Coat of arms of Australia: photo, meaning, description
Coat of arms of Australia
Since at one time these distant lands were under the protectorate of Great Britain, the coat of arms of Australia could not have been born without the participation of English monarchs. It is officially believed that the country received the first main symbol thanks to the grace of King Edward VII, and this happened back in 1908.
And in 1912, the country was granted a new coat of arms, this time by King George V, although the old one continued «be used» another fifty years, in particular, it was printed on sixpence, local change coins.
Brief description of the coat of arms of the Commonwealth
Since Australia is an equal union of states, of which there are only six, this could not but be reflected in the image of the coat of arms. It is a shield divided into six parts, each of which contains the coat of arms of a particular state..
Above the shield is the so-called «Commonwealth Star», it has seven rays, six of them symbolize the states, and the seventh, as it were, represents Australia and its territories. This element is located above the windbreak, which is a popular heraldic element. On the Australian coat of arms, it is done in the primary colors, gold and blue..
In its original meaning, a windbreak is a cloth roller that was worn over a knight's helmet and softened the blows in battle. The later appearance of this element on the shield meant that the knight was a real warrior, since he took part in battles..
The main animals on the coat of arms of Australia
The shield is supported by a large red kangaroo and emu, it is understandable without explanation why these representatives of the fauna were chosen to be depicted on the coat of arms. Both kangaroo and emu are found in wildlife only on this continent. In a figurative sense, they are the indigenous people of the country..
There is another symbolic explanation why the choice fell on these animals. It is believed that they can only move forward (a symbolic movement of the country forward), although biologists say that both emus and kangaroos can move backward, but only very rarely resort to this method of movement.
Unofficial parts of the coat of arms
The main symbol is considered only a shield with the coats of arms of the states. But in its full version, the shield is located against the background of acacia, supported by animals that correspond to the main motto: «Go Australia!», although if translated literally, the phrase sounds a little different - «Australia, improve». This motto and base are also not part of the official coat of arms..