by two paramount chiefs, and it carries the Southern Cross.
Malietoa Tanumafili II and Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole are credited with the design. In 1948 it had four stars, and a smaller fifth star was added in 1949, the year the legislature adopted the flag during the period of the United Nations trusteeship.
It is a red field with a blue canton that holds five white stars in the pattern of the Southern Cross. Red stands for courage, blue for freedom and the Pacific Ocean, and the stars recall the constellation that has long guided navigators in the South Pacific.
The flag became the national flag when Samoa became independent from New Zealand on January 1, 1962.
The date printed on every Samoa design in our catalog, January 1, 1962, is that day.
Five stars that sailors have followed for centuries.
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