This week council was treated to a glimpse of what may become the Town’s official armorial bearing – its coat of arms. Initial reaction to the rendering was not particularly favourable.
“The one for Canada is amazing,” said Mayor Scott Aitchison on comparing The Canada Coat of Arms to what is being proposed for Huntsville. “This is my point. That’s spectacular. That one we’ve got – I think my niece did it. The detail in that (the Canadian coat of arms) is incredible. There is so much more.”
The Canada Coat of Arms (at left) beside the preliminary draft artwork for Huntsville’s coat of arms (note: colours in the drawing are distorted in this photo of the presentation.)
The rendering is in draft form and is not as crisp as the final product would be. It prominently displays a stag and a fish and incorporates such images as an arrowhead, a hunting horn and paddles. Each of the images is representative of the Town’s history with the armorial bearing meant to stand forever.
“The one thing to remember is that the armorial bearings can be fantastical, they don’t have to be realistic,” Teri Souter, Manager of Arts, Culture & Heritage, told council in unveiling the design. “Every single component will have meaning to somebody who understands armorials and how to read them. This is an ancient method of communication.”
Souter said some of the iterations they looked at were quite fantastical. “We have seen some things that were so fantastical to be stags with dragon’s tails which was pretty interesting but we didn’t think it was appropriate for our community.”
Understanding the elements of Huntsville’s Coat of Arms
On the shield of the arms, the green colour symbolizes the vegetation of the town.
The arrowhead alludes to Arrowhead Provincial Park which lies within the town’s boundaries.
On the crest, the wooden wall invokes the idea of protection.
The hunting horn represents the fact that Huntsville is named after Captain George Hunt, the first settler who arrived in the area in 1869, as well as the importance of the history of music in our community.
The motto, ‘with spirit and resolve’, identifies the importance of recognizing one’s attitudes for one’s future and is borrowed from the title of the book about Huntsville written by Susan Pryke.
The supporters, the stag and the fish that stand on each side, are important local species.
The green and brown colours invoke the geography of the town with its many lakes and streams.
The canoe paddles allude to the original inhabitants and present-day recreational interests which are sustainable.
It is not clear what will happen next. Councillors had lots of suggestions for improving the rendering, including commissioning their own artist to come up with a design. Souter reminded council that armorial bearings are granted by the Governor General of Canada – you can’t make your own and ask them to accept it. It is something they give to you.
The Town entered into this process about a year ago and put $5,000 in the budget to pay for the exercise.
For more information on Canadian Armorial Bearings click here.
Update – On May 5, 2017, the Town of Huntsville issued this statement in response to comments circulating on Facebook: There seems to be misinformation circulating online regarding The Heraldic Coat of Arms as well as the role of staff on this initiative. The report to March 2016 General Committee addresses many of your questions and comments. Please visit Huntsville.ca http://ow.ly/PgXu30bsUFJ on pages 77-88 of the agenda. Should anyone wish to seek clarification on this matter or any other direction from Town Council to staff please contact Denise Corry, CAO for the Town of Huntsville at [email protected].
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Almost a match with Muskoka River art installation. ???
Perhaps some research can be done into this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Heraldic_Authority
Personally, I find it very tacky.
Who designed this? Surely not a professional heraldic shield designer. If the heraldry looks like an amateur cartoon. it doesn’t matter what the symbolism is.
This is something we all want to be proud of and with due respect, I really hope we won’t be forced to live with this abomination as we have been forced to concede the presence of the other abomination in the middle of our beautiful river.
I agree with you
Wow, who knew Huntsville needed a coat of arms. If people at town hall have spare time, and nothing to think about, I could come up with a few things. At first I thought this was an April fools joke that someone forgot to post almost a month ago. Then I thought about the fake news we are supposed to be watching out for. But no, this seem to be a real “thing”.
Sure am glad there’s somebody around who understands heraldry. So nice to have the Hunting Horn explained that it purports to honour Captain Hunt (taken from ‘Hunt’-ing, – get it?) and horn as from our musical heritage, (rest easy Lyn and Ed).
Can we be told who made this up for us to choose ?
Come on people, it’s a little late for April Fools jokes isn’t it??
Looks very amateurish!
What happened to the Mighty Moose and the Beaver in this land of Silver Birch?? And, a fish, rampant, out of water???
Methinks it needs another iteration….