Other Authorities: Pre-2000

In addition to the city and town councils, there were rural authorities and, from the 1970s to the '90s, councils to administer the African townships on the fringes of the White municipalities. Several dozen of them were armigerous.

Black Local Authorities
A few dozen of the 262 local authorities which were set up in the 1970s and '80s to administer the African townships on the fringes of the White-run cities and towns were armigerous. Their arms didn't follow any particular pattern, and few made use of any African symbols. As these authorities were abolished in 1996, their arms are now obsolete.

Perhaps the best-known was Soweto, now part of Johannesburg, whose arms were Per fess enarched Argent and Gules, in chief nine spearheads issuant conjoined Sable, in base, on a cogwheel Argent, an ogress charged with a heart Or voided of a trefoil inverted Sable (BoH 1981). The spears represented the nine major African nations in Soweto, and the heart indicated that it was "the heart of the greatest concentration of African people in South Africa".

Simpler were the arms of Khayalethu South, now part of Knysna, which no doubt alluded to local landscape and architecture: Per fess firtree-topped Argent and Vert, at honour point a billet Sable; a chief nowy of a Karoo gable Azure (BoH 1990).

Divisional Councils
Many of the 100-odd rural divisional councils which existed in the Cape from 1855 until the 1980s, were armigerous. About three dozen registered arms at the Bureau of Heraldry - all are now obsolete. Local flora and fauna, livestock, and agricultural produce, were favoured charges.

The largest was the Divisional Council of the Cape (Cape Town), whose arms alluded to public works, local viticulture, and nature reserves: Tierced in pall reversed, I Gules a trowel Argent handle to chief Or; II Or a bunch of grapes slipped and leaved proper; III barry wavy of eight Argent and Azure, a heron proper (CPA 1968).

The Divisional Council of Dias arms alluded to the 15th-century Portuguese navigator Bartolommeo Dias who erected armorial beacons (padraos) along the Cape coast: Vert, a padrao Argent; on a chief Argent three escutcheons Sable, each charged with five balls of twine in saltire Argent (BoH 1979).

Those of the Divisional Council of Swellendam featured the fleur de lis from the arms of 18th-century governor Hendrik Swellengrebel, who founded the district: Per pale Azure and Or, a fleur de lis and in chief two six-pointed stars counterchanged (BoH 1975).

In the arms of the Divisional Council of Worcester (later Matroosberg) a traditional ordinary - the bend - was twisted to form the initial letter of the name: Vert, a bend dancetty Argent in the shape of a letter W between two bezants (BoH 1974).

Regional Services Councils
In the mid-1980s, the government established about four dozen regional services councils (called "joint services boards" in Natal) across the country. Three dozen registered arms, for which the Bureau devised a standard format of a shield alluding to the region, ensigned of a triple-towered metal mural crown, and supported by two birds.

The Northern Free State RSC's arms (BoH 1991) alluded to coal-mining, using the metaphor of the "black diamond": Or, a fess wavy per fess wavy Gules and Azure the upper edge rayonné charged with a barrulet wavy Argent, in base four lozenges in cross Sable.

Rustenburg-Marico RSC's arms alluded to agriculture as well as to mining, and bore some resemblance to those of a local platinum mining corporation: Azure, a bull's head caboshed Or armed Argent, on a chief sawtoothed Argent three fillet annulets each within an annulet stoned Azure (BoH 1991).

The arms of the Thukela JSB (BoH 1992) presumably represented the Thukela (a.k.a. Tugela) River flowing through the green hills of Natal: Vert, a fess wavy Argent charged with another Azure, a chief dancetty Or.

Cape Dutch wine farms inspired the design of the Western Cape RSC arms: Per fess nowy Argent and Gules, a bunch of grapes slipped and leaved Or; a chief enhanced nowy gably Azure (BoH 1988). Blue and white are the traditional Cape colours.

Some of the RSC arms are still in use, as the arms of district municipalities.

Urban Councils (Bophuthatswana)
A dozen of these authorities in the Bophuthatswana homeland registered arms in 1992-93. They were characterised by simple designs, and by metal mural crowns with spearheads issuant from the battlements. As these councils no longer exist, their arms are obsolete.

The Monnakato Urban Council, for instance, had arms suggesting a landscape: Or, a barrulet dancetty surmounted by a pile inverted Vert charged with a hut Argent; a chief dancetty Gules (BoH 1993).

The arms of the Thlabane Urban Council depicted traditional Tswana weapons: Per chevron enhanced Sable and Gules, a chevron enhanced tierced Or Sable and Argent, in base two battle-axes addorsed erect also Argent (BoH 1993)

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn