THE GREAT MACE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21733, 26 August 1932, Page 10

THE GREAT MACE

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. The Great Mace for the Royal College of Surgeons of Australasia is a gift from the members of the council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and has been designed and executed by Omar Ramsden, of London. It is of handwrought and chiselled silver throughout. The Royal Arms of George V form the cap to the main body, or head, and are encircled by a Inonarchial crown surmounted by the orb and cross—the emblem of earthly dominion. The four arms of the crown arc bound on the edges by ornamental borders of conventional briar symbolising the “hard and thorny paths' that lead to greatness.” The coronet or cresting of the crown is made up of the Rose of England, N the Star and Wattle of Australia, and the Fern emblem of New Zealand.

This coronet rests upon a narrow band of symbolic “water” decoration, a motif which is repeated lower down the head, in allusion to the “separating seas.” Immediately below this is the title “The Royal College of Surgeons of Australasia.” The space between the“ waters ” is panelled by oak decorations emblematical of the strength and permanency of the institutions whose arms appear in the panels being those of tire Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Surgeons of Australasia, the Commonwealth of Australia, and New Zealand.

The supporting brackets, or buttresses, of the head are designed to suggest the British lion, and are chiselled in the round. The staff is -decorated with a pattern of English roses, Australian wattle, and New Zealand ferns, among which meanders a long ribbon inscribed with the names of the present council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.