The coat of arms of the Orange River Colony was the official heraldic symbol of the
Orange River Colony
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...
as a British colony from 1904 to 1910, and then of the
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...
province of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
from 1910 to 1925. It is now obsolete.
History
The
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...
republic became a British colony at the end of the
Anglo-Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
in May 1902. The
republic's official arms were discontinued, and on 10 December 1904, by Royal Warrant,
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
granted a new coat of arms to the colony. The
springbok
The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...
was chosen as the principal charge in the arms. Although it had made its appearance in heraldry nearly thirty years earlier (in the crest of the arms granted to Edward Randles of Port Natal in 1875), this appears to have been the first time that the animal was used as a charge on a shield.
[Pama, C. (1965). ''Lions and Virgins'']
[Brownell, F.G. (1993). ''National and Provincial Symbols'']
When the colony became a province of the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
in 1910, the provincial administration took over the arms, which it used until 1925. In 1937, after a twelve-year period without official arms, the provincial administration adopted the old
republican arms, which were used as the provincial arms until the Orange Free State was reconstituted as the
Free State Province
The Free State ( ; ; ; ; ), formerly known as the Orange Free State, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orang ...
in 1994.
Blazon
The official blazon is:
Argent, on a mound a springbuck and on a chief Azure the Imperial Crown all proper.
See also
*
Coat of arms of the Cape Colony
*
Coat of arms of Natal
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.
History
As a British colony, Natal's first official symbol was a P ...
*
Coat of arms of the Orange Free State
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.
History
The Orange Free State ...
*
Coat of arms of South Africa
The coat of arms of South Africa is the main heraldic insignia of South Africa. The present coat of arms was introduced on Freedom Day (South Africa), Freedom Day, 27 April 2000, and was designed by Iaan Bekker. It replaced #1910 arms, the ear ...
*
Coat of arms of the Transvaal
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 obsol ...
*
South African heraldry
South African heraldry dates back to the 1650s, inheriting European (especially Dutch heraldry, Dutch and English heraldry, British) heraldry, heraldic traditions. Arms are borne by individuals, official bodies, local authorities, military unit ...
References
* Brownell, F.G. (1993). ''National and Provincial Symbols''.
* His Majesty's stationery Office (1910). ''Flags, Badges and Arms of the British Dominions Beyond the Seas''.
* Pama, C. (1965). ''Lions and Virgins''.
External links
South African Heraldry Website
Orange River Colony
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...
South African heraldry
Orange River Colony
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...
Orange River Colony
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...