Pretoria

Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of South Africa

PRETORIA

Province : Gauteng
Metropolitan Municipality : Tshwane

Origin/meaning

The inescutcheon is canting. The town of Pretoria was named at the time of its founding (as the seat of a new landdrost's district) after the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius (who came from Graaff-Reinet) and his son Martinus Wessel Pretorius, President of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek and (briefly) also of the Oranje Vrij Staat. The name Pretorius (from the Latin "prætorius") is a translation of the Dutch surname Schout or of the German surname Schultz, both of which mean a sheriff or magistrate. Originally the escutcheon showed a Roman praetor with stick, but these were in 1943 replaced by the judge.

Literature : Information send by Mike Oettle (pmoettle@tmecl.co.za)