The Maori people of New Zealand, were a fishing and seafaring society. To them, the symbol of the breaking wave represented good luck as bestowed by the spirit of the sea, either as a bounteous catch or as a safe return from a voyage. The breaking wave is represented here by the half curl of a breaking wave, or by a series of holes representing the foam of a cresting wave. The SHIELD pattern, as a device of protection, is used to represent strength.