Orange Free State Flag

Description

The Orange Free State flag is available from Flags Online as a desk flag in packs of 10, printed on both sides and made to last outdoors.

About the Orange Free State Flag

The Orange Free State flag was the official banner of the Boer republic that existed in the interior of southern Africa between 1854 and 1902. It combined horizontal stripes of white and orange with a small Dutch tricolour placed in the upper hoist canton, a design that openly acknowledged the republic’s historical ties to the Netherlands.

Colours and Symbolism

The flag’s white and orange stripes echoed the House of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family whose name the republic itself had adopted. The Dutch flag in the canton, red, white and blue, was included at the direct request of the republic’s leadership, who asked the Dutch king to help design a flag for the newly independent state. Rather than developing an entirely original emblem, the republic chose a design that visibly linked it to the Netherlands, reflecting the Dutch and Huguenot ancestry of many of its settlers, who first flew the Orange Free State flag as a mark of the young republic’s identity.

History of the Orange Free State Flag

The Orange Free State declared independence in 1854 and initially used a simple red, white and blue flag before adopting its permanent design. President Josias Philip Hoffman asked King Willem III of the Netherlands to have a flag designed for the republic, and the resulting striped pattern with the Dutch canton was approved by the Volksraad in 1856 and first flown on 23 February 1857, the third anniversary of the republic’s founding. The Orange Free State flag remained in use until the republic was defeated in the Second Anglo-Boer War and annexed by Britain, ending its independent existence on 31 May 1902. Elements of the design were later carried into the flag of the Union of South Africa, which flew from 1928 to 1994 and incorporated smaller versions of the old Boer republic flags within its central band.

Flying and Displaying the Flag

As a historical rather than a current national flag, the Orange Free State flag is no longer flown by any government and carries no official protocol today. It is most often seen in South Africa in heritage and historical contexts, such as museums, re-enactments and displays covering the Boer republics and the Anglo-Boer War, and it continues to appear in the arms of the modern Free State province. Anyone displaying it should be aware that, like other flags from this period of South African history, it carries different associations for different communities and is generally treated as a heritage or commemorative item rather than an everyday decorative flag.

Orange Free State Flag Sizes and Pricing

• 22 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R800
• 10 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R650

Material and Construction

Supplied in packs of 10. Printed on both sides onto polyester and supplied with a black plastic stick and removable base — take the base off and it doubles as a hand waving flag.

Ordering and Delivery

Every Orange Free State flag is printed to order and dispatched from our Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg branches, with courier delivery nationwide. Bulk and school orders are welcome — contact us for volume pricing on quantities of 10 or more.

Order Lead Times

Almost everything we make is freshly printed and made to order, just for you! So please allow 3–5 working days for us to prepare your order before it heads out the door. We’ll always try to get it to you sooner where we can. Some fast movers, like South African flags, ship quicker as they’re often in stock.

One quick thing to keep in mind: the “next working day” you see on your order confirmation is the courier’s delivery time from the day we dispatch — not from the day you place your order. So it’s really 3–5 days to prepare + next-day delivery.

Good things are worth the wait — we’re excited to get your order into your hands.

Additional information