Heraldry Authorities

SINCE 1814, a variety of official bodies in the United Kingdom and South Africa have been involved with South African heraldry in one way or another.

British authorities

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From 13 August 1814 to 31 May 1961, South Africa was partly or wholly within the British Empire and its successor, the British Commonwealth of Nations. This gave South Africans access to the British heraldic authorities and, even though South Africa's Roman-Dutch law did not require official British recognition of coats of arms, scores of individuals, associations, institutions, municipalities, and governments, obtained grants of arms from them. Since 1961, both the English and Scottish authorities have continued to grant arms, occasionally, to individual South Africans of British descent, or in connection with appointments to the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

You'll find a list of British grants of coats of arms here.

College of Arms (England) — England's heraldry authority grants coats of arms to 'eminent gentlemen' and to corporate bodies. The majority of British grants of arms to South Africans came from the College, the first being Sir Jan Truter's in 1837.

From its inception in 1953, until 1961, the Heraldry Society of South Africa acted as an unofficial channel to the College of Arms.

Lord Lyon (Scotland) — In Scotland, it is illegal to bear a coat of arms unless it has been granted or recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, and recorded in the Lyon Register. Only people who are 'virtuous and well deserving' qualify for grants of arms. A number of Scottish South Africans have obtained grants, or matriculated paternal arms, over the years, the first being David Tennant in 1872.

Ulster Office (Ireland) — The Ulster Office was Ireland's heraldry authority until 1943. Since then, the College of Arms has been the authority for Northern Ireland, and the Irish republic has had its own Chief Herald. A number of Irish South Africans obtained grants from the Ulster Office, or had their existing arms confirmed. The first appears to have been Robert Allen in 1901.

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South African authorities 1919-63

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Before the Bureau of Heraldry was established, various government departments dealt with heraldic matters in South Africa.

State Archives — From its inception in 1919, until the 1950s, the Union (later State) Archives - and in particular chief archivists C. Graham Botha and Dr Coenraad Beyers - dealt with many enquiries concerning heraldry. In the 1950s, the Archives regularly advised municipalities on heraldic matters, and occasionally designed coats of arms and flags for official bodies.

Department of the Interior — From 1935 to 1959, the Department of the Interior registered the 'badges' (which could include coats of arms) of schools, clubs, and other associations and institutions under the Protection of Names, Uniforms and Badges Act. The purpose was to protect the badges against unauthorised use, and heraldic correctness was not required.

Provincial administrations — From 1949 (Natal), 1951 (Transvaal), and 1953 (Cape and Orange Free State) to 1963, the respective provincial administrations gave municipalities legal protection of their coats of arms by publishing notices in the provincial Official Gazettes.

Malan Committee — In 1951, the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SA Academy for Science and Art) appointed a committee to investigate the state of heraldry in South Africa. The committee, comprising Prof Gabriel Malan, Dr Coenraad Beyers, and architects Frederick Masey, Gerhard Moerdyk, and Prof Geoffrey Pearse, recommended that the State Archives should establish a heraldry division to give direction and encourage good heraldic practice.

Pelzer Committee — In 1956, the Department of Education, Arts & Sciences (which was responsible for the Archives) appointed a committee to report on the legal, financial, organisational, and other requirements for the proposed heraldry authority. The committee, comprising Prof Adriaan Pelzer, Dr Beyers, Capt Hein du Toit of the defence force, and Cornelis Pama, recommended following the Swedish model.

Department of Education, Arts & Sciences: Heraldry Section — In 1959, the Department of Education, Arts & Sciences established a Heraldry Section, under Dr Beyers, to take over the registration of associations' and institutions' names, uniforms, and badges from the Department of the Interior, and to manage official heraldry. Inter alia, it devised the official coat of arms for the SA-administered territory of South West Africa, and drafted the legislation to establish the proposed heraldry authority. This was passed in 1962, as the Heraldry Act.

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Bureau of Heraldry and Heraldry Council

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Heraldry Council Chairman

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Hon Victor Hiemstra 1963-84
Lt Gen Hein du Toit 1984-95
Prof Deon Fourie 1995-98
Prof Themba Msimang 1998-

State Herald/
National Herald

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Dr Coenraad Beyers 1963-64
Norden Hartman 1964-82
Frederick Brownell 1982-2002
Themba Mabaso 2002-

Assistant State Herald/
Deputy National Herald

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Frederick Brownell 1977-82
Daniel de Waal 1983-95
Marcel van Rossum 1996-

The Bureau of Heraldry and the Heraldry Council have been South Africa's heraldry authorities since June 1963. They form an autonomous part of the State (now National) Archives, and operate under the Heraldry Act 1962.

