Until the 1960s, government departments and agencies used the national arms. From the mid-1960s until the early 2000s, many of them had their own arms, which they displayed together with, or instead of, the arms of the Republic. In line with modern corporate branding practices, departments once again bear the national arms.

Presidential Grants
The first official bodies to have their own arms were the State Archives and the Bureau of Heraldry (both then agencies of the Department of Education, Arts & Sciences), whose arms were granted by President Charles Swart in 1965.

The State Archives arms were Per chevron ployé Gules and Argent, dexter three volumes of archival documents 2 and 1 Or, sinister a representation of the gateway of the Castle of Good Hope Argent, in base three keys wards upward and to dexter 1 and 2 Sable. They resemble the earlier arms of the Society of Archivists.

Those of the Bureau of Heraldry are: Azure, three escutcheons Or; on a chief of the second the South African lion Gules. The lion was taken from the crest of the old (1910-2000) national coat of arms. Were gold and blue, which are also the Swedish colours, chosen because the Bureau was modeled on the Swedish heraldic authority?

State Departments
Between 1971 and 1997, most of the government departments assumed arms, all with a variant of the South African lion as crest. Generally, the arms alluded to the functions of the departments, as the following selection shows.

Those of the Department of Finance (BoH 1989) depicted the traditional symbol of money: Azure, three barrulets couped Argent surmounted by six bezants 3,2 and 1; a chief invected of four Argent the three points each ensigned of a protea leaved Azure. The protea-topped chief was introduced by the Bureau a few years earlier.

The Department of Justice was the first to assume departmental arms (BoH 1971): Per pale Sable and Or, a sword erect balancing a scale counterchanged. Both the sword and the scales are traditional symbols of justice.

The arms of the Department of Sport & Recreation (BoH 1979) had an Olympic theme, even though South Africa was excluded from the games at the time: Vert, a classical Grecian pillar supporting an Olympic bowl issuant therefrom a flame in the form of a protea flowerhead all Argent.

The Department of State Expenditure (BoH 1992) chose the accountant's pen: Per chevron Gules and Azure, a chevron rompu Argent, in base two quill pens addorsed erect Or. This is one of the few South African examples of the chevron rompu.

The arms of the Department of Water Affairs (BoH 1985) incorporated the "Water Year" emblem from the early 1970s: Per pale ondoyant to sinister in chief and to dexter in base Argent and Azure, dexter two pairs of stylised leaves conjoined at the base Vert and ensigned of a gutta Azure.

The SA Secret Service arms (BoH 1997) used the compass rose, which has become a symbol of intelligence-gathering: Per fess enhanced fir-twigged of three and a pale per chevron in base counterchanged Argent and Vert, in base a compass rose faceted Gules and Sable the pointer flory the outer petals Gules and the central petal Sable. Was the fir-twigged line, being of foreign origin, chosen because the SASS deals with external intelligence?

Departmental arms are no longer used. Current government corporate identity guidelines require departments to use the national arms, and their names or initials, in specific formats and colour schemes.

Parliament
In the 1960s, Parliament adopted an emblem consisting of the shield and crest of the national arms with the Black Rod of the Senate and the mace of the House of Assembly. A completely new emblem was adopted in 2007.

The Senate was replaced in 1980 by the President's Council, which assumed its own arms (BoH 1981): Quarterly Azure and Argent, a roundel gyronny of twelve Gules and Or, bounded by an annulet quarterly Azure and Argent with twelve triangular rays issuant, alternately Or and Gules, the whole within another annulet counterchanged.

In 1984, Parliament was reorganised into three racially exclusive chambers, each with its own administration and departments to look after its race group's "own affairs". Two adopted their own arms.

Those of the Administration: House of Assembly for Whites (BoH 1987) used the national colours and the Cape Dutch gable: Per fess enarched Argent and Azure, a mascle embowed the points gably Argent; a chief nowy of a gable Orange. Each directorate within the administration had its own version of the arms, with a different charge instead of the mascle.

The arms of the Administration: House of Delegates for Indians (BoH 1987) were Per fess of a trimount Sable and Vert, a trimounted fess and in base a lotus flower Argent. Its departments didn't register individual arms. These arms, and those of the House of Assembly and the President's Council, became obsolete when South Africa was reconstituted as a democratic state in 1994.

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn