Below are three potential names and five potential devices which the Heraldry Working Group have selected and refined from a much larger pool of ideas. Each comes with some explanation of why it was chosen.
The main thing to consider for a group name is how it sounds, as you would be hearing any Principality name a lot - "Long Live <name>!" and so on.
For a device, the main issue is probably "how easy is it to recognise from afar?"
In both cases, you then consider factors such as what associations it may carry - whether in-game or mundanely, is it capable of representing the whole region, is the device distinctive, relatively easy to draw or embroider, and so on.
As Kazimira writes about devices: Whatever we end up with, we're going to be using and seeing those colours and shapes, and those colours and shapes are going to be identified with us. This is the opposite of choosing something that seems “really Kiwi”: whatever we pick will eventually say "New Zealand", just because we are using it. We could pick an adze (or a rafting hook, or a paddle), and then an adze (or a rafting hook, or a paddle) would identify us to other SCAdians, the way those four crescents identify Caid, or a compass star identifies Northshield. What would we like to say about ourselves?
Some of the names and device designs can be lightly associated with each other, e.g. the Kingfisher design and the Alcyon name (greek for kingfisher). Such associations are definitely not a requirement in heraldry, but you may find them appealing.
For more issues to consider, see these general principles for names and for devices.
Finally, choices which are quite popular but don't end up as final choices can still be used - for example as award names or designs, or populace badges.
Without further ado....
Names
Alcyon
(Could also be Alcyone, Alcyonia, Alcioneti, Alcedonia (from the Latin), or Halcyon)
Greek name for kingfisher, lightly associated with the Kingfisher device design below.
The bird: Kingfishers are tough little birds. They are both hunters and fishers. They make their nests in the sides of river banks by flying into the side of the bank over and over until they've dug a hole with their beak. In NZ colonial times, there were stories of kingfishers smashing church windows. There is an anecdote of a kingfisher that killed a cat climbing a tree by flying into it and stabbing it with its beak.
The classical reference: The kotare was given the binomial name halcyon sancta. Halcyon is from the Greek myth of Alcyone (literally "kingfisher"), who angered Zeus (she and her partner loved each other too much) and got turned into a kingfisher. In some myths, she was a daughter of Aeolus, god of the winds. When the halcyon bird went to nest on the shore, either she herself, or her father as god of winds blew sweet breath over the water to calm the seas until she was done. These are the so-called "halcyon days".
The Matariki connection: Alcyone was also the name of the leader and brightest star of the Pleiades – the same star that is Matariki Atua in Māori legend, mother of the star cluster, herald of health and good fortune, and the turning of the year.
The SCA: There's so much to play with here, in terms of ceremony and tradition-building. Kingfishers are both hunters and fishers, giving us connection to both the land and the water. They are king-fishers, giving us access to fishing metaphors and trappings. Alcyone connects us to the sea, to wind and air, to space and to the fire of the stars, and to Matariki, which in turn connects us to health and wellbeing, planting and harvest. We could use expressions like "the Halcyon Throne", "the Fisher Prince", "Her Serene Highness". We could employ stars in our décor and our awards. We can honour tenacity and fearlessness akin to our little blue bird.
With a kingfisher device – particularly if the proper coloured bird is employed as a populace badge -- we get colour: kingfisher blues and greens and rosy buff/gold along with black and white. Plus I just really like the notion that on one hand, we have the idea of "soothing troubled waters", and on the other hand, we've got a stroppy little cuss who gets stuff done by bashing it repeatedly with its face. We as a people are many things, and can choose the qualities we wish to emphasize as they suit the occasion.
Final note: The Alcyon name and kingfisher device (below) don’t have to be used together. We get many of the ceremonial and allusive benefits with either.
Crescent Isles
The most commonly used informal name for NZ since 2003, lightly associated with a couple of "crescent" designs below, as crescents are emblematic of NZ's original parent Kingdom of Caid. The Crescent Isles name is now officially registered, so definitely available for use if preferred.
Crescent Isles was first used by King Cornelius in 2003 when he visited to welcome NZ groups into the Kingdom of Lochac. After a looong and wide-ranging discussion from 2005-2008, it was recommended by the Baronages of Lochac and chosen by the then-Crown as the preferred in-game term for NZ. It has been commonly used by folk on both sides of the Straits of Lochac ever since. However, it was not formally registered until 2023. Newcomers who hear the name initially tend to think it reflects the vaguely-crescent shape of NZ on the map - for them, any historical association comes second.
When considering this name yourself, think about how much its historical connections and habitual use balance against any desire to be forward-looking when forming a Principality.
Eagle's Reach
A nod to our huge-but-sadly-extinct hokioi aka Haast eagle, lightly associated with the Leg and talons device design below.
The term "reach" has twin meanings - the obvious stretch out version and also a nautical term denoting a usually-straight and sometimes long stretch of water. So this name has ties to NZ's oceanic location as well as to its remarkable fauna.
Devices
When viewing these, try to consider them on their own merits . Remember - there is no heraldic rule that says a group's device has a reflect its name, or vice versa.
"Kingfisher" - lightly associated with the Alcyon name above, and our native kotare
See very detailed notes about the Alcyon name above - whilst remembering that it's entirely possible to like a design but not an associated name, or vice versa. A naturally-coloured version could be used as a populace badge or award token.
Some may regard the kingfisher as fairly close to a kookaburra, if that matters.
"Leg and talons" - lightly associated with the Eagle's Reach name and hence the hokioi, aka Haast eagle
See also notes about the Eagles Reach name above. This design is extremely easy to recognise at any distance. Its boldness definitely works for it but may not appeal to some.
"Estencelly" - associated with sparks, stars and navigation - easy to recognise and draw
Estencelly is cool. It's sometimes used to represent stars and sometimes used to represent sparks, so we get the starry night sky, with all of those connotations, including navigation, and we get fire and sparks. We can have things like "the Stellar Throne", "the Coronet Stellata", or "the Spark of Inspiration", and make cracks about who is and is not a Bright Spark. With the per pale division we can do all the poetic stuff where you contrast two sides of something. Embroiderers would kill us -- but they could use buttons, or shisha mirrors -- how sexy would that be -- little mirrored stars reflecting the feast-hall candlelight!
I like the fact that spangles (precursors to sequins) were a period thing, easy to sew on or stamp. The whole artwork is nice and simple, specially taking the wreath off for a populace badge -- the jupons and cotehardies would look spectacular and be sooo easy. Think massed war shields!
In response to survey requests for more colour, here's "Estencelly-Blue":
"InCrescent" - lightly associated with the Crescent Isles name and the origins of NZ groups
See notes about Crescent Isles name above. The crescent in this simple but distinct device is also a gentle nod to the original parent kingdom of the NZ SCA groups, Caid, which uses crescents extensively in its heraldry.
A very clear, elegant and recognisable bit of heraldry.
"Crescent Wrap" - lightly associated with the Crescent Isles name and the origins of NZ groups
See notes about the "InCrescent" design above. This design is remarkably simple and distinctive; some may see it as a bit modern. Of all the designs, it probably lends itself best to making its prominent laurel look more like a fern, should that be desired.
And in the same vein as Estencelly-Blue above, we now have these two:
"Crescent Wrap Blue-Black"
"Crescent Wrap Blue"
