The Badge, Houses and Motto
Mr Udal, the first headmaster, designed the school emblem, from the royal coat of arms of Queen Alexandra. Mr Udal took the Maltese Cross to incorporate in the badge. Mr Lee Boyd, M.E.C. for Education in the N.P.A. at the time of the school's inception and ex-mayor of Durban was a Knight of da Game in the Roman Catholic Church. The cross was given to Boyd's House as their symbol.
Then Mr Downs, Mayor of Pietermaritzburg, was approached for permission to use part of the city's coat of arms – hence the Elephant – emblem of Downs House.
Mr Allison, three times mayor, M.P.C. and freeman of the city, a neighbour of the school who took a great interest in Alex, had Allison's House named after him, and the Stars from the city's coat of arms formed the symbol of the house.
Shepstone House was named after the Administrator of Natal at the time of the purchase of land for the school, and as he had attended Queen Elizabeth's coronation, the crown was to be Shepstone's symbol.
Succeeding Mr Shepstone as Administrator was Mr Trollip. He was approached for permission to use part of the Natal badge – hence the Wildebeest (provided they faced the correct way and had white manes and tails). The wildebeest are the symbol of Trollip's House.
For the motto, Mr Udal's signet ring bore the words, Tant Que je Puis – archaic French, meaning "I do my best". Mr Lamond of Maritzburg College translated this into the Latin, Summa diligentia laboro. Then Mr Udal and his wife chose the colours of sky blue and maroon, and with the help of a local outfitter, devised blazers, badges, colours, rugby jerseys and all the other needs of a school.
The mural on the hall
The plaque was designed and built by the late Miss Syliva Baxter. It took months of work to mould, colour and bake the clay. It was fired in forty six pieces of ceramic clay, measuring 4 metres by 2 metres and its mass is over a ton. Metallic oxides were used to give it colour.
The plaque was unveiled by the late Senator A E Trollip, then Administrator of Natal, when the school was officially opened on 25 September 1964.
The coat of arms of South Africa is the main heraldic insignia of South Africa. The present coat of arms was introduced on Freedom Day, 27 April 2000, and was designed by Iaan Bekker. It replaced the earlier national arms, which had been in use since 1910. The motto is written in the extinct ǀXam, member of the Khoisan languages, and translates literally to "diverse people unite". The previous motto, in Latin, was Ex Unitate Vires, translated as "From unity, strength".
The Province of Natal, commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into the bantustan of KwaZulu, which was progressively separated from the province, becoming partially autonomous in 1981. Of the white population, the majority were English-speaking people of British descent, causing Natal to become the only province to vote "No" to the creation of a republic in the referendum of 1960, due to very strong monarchist, pro-British Commonwealth, and anti-secessionist sentiment. In the latter part of the 1980s, Natal was in a state of violence between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress, with violence subsiding soon after the first non-racial election in 1994.
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province.
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King Dingane's royal homestead uMgungundlovu. Pietermaritzburg is popularly called Maritzburg in Afrikaans and is often informally abbreviated to PMB. It is a regionally important industrial hub, producing aluminium, timber and dairy products, as well as the main economic hub of uMgungundlovu District Municipality. The public sector is a major employer in the city due to local, district and provincial government offices located here.
The coat of arms of Australia, officially the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, is a formal symbol of the Commonwealth of Australia. It depicts a shield, containing symbols of Australia's six states, and is held up by native Australian animals, the kangaroo and the emu. The seven-pointed Commonwealth Star surmounting the crest also represents the states and territories, while golden wattle, the national floral emblem, appears below the shield.
The coat of arms of South Australia is an official symbol of the state of South Australia. It was granted by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 April 1984. They replaced a coat of arms granted to the State in 1936 by King Edward VIII.
The coat of arms of Victoria is the official heraldic symbol of the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria was the second state of Australia to gain arms, granted on 6 June 1910 by royal warrant of King George V. The state had been named in 1851 after his grandmother, who reigned at the time. The current version of the arms was granted 28 March 1978 in the royal warrant issued by Queen Elizabeth II.
The Tudor rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor rose consists of five white inner petals, representing the House of York, and five red outer petals to represent the House of Lancaster.
A cross pattée, cross patty or Pate, or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée or Templar cross, is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight line shape, to be broader at the perimeter. The form appears very early in medieval art, for example in a metalwork treasure binding given to Monza Cathedral by Lombard queen Theodelinda, and the 8th-century lower cover of the Lindau Gospels in the Morgan Library. An early English example from the start of the age of heraldry proper is found in the arms of Baron Berkeley.
The flag of Cape Colony was the official flag of the Cape Colony from 1876 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that was used throughout the British Empire.
Maritzburg College is a semi-private English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest boys' high school in KwaZulu-Natal, and one of the oldest schools in South Africa. As of February 2024 it is attended by 1,260 students, of whom approximately 495 are boarders.
The coat of arms of the Cape Colony was the official heraldic symbol of the Cape Colony as a British colony from 1875 to 1910, and as a province of South Africa from 1910 to 1994.
Westville Girls' High School,(or WGHS), is a state school for girls in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The symbols of Queensland represent the Australian state of Queensland and the Queensland Government. The different symbols and emblems represent both the state and the government. The official state emblems of Queensland are prescribed in the Emblems of Queensland Act 2005.
Frederick Gordon Brownell was a South African herald, vexillologist, and genealogist.
The coat of arms of Natal was the official heraldic symbol of Natal as a British colony from 1907 to 1910, and as a province of South Africa from 1910 to 1994. It is now obsolete.
The flag of Natal was the official flag of the South African colony of Natal from 1870 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that were used throughout the British Empire.
The first coat of arms of South Africa was granted to the Union of South Africa by King George V and later amended by the British College of Arms. It contained representation of the four provinces within the Union. The coat of arms was later retained by the Republic of South Africa after independence and for a period after the end of apartheid, until being retired in 2000. The 1910 coat of arms was replaced in 2000 by the current coat of arms of South Africa.
Denis Gem ShepstoneKStJ was a South African politician.
The following is a timeline of the history of Pietermaritzburg. It is part of the Msunduzi Local Municipality in the Umgungundlovu District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.
