EAST LONDON - The City
By DN Hoets
Coat of Arms
The shield depicts the cross of Saint George, with sheaves and trussed sheep denoting agriculture and commerce. Above the rising sun, signifying the East. Below, aloes indigenous to the Eastern and Border areas of the Cape Province. The crest shows two crossed anchors, symbolic of the seaport, set through a mural (walled) crown.
The supporters are Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer), once common in the area but now only seen (reintroduced) on game farms and reserves. The buffaloes are a reference to the Buffalo River on which the city stands.
"The motto: By Courage and Faith."
The 1892 arms of East London showed the wheat sheaves and fleeces in gold on a silver field. Heraldry does not permit the placing of gold charges on silver, since there is insufficient contrast, so the field was changed in 1959 to ermine. The 1892 arms did not include crest or supporters, but showed a gold anchor behind the shield in a fashion reminiscent of the arms of Cape Town and the drostdijen of the Cape Colony as granted in 1804 by Commissioner-General Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist.
Literature : Information provided by Mike Oettle and taken from
http://www.geocities.com/armoria
http://www.ngw.nl/int/zaf/e/eastlond.htm
More concerning St George's Cross.
The Naming of the City
From LONDON. Sir Harry Smith (High Commissioner and Governor of the Cape Colony, 1847-1852) annexed the region and named the different areas. He noticed that the general shape of the region was not unlike England. So many of the names were taken from England! The city was at first called LONDON. However, confusion immediately arose between London, South Africa and London, England. Eventually, the port city was called EAST LONDON.
General History of East London
EASTERN CAPE
RELIGION %
Christian 77%
Islam 0.1%
Hindu 0.21%
Traditional 6.68%
No religion 15.99%