National University of Singapore (original) (raw)

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[ [National University of Singapore] ](../images/s/sg%5Fnus.gif)image by Herman Felani M.Y., 30 December 2009

Based on: http://www.nus.edu.sg/centennial/celebrations/index.htm#flag

Description
Halls of Residence

See also:

Description

As part of the centennial celebrations of tertiary education in Singapore (with the King Edward VII Medical College established in the colony of Singapore in 1905), the National University of Singapore has finally adopted a flag for itself. The flag's image, its description and symbolism is presented at the following site:http://www.nus.edu.sg/centennial/celebrations/index.htm#flag.

The symbolism as explained on the NUS website is:
The NUS flag is a composition of the University's vibrant corporate colours of golden orange and blue, with the NUS logo emblazoned across the centre. The NUS golden orange denotes ascendancy, vibrancy and vitality while the NUS blue represents dignity, timelessness and endurance. The main design element is the graceful sweep of a dynamic curve which rises upward and forward. The deliberate flowing movement of the arc intends to express the following visual ideas:
* The vibrancy of NUS � as the orange spreads outward and forward
* The sweep of the curve suggests the rise of a powerful wave, paralleling NUS' boldness in rising to new challenges and opportunities
* The breaking away from the straight lines and boxes of most conventional flag designs hints strongly at NUS' breaking new ground as it moves forward as a global knowledge enterprise.

The Arms of NUS were simplified to the present design as seen on the flag. The original depiction of the Arms had the lion in its proper colours, although I'm unsure if there are letters patent for it. There is one however for the other university in Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University, of which letters patent and description is presented onhttp://www.ntu.edu.sg/AboutNTU/ntuidentity/Pages/CoatofArms.aspx that says that their lion is identical to the one on NUS's.

Images and commentaries on the 'evolved' Arms of NUS are available athttp://www.nus.edu.sg/identity/intro/evolution.htm. It would probably have been fine if NUS did as what Australia did to the Commonwealth Arms which is to use a simplified stylised version for monochrome depiction only.
Herman Felani M.Y., 25 June 2005

I mentioned above that I was unsure if NUS had a letters patent for their Coat of Arms. A local newspaper, the New Nation dated 4 September 1982, carried an article about the presently used NUS Coat of Arms and there indeed was a letters patent. An application was made by the University to the College of Arms in England in March 1981 for a new coat of arms for the university. The University of Singapore and Nanyang University merged to form the National University of Singapore around this period. The process of obtaining the new coat of arms took 17 months in all. According to the article, the College of Arms was approached after a competition at Baharudin Vocational Institute was unable to produce a suitable logo.

The blazon of the Arms as was granted as quoted in the article was as follow:
Argent a lion passant guardant on a chief azure dexter an open book also proper, bound, edged and clasped gold and sinister three annulets one and two argent.

The lion passant guardant represents the university as a Singapore institution. The book is a universal symbol of knowledge. These two symbols were the charges on the coat of arms of the former University of Singapore. The three rings/annulets was the symbol of the former Nanyang University.
Source: New Nation, (Singapore : Singapore Monitor Ltd.), 4 September 1982.

Before 1962, when the University of Singapore was the University of Malaya, there was a tiger passant regardant in place of the lion passant guardant in the coat of arms.

Herman Felani M.Y., 25 February 2009

A close-up of the flag can be seen athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/yun-shan/26164144/ as uploaded on Flickr by "Yun-shan" on 15 Jul 2005.
Jan Mertens, 14 March 2009

Halls of Residence

There are currently six halls of residences, each having their own flag. When flown at their premises it is preceded by the national flag of Singapore and the National University of Singapore flag. The emblems of the halls can be seen in one page here: http://www.nus.edu.sg/NUSinfo/halls. Description of flags is as follows:

Eusoff Hall

[ [National University of Singapore: Eusoff Hall] ](../images/s/sg%5Fnueh.gif)image by Herman Felani M.Y., 30 December 2009