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 City of Melbourne Coat of Arms, Princes Bridge, Victoria, Australia Posted by:  bucketeer
S 37° 49.146 E 144° 58.081
55H E 321150 N 5812310
Each Lamp post on this beautiful bridge built in 1888 has the coat of arms cast into it
Waymark Code: WMK5MC
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date Posted: 02/17/2014
Views: 23
The Armorial Bearings of the Corporation of the City of Melbourne were granted and assigned to the Lord Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of the City by Letters Patent under the hands and seals of Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy, and Ulster Kings of Arms, and dated 18 March 1970.
The Letters Patent were presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Councillor Edward W Best, JP, at a Civic Reception held at Melbourne Town Hall on 6 April 1970.
Bearer of Coat of Arms: Town
Full name of the bearer: City of Melbourne
Where is Coat of Arms installed (short description) ?:
Each of the cast iron lamp posts mounted on the Princes Bridge has a coat of arms cast into it
Material / Design: Cast metal
Blazon (heraldic description):
On a silver shield, a red cross (the cross of St George) with a narrow red bar (known as a cotise) is adjacent to, and parallel with, each side of each arm of the cross. On the central part of the cross is a Royal Crown. Also on the shield, in the four quarters, are: a fleece hanging from a red ring; a black bull standing on a hillock; a spouting whale swimming in the sea; and a three-masted ship in full-sail.
Crest
On the silver and red wreath, which is the band of twisted silver and red ribbons on top of the helmet, there is a gold crown (a symbol of municipal government) out of which rises the upper half of a kangaroo, facing the left side of the shield and looking backwards over its shoulder.
Supporters
On each side of the shield is a gold lion, upright on its hind legs and with a black crown. Around the lion’s neck is a red collar on which there are two, five-pointed silver stars. A red chain, attached at the top to the collar, passes over the lion’s back and body.
Motto
Vires Acquirit Eundo translates as ‘We gather strength as we go’. The motto was taken from Virgil, Aeneid IV, 175.
The motto was suggested to the Mayor of Melbourne by the first Judge of the district (Judge Willis), a well-known Latin scholar who thought it would be appropriate for the new Town Council. Alderman Condell and his fellow aldermen and councillors deemed it appropriate, for the three words ‘Vires acquirit eundo’ were adopted by the Council as the motto for the Town.
Curiously, the passage quoted refers to the Roman goddess, Rumour. The lines preceding the text used for the motto refer to Rumour as she raced through Africa and state that of all the pests Rumour is the swiftest. The actual motto translates as follows: “In her freedom of movement lies her power, and she gathers strength with her going.”
Pictorial
The kangaroo, in Australia, is self-explanatory. The Royal Crown and the Cross of St George were probably meant to denote allegiance and loyalty to the Sovereign and to Great Britain. The fleece, the bull, the whale and the ship represented wool, tallow and oil, the chief exports of 1843, and their means of transport from Port Phillip.
Address:
Princes Bridge, Melbourne, Victoria
Web page about the structure where is Coat of Arms installed (if exists): [Web Link]
Web page about the bearer of Coat of Arms (if exists): [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Logging requirements: Please upload your own personal photo of the coat of arms. You or your GPS can be in the picture, but it’s not a requirement.
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