Flag of the Cape Colony

The flag of Cape Colony was first adopted on 12 May 1875 and was replaced by the Union Flag of South Africa on 31 May 1910. It is a Blue Ensign with the crest of Cape Colony superimposed with a white oval around it.

History

The flag of Cape Colony was first used on 12 May 1875 when it was flown to mark the occasion of laying a foundation stone on the House of Parliament in Cape Town. The flag was first used as the flag of the Governor of Cape Colony, but it soon was used to represent the entire Cape Colony. The flag followed the traditional pattern of the colonial coat of arms in the center of a Union Flag surrouned by a green laurel garland.

Official authorisation by Royal Warrant for the coat of arms of the colony was granted over a year later, on 29 May 1876 and Blue Ensign bearing these arms on a white roundel was introduced soon thereafter. There does not seem to have been a Red Ensign version of the flag.