Organisation — The Bureau, which replaced the Department of Education, Arts & Sciences' heraldry section, originally consisted of a State Herald, a senior professional officer, and an administrative assistant. An art department was built up after the appointment of the first artist in 1965. The Senior Professional Officer was replaced by an Assistant State Herald in 1977.

The Council comprises a chairman and members appointed by the responsible minister, with the State Herald ex officio as vice-chairman. Council members include heraldists, the head of the State Archives, an artist, historians, a judge (until the mid-1990s) and specialists in African languages and culture (since the mid-1990s). The Assistant State Herald acts ex officio as Council secretary.

Marcel van Rossum (Deputy National Herald) and Themba Mabaso (National Herald) in their tabards

The titles 'State Herald' and 'Assistant State Herald' were changed to 'National Herald' and 'Deputy National Herald' in 2004. Around that time, the Bureau was divided into two sections: heritage promotion (apparently under the National Herald) and creative (under the Deputy National Herald). Official titles seem to be flexible, as the National Herald is also described as the 'Director of the Bureau of Heraldry', and the DNH as the 'Deputy Director of Design & Registration', while 'State Herald' is still used in the Heraldry Act and in notices published in the Government Gazette.

In Europe, heralds traditionally wear tabards displaying the arms of the monarch or state whom they serve. A tabard of the old South African coat of arms was made but, reportedly, not actually worn. Tabards of the new South African arms were made for the National Herald and Deputy National Herald to wear at the International Congress of Genealogical & Heraldic Sciences in 2006.

Ministerial responsibility for the Archives and the Bureau has changed several times over the years: Education, Arts & Sciences until 1968; Cultural Affairs 1968-70; National Education 1970-94; Arts, Culture, Science & Technology 1994-2002; Arts & Culture 2002- .

Bureau arms

Herald's baton

President Swart granted an official coat of arms to the Bureau in 1965: Azure, three escutcheons Or; on a chief of the second the South African lion Gules. Since 1966, Heraldry Council members, including the State Herald, have been displayed crossed herald's batons behind their personal arms, while holding office. Similar batons are displayed behind the full achievement of the Bureau's arms. Reportedly, at least one State Herald marshalled the Bureau arms with his own while holding office.

Functions — The Council's original functions were to advise the minister and the provincial administrators on heraldic matters; to approve coats of arms submitted for registration; to consider any appeals against the State Herald's decisions; and to consider objections from the public to the registration of particular arms. The Bureau's role was to receive applications, submit them to the Council's Coat of Arms Committee and then to the full Council; to advertise applications in the Government Gazette for objections; to register those arms approved by the Council; and to issue registration certificates.

This process was cumbersome, and in the case of municipal coats of arms, which were granted or gazetted provincially before being registered, it was even more so, as applications had to be referred to and from the provincial administrations as well. The Act was therefore amended in 1969 to streamline the whole system.

Since 1969, the State Herald has approved applications for registration, and the Council's primary role has been to determine policy for him to follow. The Coat of Arms Committee was replaced by a Heraldry Committee, to assist the State Herald with matters which he refers to it. Until 1984, the Council continued to deal with objections to individual registrations, but since then this has been delegated to the Heraldry Committee. The Council deals with appeals against Committee decisions.

A mission statement was adopted in the late 1990s: 'To provide a relevant and efficient heraldic and related service to the people of South Africa.'

Since the early 2000s, the Bureau has been included in the government's programme of 'heritage transformation'. It has been given various objectives, such as developing 'new heraldic idioms' which reflect the country's African heritage, and promoting the national flag through the 'Flag in Every School' project. The mission statement now reads: 'To promote social cohesion through the design of heraldic symbols and popularisation of national symbols.' Since 2005, the chairman of the Council has been an ex officio member of the National Heritage Council.

A recently released report on heritage-related laws has recommended replacing the Heraldry Act with legislation that will protect African cultural symbols as well as European-style heraldry, and reforming the heraldry authority accordingly. It thus appears that the organisation and functions, and possibly names, of the Bureau and the Council may be changed within the next few years.

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Commission on National Symbols

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This was established in 1993, to produce a new national flag, coat of arms, and anthem for the 'new South Africa' which was established in 1994. Members included State Herald Fred Brownell, Assistant State Herald Daniel de Waal, Heraldry Council members Lt Gen Hein du Toit and Prof Themba Msimang, and Dr Cor Pama. The commission failed to fulfil its mandate - a separate committee was formed to produce a flag (which was designed by Brownell), and the existing national coat of arms and anthem were retained as an interim measure.

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Sources/References