Flag Flyers of Manawatū: Graeme Day's family crest flying high at Cloverlea

Cloverlea's Graeme Day with his favourite flag designed by Kyle Lockwood. It was the second most preferred design in the 2015 referendum. Photo / Judith Lacy

As you head down Bendigo St in Cloverlea, you'd be forgiven for thinking you had discovered a mini United Nations.

Graeme Day, who lives in Willowstream Grove, has four flagpoles and his neighbour in Raglan Ave has one pole.

Day has been flying flags for 40 years, the first 10 at Tokomaru and the rest from his Cloverlea house.

When he moved to the city, Day brought two flagpoles with him from Tokomaru. When his daughter no longer needed the two poles he had bought her, he added them to his Cloverlea property.

He has about 60 flags and his favourite is the red, blue and silver fern Kyle Lockwood-designed flag selected as one of the options for the November 2015 referendum.

Day says the design has everything people need to know about New Zealand with the stars for the Southern Cross, the silver fern, and the red and blue colours in keeping with the current national flag.

The day the Guardian visited, Day was flying his family crest, and that of his late wife Barbara Clarke. He was also flying the New Zealand sesquicentennial flag with the kōtuku (white heron) and the Hundertwasser one. Across the fence, his neighbour had chosen to fly the French flag from his 12-strong collection.

Day used to own the wool shop, The Wool Den.

His brother, Gregory, has lived in Ireland for the past 50 years and Day has a healthy sprinkling of flags from the Emerald Isle.