The Coat of Arms of the City of Christchurch, also known as the armorial bearings, is the official symbol of the City of Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. They were granted to the City by the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 by Letters Patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 on February 21, 1949.

Blazon

Or on a Chevron Gules a Mitre between a Fleece and a Garb of the first in base two Bars wavy Azure on a Chief of the last four Lymphads sails furled, also of the first And for the Crest on a Wreath Or and Azure a Kiwi proper. Supporters On either side a Pukeko proper.

Significance of main features

Arms

The four Lymphads represent the "First Four Ships" (the Charlotte-Jane

Charlotte-Jane

The Charlotte Jane was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand.-Arrival in Lyttelton:...

, the Randolph

Randolph (ship)

Randolph was a 664-ton ship-rigged merchant vessel constructed in 1849 in Sunderland. She was one of the first four ships to settle Christchurch, New Zealand ....

, the Sir George Seymour and the Cressy) which arrived in 1850 with the first settlers of the area. The Mitre symbolizes that Christchurch was planned as a Church of England settlement and was made a Bishop's See

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

, with City status, by Queen Victoria in 1856. The fleece and garb denote the agricultural and pastoral pursuits of the surrounding region. The two bars wavy represent the two rivers running through the City; the Avon and Heathcote.

Crest

On the blue and gold wreath of the helmet is a Kiwi

Kiwi

Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...

, a flightless native bird, which is also used as a New Zealand national emblem.

Supporters

The Pukeko (or swamp hen) is a native bird found in and around the Christchurch City area.

Motto

Fide Condita Fructu Beata Spe Fortis translated means "Founded in Faith, Rich in the Fulfillment thereof, Strong in Hope for the Future". Further interpretation can be read:

1. "Fide condita" is a reference to ecclesiastical origins and name of the City, taking "fides" in the sense of the Christian Faith.
2. "Fructu beata" means "rich in the fruits of the earth" and "rich in the fruits of her industry", as well as in the fulfillment of the Founders' Faith.
3. "Spe fortis" means at once "strong in hope" and "bold in her claims upon the future".