Cape Colony, 1876

Around 1868, a colonial coat of arms for the Cape of Good Hope was proposed. It featured a red shield with three gold rings (annulets) - the personal emblem of Jan van Riebeek, the Dutch founder of the Cape Colony. Between the rings was the rampant lion of Batavia and above it a white panel with three roundels, each charged with a fleur-de-lis, possibly representing the French Huguenots who settled there. The figure of Hope was on top, and the shield was supported by a gnu (wildebeest) and a gemsbok. A scroll had the motto “Spes Bona”, Latin for ‘Good Hope’. In 1875 the local government adopted the arms, placed on a white disk, on a Blue Ensign flag. However, the arms were only officially approved on 29 May 1876, and the flag was made official.