Origins of the Society’s Badge

A badge or logo serves as a visual representation of any organisation’s identity. Our badge has its origins from the very first meeting of the Canberra Genealogy & Heraldry Group in 1964 where Ian Mackay, who had an interest in armorial drawing, doodled an emblem on the handwritten Minutes.

In an article in the Society’s journal The Ancestral Searcher in December 1994, member Michael D’Arcy wrote about the origins of the badge.

“The first volume of The Ancestral Searcher was issued in April 1976 and if you look inside the front cover there is an excellent reproduction of the Society’s badge. [The use of the badge in The Ancestral Searcher has not been consistent over the years: more recently a very small reproduction has been used on the title contents page].

On close inspection the badge reveals the bole of a tree with two branches, one of oak leaves the other of eucalyptus leaves growing out of a single trunk, with roots firmly embedded into the soil. On the gum branch hangs a shield. This symbol of the Society, which could well be used as a Crest if the Society had a coat of arms, might be blazoned after this fashion:

      On a mound showing many roots a tree trunk sprouting dexter an oak branch and sinister a branch of an eucalypt all proper, pendent on the last an escutcheon or.

      The symbolism for the Society is clear; it represents our common ancestry rooted and growing strongly from the soil of Great Britain and elsewhere in the northern hemisphere (the home of the oak) and Australia (the home of the eucalypt). The shield hanging on the gum branch denotes Australians carrying on their families’ history and traditions and the Society’s armorial interest.

      We owe this symbol to the imagination and flair of one of our founder members, the late Mr. Ian MacKay who proposed the badge in 1964. In his inimitable way Ian described the badge’s unique and unusual tree as a quercalyptus robusta!”

The language of heraldry uses precise terms to describe the colours, charges (symbols) and divisions of a coat of arms. Each term has a specific meaning and often derives from Old French or Latin, which may be unfamiliar to us. The Family History ACT library at Cook holds an excellent collection of books about Heraldry. Society members are also welcome to join our Heraldry Special Interest Group to learn more about the design, display and study of armorial bearings.

The badge first suggested by Ian MacKay back in 1964, and displayed in the first edition of The Ancestral Searcher below is still used today, and proudly reflects the Society’s cultural heritage.