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Hamilton Township, Ontario (Canada)

image located by Vanja Poposki, 20 July 2012
Source: town administration

The Municipality
Description of the flag

See also:

The Municipality

The municipality (rural township) of Hamilton (10,702 inhabitants in 2011; 25,612 ha) surrounds the town of Cobourg.
Ivan Sache, 15 April 2017

Description of the flag

A red flag with two white wavy stripes across the base, two circular devices each made of three leaping fish around a wheat sheaf, and above those, a barry-wavy disk of white and blue.

The flag is the banner of arms. Together with the other armorial bearings, it is presented here: http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=634&ShowAll=1. The interesting detail is that, although the field color is blasoned Gules (i.e. red), the shade which is shown (and correctly reproduced in the forwarded image) looks more like the color Copper, which is a distinctive tincture in Canadian heraldry. For comparison, see the badge of Coppermine herald, a Canadian heraldic officer: http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=900&ShowAll=1 where a very similar color is blasoned Copper.
Tomislav Todorovic, 20 July 2012

The flag and arms of Hamilton were inscribed on 13 August 1996 on the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges, Vol. III, p. 117. The announcement of the Letters Patent was made on 23 November in Vol. 130, p. 3,280 of the Canada Gazette.

Blazon
Arms
Gules two garbs in fess each within three fish interlaced argent between in chief a fountain and in base two bars wavy argent.
Crest
Issuant from a mural coronet vert set with a frieze of ten pairs of maple seeds (five visible) a demi otter or gorged with hearts and holding in the dexter forepaw a quill pen gules.
Supporters
Dexter, a beaver, sinister a horse, both or billety azure standing on a grassy mount proper rising above barry wavy argent and azure.
Motto
BY LAND AND WATER WE FLOURISH
Flag
A banner of the arms

Symbolism
Arms
The colours red and white are taken from the arms of the Chief of Clan Hamilton and they honour Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (1782-1785), the township’s namesake. The fountain (disc with wavy bars) refers to Rice Lake and the wavy white bars refer to Lake Ontario, two geographic features from this region. The sheaves of grain represent the agricultural heritage and landscape associated with the township. The six fish symbolize the hamlets which comprise the historic settlements of the township: Baltimore, Bewdley, Camborne, Cold Springs, Gore’s Landing and Harwood. The fish also
refer to an important recreation activity in the region.
Crest
The mural coronet signifies that these are the arms of a municipal corporation. The green stones are a reference to the township’s cultivated fields interspersed with woodlands. They also allude to the dominant colour in the arms of Northumberland County. The maple seeds refer to the ten concessions of the Township. The otter continues the theme regarding the interrelationship between land and water. It wears a collar of hearts to honour the day the township acquired its name, 14 February 1791. The quill is in recognition of the two famous authors who made the township their home in the 19th century: Catherine Parr Traill and Joseph Scriven.
Supporters
The beaver is taken from the arms of Sir Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester, who ordered the survey of the land on which the township is located. It also honours Canada. The horse celebrates the pioneers and agricultural activities as well as the increasing recreational use of horses in the present. The beaver and horse are made distinctive with blue rectangles on gold, opposite to the colours of the arms of the Counts of Nassau. This is a reference to the fact that the township was originally part of the former District of Nassau and the Province of Upper Canada (now Ontario).
Motto
This phrase is an expression of the township’s history and its ongoing character.

Artist Information
Creator(s): Original concept of Robert D. Watt, Chief Herald of Canada, assisted by the heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority
Painter: Linda Nicholson
Calligrapher: Judith Bainbridge

http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=634 - Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

Photos of the flag
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2016/12/14/hamilton-township-council-presents-awards
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2014/12/03/new-council-term-begins-in-hamilton-township

Ivan Sache, 15 April 2017