History
Following the federation of Australia, the first official coat of arms of Australia was granted by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908. The original design is thought to have been inspired by the 1805 Bowman Flag, which showed a coat of arms of the rose, shamrock and thistle supported by a kangaroo and emu.
It consisted of a shield in the centre, the seven pointed star on a wreath as the crest above it, and a Kangaroo and an Emu supporting the shield, all on a bed of green grass with a scroll containing the motto "Advance Australia". The selection of the kangaroo, the Emu and the words, "Advance Australia" was tied together symbolically. The shield had a white background, with a red cross of Saint George, blue lines outside the cross, and a blue border containing six inescutcheons featuring a red chevron on white, representing the six states. The Scottish Patriotic Association was vocally opposed to the shield's design, noting that it should display the Union Flag to represent British and Irish settlers. These arms were used by the government and appeared on the sixpence coin from 1910 until 1963, and the threepence, shilling and florin from 1910 to 1936.
Six-private division of a board designates administrative division of Australia — in each part the emblem of one of six Australian states is presented
The 1908 arms were redesigned in 1911, and officially granted by George V on 19 September 1912. The redesign of the coat of arms spurred much debate in the Parliament. The Member for Wentworth, Willie Kelly, said:
"The emu and kangaroo are so built that they hardly fit into the heraldic atmosphere, and I think we make ourselves ridiculous when we endeavour to carry on the traditions of the Old World with some of the wild creations of our Australian fauna."
Despite objections, the kangaroo and emu remained the shield bearers in the new coat of arms and were modified to appear more realistic. The principal reason for the redesign was to address concerns that Australia's states were not individually represented; this was achieved by showing each state's badge on the shield. The 1912 coat of arms removed the bed of grass that was beneath the shield and changed the scroll to read simply "Australia". The colours in the wreath were also changed from blue and white to blue and gold. A background of two sprays of Golden Wattle was added, however it does not form a part of the armorial bearings. The Golden Wattle was proclaimed Australia's national flower on 19 August 1988 by the Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen.
Read more about this topic: Australian Coat Of Arms
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