[1][2] The Castle of Good Hope Decoration was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II on 6 April 1952, during the Tercentenary Van Riebeeck Festival, as the most senior of a series of military decorations and medals which substituted many of the British and Commonwealth awards which had earlier been used.

[3] The Castle of Good Hope Decoration could be awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for a signal act of valour or most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy in wartime.

[2][4][5] In 1986, during the undeclared 1966-1989 Border War, the restriction to wartime acts was removed to make the decoration available to reward actions during other military operations.

The obverse shows Van Riebeeck's three ships sailing into Table Bay in 1652, framed in a double ring, the inner ring decorated with a wreath of proteas and the outer inscribed "CASTEEL DE GOEDE HOOP DEKORASIE" at the top and "CASTLE OF GOOD HOPE DECORATION" at the bottom.

The bar was of gold with a miniature replica of the Castle of Good Hope embossed in the centre.