Susan Karike | |
---|---|
Born | Susan Hareho Karike c. 1956 |
Died | 11 April 2017 | (aged 60–61)
Citizenship | Papua New Guinea |
Known for | Designing the flag of Papua New Guinea |
Susan Hareho Karike Huhume ( c. 1956–11 April 2017) was a Papua New Guinean housewife, who, as a schoolgirl, designed the colours of her country's national flag.
Karike married Nanny Huhume and they had four children and twelve grandchildren. [1] [2] She died in April 2017 following a stroke and was buried on 28 July 2017. [1] [2]
In 1971, when Karike was aged 15, her school, the Catholic Mission School at Yule Island in Central Province [3] [4] was visited by the Selection Committee on Constitutional Development on 12 February. [3] [5] The committee already had a preliminary design for a new flag for Papua New Guinea, which had been designed by an Australian artist, Hal Holman. [4] Nevertheless, they asked students to create a new colour palette for the flag. [3] Karike did not believe the original colours of blue, yellow and green were traditional enough, [6] nor did she like the vertical stripes that the flag was split into. [7] She used a diagonal line and the colours red, black and yellow, as well as keeping the motifs of the Southern Cross and the bird of paradise. [5] The new design for the flag was drawn in a page torn from her exercise book. [8] It was presented to the committee on 1 March 1971 and was formally adopted as the flag of Papua New Guinea on 4 March 1971. [5]
In 2017, the Papua New Guinea National Museum & Art Gallery was redeveloped and a new gallery was named after Karike. [3]
Despite designing the colours of the national flag, Karike's achievement went largely unrecognised during her lifetime. [9] She received no pension from the government and lived in poverty. [10] The three-month delay between her death and her burial was due to the fact that the Prime Minister's office had promised her family that she would have a state funeral, yet rescinded on this promise. [11]