The Republic of Guyana

The Golden Arrowhead

Whilst a self-governing member of the British Empire, British Guiana ran a competition to design a new national flag in 1962, the year expected to mark the nations independence. An American vexillologist by the name of Whitney Smith came up with the winning entry. The flag consisted of green, yellow and gold. A green field with a golden isosceles triangle stretching from the hoist and touching the opposite side of the flag. On top of the golden triangle, a red triangle. This one stretching to the centre of the flag.

However, independence did not arrive until 1966, and now Guyana is the only English speaking nation in South America, and 1 of 4 non-Spanish speaking nations (the others being French Guiana, Suriname, and Brazil).

The flag was formally adopted by the new nation on independence, and underwent some minor alterations by the Royal College of Arms in Britain. They added fimbriations round the triangles, dividing the yellow from the green with a white line, and a black line dividing the red triangle from the yellow.

The green stands for the forests, the white for the rivers and water, the gold for the mineral wealth of the nation, black for endurance, and red for dynamism. The arrow points towards the nations golden future.