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Coat of arms of Australia
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Coat of arms of Australia
The coat of arms of Australia, officially the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, is a formal symbol of the Commonwealth of Australia. It depicts a shield, containing symbols of Australia's six states, and is held up by native Australian animals, the kangaroo and the emu. The seven-pointed Commonwealth Star surmounting the crest also represents the states and territories, while golden wattle, the national floral emblem, appears below the shield.
The first arms were authorised by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908, and the current version by King George V on 19 September 1912, although the 1908 version continued to be used in some contexts, notably appearing on the reverse of the sixpenny coin.
The escutcheon (central shield) is the focal point of the coat of arms, and contains six quarters, each containing a representation of the badge of an Australian state. The whole shield is surrounded by an ermine border, which both symbolises the "encompassing authority of the Australian crown" and makes the shield a single device, instead of a collection of separate emblems. Historian Bruce Baskerville suggests the arms reflect the preamble of the Australian Constitution:
The people of each state are signified by their state badges, the federation established under the constitution by the equal distribution of the quarters, and the crown by the ermine border. The public authority represented by the arms symbolises the intangible, but limited, public authority of the Commonwealth and its vesting in a sort of mystical fusion of people, crown and constitution.
In the top half, from left to right, the states represented are New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. In the bottom half, from left to right: South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania.
Above the shield is the seven-pointed Commonwealth Star or Star of Federation above a blue and gold wreath, forming the crest. Six of the points on the star represent the original six states, while the seventh point represents the territories.
The red kangaroo and emu that support the shield have never been designated as official animal emblems of the nation. They owe their unofficial recognition to the fact that they are endemic Australian fauna (found only on that continent), and likely chosen because they are the most well-known native Australian animals large enough to be positioned together in scale holding up the shield. They symbolise progress and the nation moving forward as neither animal can easily walk backwards. Director of the Parliament House Art Collection, Justine Van Mourik has claimed that the kangaroo is, and must be seen to be, male, and this requirement led to an interpretation by John Coburn of the coat of arms for Parliament House to be rejected.
In the background is a wreath of golden wattle, the official national floral emblem, though the representation of the species is not botanically accurate. At the bottom is a scroll that contains the name of the nation. While almost always depicted, these elements are technically optional artistic flourishes as they are not described in the royal warrant for the arms.
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Coat of arms of Australia
The coat of arms of Australia, officially the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, is a formal symbol of the Commonwealth of Australia. It depicts a shield, containing symbols of Australia's six states, and is held up by native Australian animals, the kangaroo and the emu. The seven-pointed Commonwealth Star surmounting the crest also represents the states and territories, while golden wattle, the national floral emblem, appears below the shield.
The first arms were authorised by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908, and the current version by King George V on 19 September 1912, although the 1908 version continued to be used in some contexts, notably appearing on the reverse of the sixpenny coin.
The escutcheon (central shield) is the focal point of the coat of arms, and contains six quarters, each containing a representation of the badge of an Australian state. The whole shield is surrounded by an ermine border, which both symbolises the "encompassing authority of the Australian crown" and makes the shield a single device, instead of a collection of separate emblems. Historian Bruce Baskerville suggests the arms reflect the preamble of the Australian Constitution:
The people of each state are signified by their state badges, the federation established under the constitution by the equal distribution of the quarters, and the crown by the ermine border. The public authority represented by the arms symbolises the intangible, but limited, public authority of the Commonwealth and its vesting in a sort of mystical fusion of people, crown and constitution.
In the top half, from left to right, the states represented are New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. In the bottom half, from left to right: South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania.
Above the shield is the seven-pointed Commonwealth Star or Star of Federation above a blue and gold wreath, forming the crest. Six of the points on the star represent the original six states, while the seventh point represents the territories.
The red kangaroo and emu that support the shield have never been designated as official animal emblems of the nation. They owe their unofficial recognition to the fact that they are endemic Australian fauna (found only on that continent), and likely chosen because they are the most well-known native Australian animals large enough to be positioned together in scale holding up the shield. They symbolise progress and the nation moving forward as neither animal can easily walk backwards. Director of the Parliament House Art Collection, Justine Van Mourik has claimed that the kangaroo is, and must be seen to be, male, and this requirement led to an interpretation by John Coburn of the coat of arms for Parliament House to be rejected.
In the background is a wreath of golden wattle, the official national floral emblem, though the representation of the species is not botanically accurate. At the bottom is a scroll that contains the name of the nation. While almost always depicted, these elements are technically optional artistic flourishes as they are not described in the royal warrant for the arms.
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