Image: New Zealand Coat of Arms (9595593076)

Description: In 1908 a competition was held to design the first New Zealand Coat of Arms. Previously New Zealand used the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, but after Dominion status was given in 1907 a new coat of arms was considered to be appropriate. 75 design submissions were entered in the competition, most of which are held at Archives New Zealand. Three designs were selected for final judgement in England, with the winner being James Mcdonald from the Department of Tourism and Health Resorts. On 26 August 1911 a royal warrant was issued for the use of the coat of arms, and McDonald's design was used until 1956. This entry, 'Nostra Patria Nostro Generi', is by an unknown designer and was one of the final three selected. It is representative of the wide variety of imagery and colourful symbolism that characterised the competition entries. As the accompanying notes on the design indicate, it features traditional heraldic imagery of a hippocamp, a lion rampant and a 'sea-lion guardian'. These competition entries form part of the ‘Constitutional Papers’ record group which is comprised of records relating to significant constitutional developments of New Zealand. See more of the designs listed on Archway: archway.archives.govt.nz/SeriesListSectionResults.do?requ... Archives Reference: ACGO 8341 IA9 30/30 52 More information about past and present versions of the New Zealand Coat of Arms can be found at www.teara.govt.nz/en/coat-of-arms For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter twitter.com/ArchivesNZ Material from Archives New Zealand
Title: New Zealand Coat of Arms (9595593076)
Credit: New Zealand Coat of Arms
Author: Archives New Zealand from New Zealand
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes