Official Heraldry

OFFICIAL heraldry includes not only coats of arms, but seals, flags and, until 1994, presidential insignia of office too. You'll find a detailed discussion, and illustrations, of the flags on the Flags of the World website.

Governments and official bodies

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South Africa's official heraldry reflects the constitutional and political changes that have taken place over the years. Between 1652 and 1910, South Africa was a political patchwork of more than a dozen colonies and republics. They eventually crystallised into four territories, which united in 1910 to form a single Union of South Africa. The Union became a republic in 1961, created a new patchwork, this time of self-governing Black 'homelands' within the Republic, and was eventually reunified again in 1994.

Most of these governments had official coats of arms, flags, seals, and other symbols.

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Pre-Union colonies and republics

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Official arms — The first official flags and arms were established in the 1840s and '50s. Between then and 1910, the Orange Free State (OFS) (1857), the South African Republic (SAR) (1866), the Cape of Good Hope (1875), Stellaland (1883), the Nieuwe Republiek (1886), Klein Vrijstaat (1886), the Orange River Colony (ORC) (1904), and finally Natal (1907), all adopted official coats of arms and seals. The Cape, ORC and Natal arms were granted by the British monarchs, whereas those of the republics were self-assumed (the OFS arms being adapted from a device granted by the Dutch king as a gift to the new state which bore his dynasty's name). You'll find illustrations here.

The OFS, SAR, and Nieuwe Republiek arms all included a 'kakebeenwa' ox-wagon, symbolising the 'great trek' of discontented Boers out of the British-ruled Cape Colony in the 1830s. It remains a prominent Afrikaner heraldic symbol, particularly in the Transvaal. The OFS arms also depicted a 'tree of liberty'. An interesting feature of these three coats of arms is that they were flanked by draped flags instead of supporters - a practice common in Latin America but not in Europe.

Seals — Each of the British colonies had a Public Seal, used on documents signed by the governor. Altogether, there were more than a dozen of them, ranging from the first of the five Cape Colony seals in the reign of King George IV (1827) through to the final seal of Natal in the reign of King Edward VII (c1907). The Boer republics had Great Seals, the earliest being the OFS's (1856).

Governors / state presidents — In the OFS and the SAR, the state presidents wore official sashes displaying the state arms. The OFS sash was orange, and the SAR's green edged in red, white, and blue. In the British colonies, the governors had official flags consisting of the Union Jack with the colony's flag badge in the centre.

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South Africa

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From 1910 to 1961, South Africa was a dominion (later 'realm') in the British Empire / Commonwealth. It has been a republic since 1961.

South Africa 1910 and 2000

National arms — King George V granted the Union an official coat of arms, which consisted of quarters representing the four provinces, with a wavy line for the Orange River. While the Cape and Natal symbols (Hope and wildebeest respectively) were not new, those of the others were. The OFS's 'tree of liberty' was now an orange tree, and the Transvaal's wagon was the half-tented transport wagon from the former colonial seal rather than the 1830s-vintage 'kakebeenwa' that had appeared on the old SAR arms. Three official emblazonments were used over the years: the original 1910 version; the 'ordinary arms' version of 1930; and the 'embellished arms' rendition of 1932.

No change was made to the national arms when the Union became a republic (though the OFS provincial administration tried unusuccessfully to have the orange tree changed to a 'tree of liberty'). A fourth rendition of the national arms, in the Bureau of Heraldry's new 'cubist' style, was used at the time of the 1971 Republic Festival, but was not taken into general use.

The 1910 arms were retained as a temporary measure after the country was reconstituted in 1994, even though the four provinces which they represented no longer existed. An entirely new coat of arms, introduced in 2000, emphasises the country's African heritage, rather than the colonial past; the shield design is derived from a San ('Bushman') rock painting. Corporate identity guidelines were issued in 2004 to regulate their use.

Seals — The Great Seal of the Union, authorised by King George V in 1910, for use on documents signed by the governor-general, depicted the crowned shield of the UK royal arms, flanked by four smaller shields bearing the provincial emblems from the Union arms. As it was incorrect to break up the Union coat of arms in this way, the king granted the four shields as provincial arms in 1911. The Great Seal was replaced in 1937 by the Governor-General's Great Seal, which depicted the Union arms.

When the Union became independent by ratifying the Statute of Westminster in 1934, royal seals were authorised by Act of Parliament, to be used on documents signed by the monarch in his/her capacity as the Union's head of state. The two-sided Royal Great Seal of the Union depicted the monarch seated on the throne (obverse) and the Union coat of arms (reverse). The Royal Signet of the Union displayed the Union arms ensigned of a crown.

The royal and governor-general's seal were replaced in 1961 by a single Seal of the Republic, for use on documents signed by the state president. Authorised by the Constitution, it depicted the national arms.

Governor-general / state president — The governor-general of the Union had an official flag. From 1910 to 1931 it was the Union Jack with the national coat of arms in the centre. From 1931 to 1961, it was blue with the royal crest between two golden scrolls displaying the name of the country in English and Afrikaans.

The official emblem of the state president of the Republic (1961-94) was the national arms (1932 rendition) with the letters SP above. It was displayed on his official flag and, until 1984, a sash, which was blue with orange and white edges. There have not been any presidential insignia, other than the Seal of the Republic, since 1994.

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Provinces

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The unwanted provincial arms (1911-54): Cape Province; Natal; Orange Free State; Transvaal

Provinces — The former colonies became provinces of the Union in 1910. Although the provincial administrations were not the legal succesors of the colonial governments, the Cape, Natal, and OFS provincial administrations nevertheless took over the colonial coats of arms as provincial arms. The Transvaal remained without arms. In 1911, to correct the mistake on the Great Seal, King George V granted provincial arms, consisting of the individual quarters of the national arms, but the government hushed up the grant, and allowed the provinces to continue using their existing arms. When the truth was eventually revealed in the 1930s, all the provinces rejected the granted arms.

The OFS dropped the Orange River Colony arms in 1925, went without arms for twelve years, and then adopted the old OFS republican arms in 1937. The Transvaal adopted a slightly modified version of the old SA Republic arms in 1951. In 1954, the Union government got rid of the unwanted arms by arranging for Queen Elizabeth II to cancel the 1911 grant, and the de facto arms were recorded at the College of Arms in 1955.

South Africa was re-divided into nine provinces in 1994, and coats of arms were designed for the new provinces between 1996 and 2004: Eastern Cape, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga in 1996; Northern (now Limpopo), Northern Cape, and North West in 1997; Western Cape in 1998; Free State in 1999; and KwaZulu-Natal in 2004. Each consists of a shield ensigned of a coronet or some other item, a motto, and animal supporters on a compartment. Seven are on heater-shaped shields, and two on African shields. Six have trees or flowers as the principal charge; and the Cape's traditional anchor and Natal's wildebeest have survived in the new arms.

You'll find the provincial coats of arms here.

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South West Africa

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The former German protectorate of South West Africa was occupied by South African forces during World War I, and administered by South Africa under a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1990. It became the Republic of Namibia in 1990.

The German imperial government was busy preparing official arms for the territory in 1914, but the project was derailed by the outbreak of World War I and the arms - depicting a bull's head, a diamond, and the German imperial eagle - were never finalised. It was not until 1963 that the territorial administration assumed a coat of arms, designed by Dr Coenraad Beyers, which depicted not only the bull, the diamond, and the eagle, but several other charges too.

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Homelands

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During the 1960s and '70s, the Afrikaner nationalist government developed the ten 'native reserves' inside the Republic into self-governing 'national states' (commonly known as 'homelands'), as part of its apartheid system. Four of them - Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei, collectively referred to as the 'TBVC states' - were declared independent republics. All ten homelands were reincorporated into the Republic in 1994.

