28 South African heraldry

South African heraldry dates back to the 1650s, inheriting European heraldic traditions. Arms are borne by individuals, official bodies, local authorities, military units, and by a wide variety of organisations. South Africa has had its own heraldic authority since 1963, to provide armigers with legal protection, and to promote high standards of armorial practice.

Charles Davidson Bell FRSE was the Surveyor-General in the Cape Colony, an artist, heraldist, and designer of Cape medals and stamps.

Frederick Gordon Brownell was a South African herald, vexillologist, and genealogist.

The Bureau of Heraldry is the South African heraldic authority, established in Pretoria on 1 June 1963. It is headed by a State Herald and its functions are to register arms, badges, flags and seals, to keep a public register, to issue registration certificates and, since 1980, to advise the government on heraldic matters. Together with the Heraldry Council, it forms part of the National Archives and Records Service, which is currently under the authority of the Minister of Arts & Culture.

The flag of Cape Colony was the official flag of the Cape Colony from 1876 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that was used throughout the British Empire.

The coat of arms of Cape Town is the traditional symbol of the municipality of Cape Town. The original arms from the 20th century are no longer in official use, though no new arms have yet been adopted.

The Johannesburg municipal council assumed a coat of arms in 1907, and had it granted by the College of Arms on 20 August 1907. The design, by W. Sandford Cotterill, consisted only of a shield : Vert, a fess between three battery stamps Or. The motto was Fortiter et recte.

The coat of arms of Namibia is the official heraldic symbol of Namibia. Introduced at the time of independence in 1990, it superseded the earlier coat of arms used by the South African administration of the territory.

The present coat of arms of South Africa was introduced on Freedom Day 27 April 2000 and designed by Mr Iaan Bekker. It replaced the earlier national arms, which had been in use since 1910. The motto is written in the Khoisan language of the ǀXam people and translates literally to "diverse people unite". The previous motto, in Latin, was Ex Unitate Vires, translated as "From unity, strength".

The coat of arms of South Africa between 1910 and 2000 was granted to the Union of South Africa by King George V and later amended by the British College of Arms. It contained representation of the four provinces within the Union. The coat of arms was later retained by the Republic of South Africa for a period until the end of apartheid in 1994. The 1910 coat of arms was replaced in 2000 by a more Africanised coat of arms of South Africa.

The coat of arms of the Cape Colony was the official heraldic symbol of the Cape Colony as a British colony from 1875 to 1910, and as a province of South Africa from 1910 to 1994.

The coat of arms of the Orange Free State was the official heraldic symbol of the Orange Free State as a republic from 1857 to 1902, and later, from 1937 to 1994, as a province of South Africa. It is now obsolete.

The coat of arms of the Transvaal was the official heraldic symbol of the South African Republic from 1866 to 1877 and again from 1881 to 1902, and later the symbol of the Transvaal Province from 1954 to 1994 in a simplified form. It is now obsolete.

The coat of arms of the Western Cape is the official heraldic symbol of the Western Cape province of the Republic of South Africa. It has been in use since 1998.

Ex Unitate Vires is a Latin phrase formerly used as the national motto of South Africa. It was originally translated as "Union is Strength" but was later revised in 1961 to mean "Unity is Strength". Its Dutch version is "Eendracht maakt macht", itself a non-literal translation of "in concordia res parvae crescunt", originally the motto of the Dutch Republic. That translation, along with its French counterpart - "L'Union Fait la Force" - is also the current motto of Belgium. It was adopted in 1910 as the national motto but was replaced in 2000.

The flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of South Africa's 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928.

The flag of South Africa from 1928 to 1994 was originally used by the Union of South Africa from 1928 to 1961 and later the Republic of South Africa until 1994. It was also used in South West Africa until 1990 when the territory was under South African rule. Based on the Dutch Prince's Flag, it contained the flag of the United Kingdom, the flag of the Orange Free State and the flag of the South African Republic in the centre. A nickname for the flag was Oranje, Blanje, Blou.

The flag of Goshen was the official flag of the short-lived South African territory of Goshen from 1883 to 1885. It is currently used in the Cenotaph Hall of the Voortrekker Monument.

The coat of arms of Natal was the official heraldic symbol of Natal as a British colony from 1907 to 1910, and as a province of South Africa from 1910 to 1994. It is now obsolete.

The flag of Natal was the official flag of the South African colony of Natal from 1870 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that were used throughout the British Empire.

The flag of the Natalia Republic was the official flag of this short-lived South African state, which existed from 1839 to 1843.

Since unification in 1910, South Africa has used a range of national symbols to identify the country: coats of arms, official seals, flags, national anthems, and floral, bird, animal, and other emblems.

The flag of the Nieuwe Republiek was the official flag of this short-lived South African state from 1884 to 1888.

The flag of the Orange Free State was officially used from 1857 to 1902. It was superseded by the flag of the Orange River Colony.

The Flag of the Orange River Colony was the official flag of the Orange River Colony in South Africa from 1903 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that was used throughout the British Empire. It was superseded by the Flag of the Union of South Africa.

Two flags were used as the flag of the South African Republic, which existed from 1852 to 1877, 1881 to 1902, and 1914-15: (1) the so-called 'Vierkleur' from 1857 to 1874, and again from 1875 to 1877 and 1881 to 1902, and (2) the so-called 'Burgers Flag' from 1874 to 1875. They were superseded by the flag of Transvaal. The Vierkleur was also used by the South African Republic declared in 1914 during the Maritz Rebellion, which lasted into February 1915.

The flag of Stellaland was the official flag of the short-lived southern African Republic of Stellaland, which existed from 1883 to 1885.

The Flag of Transvaal was the official flag of the Transvaal colony in South Africa from circa 1903 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that was used throughout the British Empire. It was superseded by the flag of the Union of South Africa.