The coat of arms of Natal was the official heraldic symbol of

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

as a

British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

from 1907 to 1910, and as a province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

from 1910 to 1994. It is now obsolete.

History

As a British colony, Natal's first official symbol was a Public Seal, authorised by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1846, and also used as a flag badge from 1870. The Royal Warrant is in the Western Cape Archives: reference GH 1/177. Leverton, B.J. (1962). 'The Origin of the Natal Coat of Arms' in ''Lantern'' (September 1962) Brownell, F.G. (1993). ''National and Provincial Symbols'' The seal was of a standard pattern which first came into use on the Great Seal of Newfoundland in 1839 and was described as follows: "Within a Chippendale-type frame, a on plain, two Wildebeest in full course at random (to sinister), with the words COLONY OF NATAL beneath the frame. The frame itself is ensigned with the Royal Arms and around the circumference appears the legend VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIAR. REG. F.D." It depicted the British royal coat of arms in the upper half; in the lower half was an ornamental frame enclosing a scene of two

wildebeest Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toe ...

(gnu) galloping across a plain. The wildebeest became the popular symbol of Natal, and when the government decided in 1905 to obtain an official coat of arms, the wildebeest was an obvious choice for the design. The arms, designed by G. Ambrose Lee, the

York Herald York Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms. The first York Herald is believed to have been an officer to Edmund of Langley, Duke of York around the year 1385, but the first completely reliable reference to such a ...

at the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, were granted by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

by Royal Warrant on 16 May 1907. HMSO (1910). ''Flags, Badges and Arms of the British Dominions beyond the Seas'' After Natal became a province of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

in 1910, the provincial administration took over the arms. They were used as provincial arms until Natal was reconstituted as

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

in 1994.

Blazon

In their original form, as used by the colonial government, the Arms of 1907 consisted only of a shield, blazoned as follows:

Azure, in front of mountains and on a plain two black wildebeesten in full course at random all proper.

The provincial administration embellished the arms by placing an imperial crown (so-called '

Tudor crown The Tudor Crown, also known as Henry VIII's Crown, was the imperial and state crown of English monarchs from around the time of Henry VIII until it was destroyed during the Civil War in 1649. It was described by the art historian Sir Roy St ...

') above the shield, and a riband inscribed 'Natal' below it. New artwork, introduced in 1930, altered details of the crown, by replacing the fleurs de lis with crosses and omitting the pearls from the transverse arch. This version appeared on the province's ''Official Gazette'' and other publications.Natal ''Official Gazette'' 1142 (8 May 1930) onwards. The arms were recorded in this form at the

in July 1955, and registered at the

Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...

in January 1969.Bureau of Heraldry
{dead link, date=November 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes .

References

* Brownell, F.G. (1993). ''National and Provincial Symbols''. * Leverton, B.J. (1962). 'The Origin of the Natal Coat of Arms' in ''Lantern'' (September 1962). * Pama, C. (1965). ''Lions and Virgins''.

External links

South African Heraldry Website

Colony of Natal

History

Blazon

See also

References

External links