The Republic of South Africa is the successor to more than two dozen former British colonies, Boer republics, and African kingdoms and "homelands". Many of those former territories had official arms and other symbols.

Arms
Since the mid-19th century, most of the colonies and republics in southern Africa have had official coats of arms. The Boer republics were the first to adopt them, in the 1850s. They were followed by the British colonies, from the 1870s onwards, and by the Union of South Africa that was formed in 1910 and became a republic in 1961. The colonial arms continued after Union as provincial arms. The self-governing African homelands that were created in the 1960s and '70s all adopted official arms.

As a result of the reconstitution of South Africa in 1994, all the pre-1994 arms have been superseded by new national and provincial arms.

Emblems
The Republic of South Africa's official emblems are the springbok, the protea flower, the blue crane bird, the galjoen fish, and the yellowwood tree. The first three are also used as heraldic charges and supporters.

As an heraldic charge, the protea is probably the most widely used of these symbols. Its earliest appearance seems to have been in the arms of Sir George Albu (1912). In the mid-1970s, the Bureau of Heraldry created some specific designs, exclusively for government use. They included an open flower, as seen from above, and a hybrid protea/fleur de lis. A protea cross was also designed, but does not appear ever to have been used. A protea-inspired line of partition was introduced in 1984.

Flags
The Dutch and British colonies flew the flags of their parent countries. In the 1860s, the British government introduced flag badges to distinguish individual territories, and in due course the South African colonies adopted them. The Cape's was armorial, while the others' were pictorial. The 19th-century Boer republics, beginning with Natalia (1838-42) had their own national flags, which became obsolete in 1902.

The Union of South Africa used the Union Jack until 1957. From 1928, there was also a national flag, which became the sole official flag in 1957. It was replaced by the present design in 1994.

The ten self-governing African homelands inside South Africa had their own flags, which were adopted in the 1970s. They became obsolete in 1994.

You'll find a detailed discussion and illustrations on the Flags of the World website.

Gubernatorial and Presidential Insignia
The governors of the British colonies and, until 1930, the governor-general of the Union, flew the Union Jack with the flag badge in the centre as their official ensign. From 1931 to 1961, the governor-general had a blue flag which displayed the British royal crest between two golden scrolls bearing the name of the country in English and Afrikaans respectively.

Some of the 19th-century Boer republican presidents wore sashes of office, in their national colours, with their national arms embroidered on them. This practice was revived in 1961 for the state president of the Republic of South Africa, and was discontinued in 1984. The presidential emblem consisted of the 1932 "embellished" rendition of the national arms with the letters SP above. It was also displayed on the presidential flag, which was blue (1961-85) or orange/ white/ blue (1984-94).

The presidents of the "independent" homelands of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei, also wore sashes of office.

There haven't been any presidential insigna since 1994. However, on his stationery the president now displays the national arms, embellished with gold foil, encircled by a frame inscribed president • republic of south africa.

Seals
The 19th-century colonies and republics all had official seals, many of which displayed their official arms. The Cape Colony, for instance, had four successive Public Seals: a pictorial seal depicting ships in Table Bay (1827), one depicting the British royal arms and the Table Bay scene (1839), one depicting the royal and colonial arms (1877), and one depicting the colonial arms alone (1904).

The Union of South Africa initially had the Great Seal of the Union (1910), which displayed the royal arms surrounded by shields bearing the provincial emblems from the Union arms. It was replaced in 1937 by the Governor-General's Seal, which displayed the shield of the Union arms and two protea flowers. From 1934 to 1961, there were also the double-sided Royal Great Seal of the Union (with an effigy of the reigning monarch on one side and the Union arms on the other), and the Royal Signet of the Union, which depicted the Union arms.

The Seal of the Republic, introduced in 1961, displayed the 1930 rendition of the national arms. It has been superseded by a new design which, presumably, displays the new national arms introduced in 2000.

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn