New Zealand heraldry

Coat of arms of New Zealand used since 1956
Heraldic tradition	Gallo-British
Governing body	College of Arms (disputed)
Chief officer	Phillip O'Shea, New Zealand Herald of Arms Extraordinary

New Zealand heraldry is the term for the style of armorial achievements, sometimes known as coats of arms, and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in New Zealand. It largely follows the Gallo-British tradition of heraldry also followed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and Australia.

Most grants of heraldic arms to New Zealand residents or institutions have been made by the English College of Arms or the Scottish Court of the Lord Lyon, though a small number have also been granted by the Chief Herald of Ireland and the State Herald of South Africa.^[1]

Heraldic authority

New Zealand does not presently have its own independent heraldic authority which grants or records arms,^[1] though the College of Arms in London claims to be "the official heraldic authority for...New Zealand".^[2] According to the guidelines of the Cabinet Manual, the College has been delegated these responsibilities by the Sovereign of New Zealand in their capacity as the "Fount of all Honour".^[3] However, the legal basis for this "official" status for the College of Arms is disputed.^[4][5]

On 6 February 1978 Queen Elizabeth II established the New Zealand Herald of Arms Extraordinary as the officer of arms responsible for advising the Crown, New Zealand government and New Zealand Defence Force on heraldic matters, and for liaising between New Zealand and the English College of Arms. Although affiliated with the College of Arms, the New Zealand Herald of Arms Extraordinary lives and works in New Zealand, and is not a member of the College Chapter.^[6] The current New Zealand Herald of Arms Extraordinary is Phillip Patrick O’Shea.^[7][8]

Coats of arms

The heraldry of New Zealand has added indigenous animals (mostly birds) to the existing heraldic bestiary,^[9] along with native flora and traditional Māori motifs.

National arms

• 
  Coat of arms of New Zealand (1956–Present)
• 
  Coat of arms of New Zealand, escutcheon only
• 
  Coat of arms of New Zealand (1911–1956)

Civic arms

Some, but not all, local authorities in New Zealand use heraldic arms.^[10] The arms of the capital, Wellington, combines the arms of Aurthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington with the national coat of arms.^[11] The coat of arms of the City of Christchurch also have charges from the national arms. Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, does not currently use any arms.^[12]

The unauthorised use of a coat of arms of a local authority can be an offense.^[13]

• 
  Coat of arms of Hamilton^[14]
• 
  Coat of arms of Napier^[15][16]
• 
  Coat of arms of Whanganui^[17][18]
• 
  Coat of arms of Lower Hutt^[19][20]
• 
  Coat of arms of Porirua^[21]
• 
  Coat of arms of Wellington^[22][23][24]
• 
  Coat of arms of Nelson^[25]
• 
  Coat of arms of Christchurch^{[26][22][23][27]}
• 
  Coat of arms of Dunedin^{[28][22][23][29]}
• 
  Coat of arms of Invercargill^[30][31][23]

Arms of former local authorities

• 
  Coat of arms of Auckland City^[22][23]
• 
  Coat of arms of Manukau City^[32]
• 
  Coat of arms of Waitakere City^[33]

Personal arms

• 
  Coat of arms of New Zealand Herald of Arms Extraordinary Phillip O'Shea^[34][35]
• 
  Coat of arms of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy^[36]
• 
  Coat of arms of former Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae^[37]
• 
  Coat of arms of former Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie Boys^[38]
• 
  Coat of arms of former Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard^[39]
• 
  Coat of arms of former Prime Minister and Governor-General Sir Keith Holyoake^[40]
• 
  Coat of arms of mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist Sir Edmund Hillary^[41]
• 
  Coat of arms of physicist Lord Ernest Rutherford^[42][43]

Corporate/Institutional arms

Some New Zealand corporations and institutions have their own coats-of-arms, including several New Zealand universities such as University of Auckland,^[44] Massey University,^[45] the University of Waikato,^[46] and the University of Otago.^[47]

• 
  Coat of arms of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand^[48][49]
• 
  Coat of arms of The New Zealand Herald newspaper
• 
  Coat of arms of the Bank of New Zealand
• 
  Coat of arms of the University of Otago
• 
  Coat of arms of Massey University
• 
  Coat of arms of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers^[50]
• 
  Coat of arms from the badge of the Heraldry Society of New Zealand^[51]

Ecclesiastical arms

• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Auckland^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Waiapu^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Wellington^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Nelson^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin^[54][52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Te Tai Tokerau^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Te Manawa o Te Wheke^[52][53]
• 
  Coat of arms of Paul Martin, 7th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington^[55]
• 
  Coat of arms of Cardinal John Dew, archbishop emeritus of Wellington^[56]
• 
  Coat of arms of Cardinal Thomas Williams, archbishop emeritus of Wellington^[57]

Badges and crests

• 
  Badge of the New Zealand Herald Extraordinary
• 
  Badge of the Order of New Zealand
• 
  Crest of the New Zealand House of Representatives
• 
  Crest of the New Zealand Army
• 
  Crest of the New Zealand Air Training Corps

Heraldry of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau

The other countries of the Realm of New Zealand, the associated states of the Cook Islands and Niue and the dependent territory of Tokelau, have their own heraldic emblems. The Cook Islands has their own armorial bearings (coat of arms) using unique local elements,^[58] since 2021 Niue has had a seal based on traditional Niuean elements (replacing their previous one based on the New Zealand coat of arms),^[59] while Tokelau has a badge based on a traditional Tokelauan tuluma.^[60]

• 
  Coat of arms of the Cook Islands
• 
  The public seal of Niue (1974–2021)
• 
  The public seal of Niue (since 2021)
• 
  The national badge of Tokelau

Heraldry Society

Heraldry is discussed and studied by The Heraldry Society of New Zealand, a learned society under the patronage of the governor-general.^[61][62] The society publishes The New Zealand Armorist. Its homepage is called Onward.^[63]