Western Australia Coat of Arms

Western Australia Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Western Australia , a state of Australia , is divided into white and blue with a wavy cut.

In the upper field a black mourning swan on the cut and below a white wavy bar in the raised shield base .

A black and gold crest with a royal crown floats over the coat of arms and on each side a red-stemmed green plant frond with two fruits of the kangaroo flowers Anigozanthos manglesii .

Shield holders are two naturally colored giant kangaroos on a green pedestal , each with a golden boomerang in their paws close to the viewer.

symbolism

The Black Swan has been in the first flag of Western Australia since 1870 , but has been the symbol of Western Australia since the 1830s. In 1912 the coat of arms was confirmed. In 1926, the swan in the coat of arms of the state's capital Perth was not only included in the quartered shield in the first field, but two with a crown drawn over the neck are also shield holders .

Early European sailors reported greater numbers of black swans. In 1697 the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh drove up the Swaanerivier ("Swan River "). In 1826, British explorer Captain James Stirling recorded around 500 black swans.