Arms of the City of Sydney
Arms of the City of Sydney
Blazon
Barry wavy Azure and Argent a Cape Breton sloop Gules, a chief paly each pallet per bend Gules and Or;
Symbolism
The Canadian Heraldic Authority does not have confirmed symbolism for this emblem. The following comments are hypotheses only. The Cape Breton sloop is taken from the Great Seal of the Colony of Cape Breton (1784-1820) and honours the city’s position at the time as the colony’s capital. The wavy bands likely allude to the coastal location of the city.
Crest of the City of Sydney
Blazon
Rays of the sun Or issuant from a mural crown Argent masoned Sable charged with a saltire Azure surmounted by a maple leaf Gules;
Symbolism
The Canadian Heraldic Authority does not have confirmed symbolism for this emblem. The following comments are hypotheses only. The mural crown is a heraldic symbol denoting a municipality. The cross references the arms of Nova Scotia, while the maple leaf is a reference to Canada.
Motto of the City of Sydney
Blazon
DROIT ET AVANT;
Symbolism
These French words mean “Upright and forward.”
Suppporters of the City of Sydney
Blazon
Dexter a steel worker of the 20th century holding a steel worker’s hammer head downwards, sinister a fisherman habited in oilskins holding a codfish haurient, both standing on a grassy mount set with outcroppings of coal proper;
Symbolism
The steel worker alludes to the city’s pre-eminence in the early 20th century as one of the largest steel mills in the world. The fisherman evokes the city’s maritime history. The coal outcroppings represent the coal mining industry for which the city was also known in the 19th and 20th centuries.
