Port Alice

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PORT ALICE

Province : British Columbia

Or issuant from base a pile barry wavy Azure and Argent between two piles Vert each charged with the head of a cougar (Felis concolor) affronté Or all within a bordure Azure goutté d’eau.
Crest: Issuant from a circlet of dogwood flowers Argent seeded Or a bald-headed eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) stooping bearing in its claws a double bitted axe all proper.
Supporters: Upon a mount Vert set with fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) all proper on either side a black bear (Ursus americanus) rampant guardant Sable gorged with a circlet of salmon berry flowers (Rubus spectabilis) proper.
Motto: PROSPERITAS AD AESTUARIUM

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on May 5, 1999.

The two piles interlock together and suggest the capital letter "W" and were intended to refer to the west, Western Forest Products and Western Pulp and Alice Whalen after whom the Village is named. Two of them are green, suggesting the abundant timber in the mountains nearby. Each of them is decorated with the head of a cougar representing the wildlife of the region.

The blue and white wavy bars are a reference to the inlet. The field colour showing between the piles is gold, the symbol of wealth and prosperity. The shield is encircled with a blue border set with raindrops, the climactic feature that generate the forest upon which the economy of the Village depends.

The crest makes use of the Bald-headed Eagle in the act of "stooping" but in this case holding in its claws a double-bladed axe, another reference to the forests. The eagle in this attitude is a symbol already in use by the Village and it appears again in the Flag of the Village.

The supporters are two black bears which are differentiated by adding to each a collar composed of Salmonberry flowers. The supporters sand on a grassy mount with some local vegetation, the sapling of Western Hemlock and Fireweed.

The motto : PROSPERITAS AD AESTUARIUM means prosperity at the inlet.

Literature : Image from http://www.gg.ca