The first New Zealand ensign, Waitangi. Pencil & watercolour, 1834. In March 1834 the British Resident James Busby convened a meeting at Waitangi of settlers, missionaries and captains to observe twenty-five Maori chiefs from Northland choose a flag from three Admiralty designs. The winning flag, by 12 of the 25 votes, was then run up a flagpole, accompanied by a 21-gun salute from HMS Alligator. After Busby�s Declaration of Independence in 1835, the ensign became known as the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand.