A South African Grant of Arms
A SOUTH AFRICAN GRANT OF ARMS Professor Noel Cox In 1958 the South African Heraldry Society presented a report on heraldry to the South African Government. Partly as a result of this report, the Heraldry Act 1962 (Act 18 of 1962) was passed. This provided for the creation of a Bureau of Heraldry, and a Heraldry Council. The Act provided for the registration and protection of coats of arms, badges, emblems, names, special names and uniforms. The Bureau, based in Pretoria, was established in June 1963, presided over by a State Herald, the first of whom was appointed in 1964. The State Herald, till 2002 Frederick Brownell, Esq., OMSS SM MMM KStJ KLJ CMLJ, and now Marcel van Rossum, is responsible to the Heraldry Council, appointed by the Minister. The Heraldry Committee, which sits periodically, is a technical advisory group drawn from the Heraldry Council. The Heraldry Council is responsible in turn to the Director of Archives, formerly in the Department of National Education, and now in the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. The State Archives Service is now styled the State Archives and Heraldic Services. The State Herald, who has a tabard, which however is not worn, is assisted by a Deputy State Herald, and a Principal Artist. There are several heraldic artists, and clerical assistants. There are generally some 150 grants of arms a year in South Africa, and the Bureau is perhaps the third busiest heraldry authority in the world. The official South African Armorial has been published by the Bureau of Heraldry in the last decade, and records the 2,500 arms registered between 1962 and the beginning of 2002.
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