KwaZulu; Lebowa; QwaQwa

Official arms — All the homelands had official coats of arms. Those of the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Gazankulu, KwaZulu, Lebowa, QwaQwa, and Venda were designed by a team from the Department of Bantu Administration & Development, under Wilhelm Wijenberg, in the early 1970s. Those of KaNgwane (1978) and KwaNdebele (1981) were designed by the Bureau of Heraldry. Apparently the Bureau of Heraldry was annoyed at being excluded from the original project, and while it duly registered the eight arms designed by Wijenberg's team, it refused to issue certificates. Years later, it relented and issued certificates to four homeland governments which asked for them.

The homeland arms firmly established African shields and traditional symbols, in South African heraldry. Seven were depicted on African shields, and three on heater-shaped shields. All had crests (but no helmets or mantling, which have no place in African tradition) and animal supporters. Five had leopards (a symbol of chieftainship) as supporters. Five included bull's heads (a symbol of wealth and prestige), five had agricultural produce, three had flames (symbols of culture and progress).

You'll find the 'TBVC states' (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, Ciskei) arms here.

Seals — As republics, the TBVC states had official seals, each displaying its official coat of arms. The Transkei's (1976) was called a 'Public Seal', while the others' were called 'Seal of the Republic'.

Presidents — The Transkei, Bophuthatswana and Venda presidents wore official sashes, in the colours of their respective flags, displaying their official arms.

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Government departments

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From 1971, most government departments had their own coats of arms, which they used instead of the national arms. The President's Council and two of the three chambers of Parliament also had their own arms in the 1980s, but these fell away in 1994. Each coat of arms comprised shield, crest, and motto. Although the arms were individual, the crests were all differenced versions of the lion crest from the national arms.

The use of departmental arms continued until about 2004, when a new corporate identity policy was introduced that requires all departments to use the national arms.

You'll find a selection of departmental arms here.

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Police

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The South African Police (1913-95), and its successor the SA Police Service (1995- ), make limited use of heraldic devices. A number of divisions and units have arms, which are or were worn as 'shoulder flashes' on the uniform. Many others used pseudo-heraldic devices.

Examples of police heraldry include the arms of the state president's guard (a gold displayed eagle); the regional riot units (which displayed the SAP badge and the unit number); the SAP counter-insurgency unit (a gold rampant lion holding a R-1 rifle); some of the police colleges; and the SAPS Diving Unit, which may be the only South African arms to date to depict a diver's helmet. A few police sports clubs are or were armigerous, the SAP Rugby Club in the town of Upington having one of the few South African arms to feature a camel - no doubt an allusion to the statue in the town in honour of the police camel patrols of the Kalahari desert in the early 20th century.

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Legal protection

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Protection of official arms and symbols against unauthorised use is fairly recent - a century ago, for instance, the Cape Colony's attorney-general stated that 'the right to prohibit the use of the Royal Arms is not sufficiently clear to justify proceedings being instituted' against a firm of lawyers which displayed the arms on its letterhead. It was not until 1941 that the use of the royal arms, and the South African arms and flag, in trademarks, was made an offence under the Merchandise Marks Act. In 1961, the Unauthorised Use of Emblems Act confirmed that the country's change to a republic did not legalise the use of any emblems that had been prohibited before 1961. Proper protection was introduced in 1963, with the Heraldry Act.

The national and provincial coats of arms and the national flag automatically qualify for registration at the Bureau of Heraldry, as the 'full and exclusive property' of the national government and provincial administrations respectively. Anyone who sells, barters, or uses any of them for gain or trade can be prosecuted and, if convicted, fined; alternatively the official body concerned can sue for an interdict and/or damages. This also applies to government department arms, to the arms of the homelands, and to other registered official emblems.

Flag-burning as a form of political protest led to further legislation in the 1980s. The Constitution was amended in 1981 to make it an offence to deface or destroy the national flag, and the Heraldry Act was amended in 1982 to make it an offence to display contempt for the national arms or to hold them up to ridicule. Penalties are heavy fines and/or imprisonment.

The national and provincial arms (both old and current) were registered without being gazetted for objections, but the arms of the homelands and the government departments were advertised in the usual way. You'll find further information about registrations here. Details of arms registered up to early 2001 are available on the Bureau of Heraldry Database on the National Archives website.

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Sources/References

Website: Flags of the World