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A rare George III oar, with cylindrical shaft, two moulded knobs,
larger detachable terminal button and flat blade, engraved with the
Royal Arms, the eagle and thunderbolt of Zeus, the fouled anchor
within a wreath, two dolphins intertwined on crossed tridents and a
medallion head of George III within an oak leaf wreath. Comparable to great maces borne before British mayors, as chief
magistrates, in token of the royal authority vested in them. Intended
as a visible sign of the authority possessed by the Admiralty courts
to arrest persons and vessels in maritime disputes. The oar was placed
before a judge presiding over subsequent court hearings. It was also
used carried in procession, just before the hangman, to witness the
executions of miscreant sailors at low watermark, the demarcation of
Admiralty authority. The Vice Admiralty Court sat in the building known as the Slave Lodge
from 1828 to 1890 when the court was abolished and the oar became the
possession of Lord J. H. De Villiers, the last judge of the Vice
Admiralty Court, as well as the Chief Justice of the Cape. In 1910 he
was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa.
(SACHM89/480)
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