![[Brantford, Ontario]](../images/c/ca-onbra-l.gif)
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image by Peter Orenski,
12 November 2012See also:
Brantford is the county seat of Brant County and is located on the Grand
River. The settlement was christened Brant’s Ford in 1827 and was the site
chosen by Joseph Brant and his Six Nations leaders as their headquarters when
the arrived in 1784 after the close of the American Revolution.
Although
white settlement dates from 1825, it was not until the 1830s when the First
Nations people surrendered the town site, that growth really began. The
settlement was incorporated as a town in 1847 and a city of May 31st, 1877.
Brantford is widely known as the telephone city for in the summer of 1874
Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone there. Reference is made to this fact
by the tulip style telephone being present on the fly of the
prior flag of Brantford.
Neal Wilson, 13 July 2016
The City of Brantford (93,650 inhabitants in 2011; 7,247 ha) is located in
southern Ontario. Brantford is known as the Telephone City, as it was here in
1874 where Alexander Graham Bell first conceived the idea for the telephone.
"The Grand River, a Canadian Heritage River, has played an integral part in
the development of the Brantford, Brant County, Six Nations and New Credit
communities. The river valley is steeped in stories, traditions and history. In
1784, Captain Joseph Thayendanegea Brant, a Mohawk Chief, led the Six Nations
people from upper New York State to the Grand River basin, a shallow
crossing spot. Here, they made their village, which is now known as Brantford."
http://www.brantford.ca/discover/AboutBrantford/Pages/History.aspx -
Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 16 November 2012
Text and image(s) from Canadian City Flags, Raven 18 (2011), courtesy of the North American Vexillological Association, which retains copyright. Image(s) by permission of Eugene Ipavec.
The flag of the City of Brantford is a Canadian pale design of red-white-red with a simple shield in the centre in red, three-fourths the height of
the flag. It has a horizontal top and simply-curved sides forming a pointed
“U” shape. On it is a large brown beaver, facing the hoist and perched on a
brown log with ends gnawed into points, all with black details. The beaver’s
tail hangs from the log toward the centre, and a branch, slightly longer than
the tail, extends downward from under the hoist side of the log, also toward
the centre.
Doreen
Braverman, Canadian City Flags,
Raven 18,
2011
The beaver (Castor canadensis) has long symbolized Canada,
officially adopted as the national animal in 1975. First placed on the town’s
corporate seal in 1850, it has remained a symbol of Brantford for over 150
years. According to the city: "As well as its patriotic and local heritage associations,
the beaver is an apt emblem for a community where industry, both in the
sense of attitude and commerce, has long been important." Industriousness, of
course, is represented in the phrase “busy as a beaver”. The shield comes from
the city’s arms.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags,
Raven 18,
2011
Robert D. Watt, Chief Herald of Canada, Canadian Heraldic
Authority.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags,
Raven 18,
2011
In 1977 the city registered its first coat of arms, in basic design nearly identical to the current arms, as a trade-mark. This coat of arms was presented to the city by the Zonta Club, a women’s service organization. On 7 March 1989, the Kiwanis Club of Brantford, another service organization, assisted the City of Brantford in petitioning the Canadian Heraldic Authority for a grant of arms. In April 1991 the city requested that a new flag be presented with the newly granted arms, in a ceremony that took place on 24 September 1991.
On 22 May 2001, Chapter 155 of the City of Brantford Municipal Code restated under Article 3, the official uses of the flag, that had been originally adopted on 22 May 1984:
Photos of the flag
http://www.brantford.ca/discover/AboutBrantford/Pages/History.aspx
http://mayor.brantford.ca/Mayors%20Photo%20Gallery/signed_flag.jpg
Ivan Sache, 16 November 2012
![[Brantford, Ontario]](../images/c/ca-onbrao-l.gif)
1:2 image by
Eugene Ipavec
Source: Canadian City Flags,
Raven 18
In 1974, in preparation for the city’s centennial, a flag committee was formed
on the suggestion of several civic groups. Advertisements invited “Entries from
any interested person, professional or amateur, who resided in Brantford or
Brant County.” The committee received 143 submissions – entries were primarily
from school children and the committee was “disappointed adults had not seen fit
to enter the competition.”
Two submissions were selected as the basis for
the design eventually decided upon. Judy Spagnuolo, a pupil at St. John’s
Separate School and John Kalmar of Coronation Public School were the entrants
whose designs were used as the basis for the city flag.
Dominion Regalia,
a Toronto flag manufacturer was asked to refine the ideas and offer suggestions
for a suitable and pleasing pattern for an official municipal flag. The Civic
flag was dedicated on March 15, 1976. It was described as “A red diagonal bar
from right to left, on a white background, separates a black upright (daffodil
type) telephone in the lower right corner from the official city crest, in red
and black in the upper left corner.
With the release of the flag, public
controversy was reflected in the media. The Brantford Expositor ran a story on
September 11, 1975 headlined, “Brantford’s Flag ‘Poor’ in many areas.” Other
comments over the next few days included:
“It is terribly weak in design, too
many elements”, “The telephone has been done to death… and should be removed to
strengthen the flag”, “I believe children should be encouraged but it was a
tactical error to leave it to them.” The largest complaint received was
regarding the red diagonal bar across the flag.
With the controversy that
constantly surrounded the original design, a new flag design was eventually
developed. It was based on the Canadian flag with a 1:2 proportions and the
beaver from the center of the city shield of arms centered in a white square.
The City’s Shield of arms, adopted in 1850, is also on the prior flag along
with the city crest. This section of the flag consists of a shield with a beaver
in the center. The shield is flanked with a Mohawk Indian carrying a bow on the
left and a pioneer carrying an axe on the right. The motto, “Industria et
Perseverantia” translates to “Work is Rewarded Through Perseverance”. For
clarity reasons, items such as daffodils, grass, waves of water and details
within the crest are omitted.
Neal Wilson, 13 July 2016
