It is used to authenticate documents and for other official purposes. Its uses range from embellishing the Australian passport to forming part of all Australian government departmental insignias.

The graphic depicts a shield, containing symbols of Australia’s six states, that is held up by native Australian animals, the kangaroo and the emu.

But why these animals?

The red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) and emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) that support the shield have never actually been designated as official animal emblems of the nation. They owe their unofficial recognition to the fact that they are only found on the Australian continent … undisputedly native.

They were also likely chosen because they are the most well known native Australian animals large enough to be positioned together in scale holding up the shield.

But the final reason is surely the most interesting. For anatomical reasons, neither of those animals can easily walk backwards. The kangaroo has large feet and a big muscular tail that gets in the way, and the emu has knees that actually bend in the opposite direction to what we are used to. They could both probably shuffle their way backwards out of a dangerous situation, but their natural momentum is onward, ever onward.

This emminently qualifies them to symbolise progress and a nation moving inexorably forward. And hence the wording on the ribbon of the original version: Advance Australia, a phrase that was is associated with the 19th century song “Advance Australia Fair” … since 1984 Australia’s official national anthem.

The original version of the arms (with a red cross in place of the State logos) was authorised by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908. It was inspired by and based on the Bowman flag, designed by John and Honor Bowman of Richmond NSW in 1806, commemorating the Royal Navy’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. The original study, hand painted in oils on silk made from Honor Bowman’s wedding dress, is preserved in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.

The 1908 arms were redesigned in 1911, and officially granted by King George V on 19 September 1912. The redesign triggered much debate in Parliament. The member for Wentworth, Willie Kelly, said:

“The emu and kangaroo are so built that they hardly fit into the heraldic atmosphere, and I think we make ourselves ridiculous when we endeavour to carry on the traditions of the Old World with some of the wild creations of our Australian fauna.”

Finally, Australians are sometimes derided as the only people who eat the animals on their coat of arms. Fair cop, guv’nor. What’s more, and somewhat shamelessly, the version of a dish such as a pie or a pizza that combines both kangaroo and emu meat, is locally referred to as the “Coat of Arms”. Watch the manager of the Australian Heritage hotel in Sydney singing the praises of their Coat of Arms pizza HERE.

Story Idea: Eileen Gittins
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References

wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Australia
quora.com/Why-do-people-think-kangaroos-cant-walk-backwards

Images

1. Commonwealth of Australia Coat of Arms
2. Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus)
3. Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
4. The of Coat of Arms of Australia from 1908 to 1912
5. The Bowman Flag, the original inspiration for the Australian Coat of Arms
6. Original via John and Honor Bowman. Credit: National Archives of Australia
7. Cover for the original 1879 version of "Advance Australia Fair", Australia's national anthem since 1984
8. Australian sixpence, 1951
9. Book: Emus Can't Walk Backwards, Robert Anwood, 2007
10. Video: Australia's Coat of Arms Pizza, Foodbeast, 2019
11. "Coat of Arms" pie. Eeek!