A close friend had collected dozens of flags, and after his death in 2015, Mr Geddes paid tribute to him by adding to his collection and flying a different flag each day.
His friend had been quite keen on cricket and owned every English county flag and some state flags.
He had now expanded the collection to more than 400 flags of nearly every country.
The Dunedin man had collected books on flags since he was 12 years old but had never even owned a flag until his friend died.
A guidebook he owned gave him an excuse to fly a flag for each day of the year.
He would base his flag choice on notable historical dates detailed in the guidebook.
Displayed in his window was a whiteboard identifying the flag and the reason it was flown.
Some days he did not need any reason and just enjoyed the design.
"Personally I do it for myself, and if people are interested, so be it."
If he thought a certain flag was inappropriate at the time, he would not fly it.
He tried to avoid creating offence at all costs.
"Once we beat Australia in a one-day cricket game. We’d had a few beers and thought it would be a good idea to put the Australian flag up at half mast. That’s totally unbecoming," he said.
"Otherwise you might get a brick through your window."
Mr Geddes’ morning routine involved getting the paper, feeding the neighbourhood cat and hoisting the flag up before 7am.
This tradition had caught the community’s attention.
One couple told him their son would see the flag while walking to school, and always checked at home if he did not know which country it was.
"If one youngster in the whole school does that, at least it's a learning experience," he said.
Advertisement
