The South African honours system consists of orders, decorations, and medals which are conferred on citizens, and others, to recognise a range of services and achievements.
The British honours system became applicable to South Africa as colonial rule was established in the region during the nineteenth century.
During World War II, British military decorations were again awarded to the South African forces.
In 1952, to mark the 300th anniversary of European settlement, the South African government established its own honours system.
Evidently the government was not satisfied, because during the 1970s and 1980s, it virtually re-created the honours system, scrapping most of the existing awards and creating new ones in their place.
During this period too, the ten African homelands inside South Africa were granted self-government or, in four cases, independence.
A new table of precedence was issued in 2005, to consolidate all the post-1952 South African and homeland awards (more than 300 of them) into a single system.
The nationalist government stopped the conferment of titles and orders in 1925, and discontinued nominations for bravery awards after the Union's independence was recognised in 1931.
[2][3] When South Africa established its own independent honours system in 1952, the Queen's Medal for Bravery was transferred to it.
[2][3] During the 1960s and 1970s, after South Africa had become a republic, the government developed a small range of civil honours to recognise bravery and meritorious service.
[3] The old South African honours were retained for a few years after the Republic was reconstituted as a fully representative democratic state in 1994.
In 1920, the government established a special series of awards for veterans who had fought in the Boer forces during the 1899–1902 Anglo-Boer War.
The highest award was the Castle of Good Hope Decoration (1952–2003), which was the equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
Innovations included a hierarchy of merit awards, cumulative long service medals, and colour-coded ribbons.
After South Africa became a republic in 1961, the government instituted an entirely new series of decorations and medals for the SAP.
Since 1981, South Africa has awarded decorations and medals to members of its official intelligence services.