The Coat of Arms for the City of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Was designed and adopted by the Christchurch City Council in 1949. A coat of arms is broken down into these things: A Crest, Torse, Escutcheon, Supporters, Compartment and a Motto. So, ready for the break down of this crest for the us common men and gals? Here we go:
* Our Crest is the Kiwi, the country’s national emblem. The Kiwi appears to be standing on what is called the Helm or Helmet. Christchurch’s Helmet is closed faced which means its a Coat of Arms of Commoners or Peasants. As our Helm has arms or Torse, it is acknowledging ‘the taking up of arms” by commoners in the British past.
* The Torse is blue and gold.
* The Escutcheon is the main shield that holds the two main bars: On the blue bar is four Lymphads that represents the first four ships: The Charlotte Jane, The Randolph, The Sir George Seymour and The Cressy.
The red bar holds the Mitre, the Fleece and Garb which basically is:
– The Mitre is the Bishops hat in the middle that shows Christchurch was a Church of England Settlement.
– The Fleece and Garb on either side shows Christchurch’s main trade: diary/meat and crops.
– The two wavy blue lines at the bottom are our two rivers, the Avon and the Heathcote.
* The Supporters are two Pukekos who are found to live in the swamps of Christchurch. Also known as Swamp Hens.
* The Compartment is the Flowers, Grass and Celmesias at the foot of the shield.
* Our Motto is “Fide Condita Fructu Beata Spe Fortis”
In English “Founded in Faith, Rich in the Fulfillment thereof, Strong in Hope for the Future.”
“Fructu Beata” also translates into “Rich in the Fruit of Earth” or “Rich in the Fruits of her Industry”
