Bureau of Heraldry (South Africa)

The Bureau of Heraldry is the South African heraldic authority, It was established in Pretoria on 1 June 1963. Headed by a State Herald, its functions are to register arms, badges, flags and seals (as well as names and uniforms), 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 State Archives Service (formerly called the National Archives), which is currently under the authority of the Minister of Arts & Culture.

Related Topics:
Heraldic - 1 June - 1963 - Heraldry Council

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Under South African law, everyone has the right to bear a coat of arms as he pleases, as long as he doesn?t infringe on anyone else's rights in doing so. There is no authority which can grant arms, as there is in, say England and Scotland or Canada. Registration of arms is a voluntary means of recording ownership, to protect arms against misuse or usurpation by others.

Related Topics:
England - Scotland - Canada

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Bureau has taken over the records of names, uniforms and badges (which include some corporate arms) previously registered by the Department of the Interior (1935-1959) and the Department of Education, Arts & Sciences (1959-1963), and the municipal arms previously registered by the provincial administrations (1949-1969). It is not confined to registering arms for South Africans, and over the years it has registered many foreign residents' arms, and even those of an association which exists only in cyberspace. Since 1980, it has been able to register the arms of official bodies in foreign countries.

Related Topics:
1935 - 1959 - 1963 - 1949 - 1969 - 1980

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Originally, applications had to be approved by the Heraldry Council before the Bureau could register them, but the power of approval was delegated to the Bureau in 1969, though the Bureau can still refer applications to the Council (or, since 1980, its Heraldry Committee) when necessary. In 1980, the Bureau was authorised to delete arms from the register, either on an applicant's request or, in the case of official, municipal or corporate arms, if the organisation concerned no longer exists. Appeals against Bureau decisions can be made to the Heraldry Committee.

Related Topics:
1969 - 1980 - Heraldry Committee

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The illustrated blazons of applications for registration are published in the South African Government Gazette. Blazons (but not illustrations) of arms registered at the Bureau and its predecessors up to the end of the year 2000 are available online through the National Archives website.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Naturally, the Bureau is itself armigerous - its arms, adopted in 1965, are Azure, three escutcheons Or, on a chief of the second the South African lion. They are depicted on the seal on each registration certificate and, in the 1960s and early 1970s, they were depicted in full colour at the head of the certificate too.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~