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A Magistrate’s Court was established at Idutywa on 1 February 1877 (PJ Venter: Government Departments of the Cape of Good Hope, 1806 – 1910, p 292).

The Magistrate of Idutywa was also appointed Native Commissioner as from 1 October 1928 (Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865 dated 26 October 1928).

Notarial deeds were initially drawn up by the secretaries of the Council of Policy and the Court of Justice. In 1779 and again in 1782 the Cape colonists requested the appointment of notaries with instructions on the execution of their duties. During the visit of the Commissioners-General, Nederburgh and Frykenius, the secretary of the Court of Justice, Johannes Daniel Karnspek, and the secretary of the Council of Policy, Pieter Hendrik Faure, were honourably discharged from the Company’s service and allowed to practice as notaries from April 1793.

Although initially only two notarial practices were permitted in Cape Town, the number of notaries grew in time to, for example, six in 1823.

According to the instructions issued by Nederburgh and Frykenius notaries were to be trained according to the laws and customs applicable to the notarial office in Holland. Notaries were required to be honest and sincere and before being allowed to practice, a sum of 1000 rixdollars was to be deposited as security against any possible claims for damages which could be brought against them.

A notary was required to keep a protocol and register of all deeds drawn up by him. These protocols were to be examined six-monthly by the commissioners of the Court of Justice to ensure that all deeds had been drawn up correctly and all stamp duties paid. Except in cases where irregularities occurred, the commissioners were not empowered to read the deeds. The Court of Justice could also order a notary to lay his deeds before them for inspection. On ceasing to practice or on his death, the notary or the executors of his estate had to hand his protocols and register to the secretary of the Court of Justice for safe-keeping.

The inspection of protocols by the commissioners of the Court of Justice fell into disuse in 1828 but was re-introduced on 15 March 1844.

From March 1845 each notary was to keep a protocol and register in which each of deeds was to be noted in its final form. The deeds were to be inspected twice annually to ensure that they conformed to the legal requirements.

A proclamation of 24 December 1807 had indicated the stamp duties applicable to all deeds and declared deeds drawn up without the correct stamps to be null and void. From 1815 notaries who drew up deeds contrary to the stamp duty specifications were liable to fines.

In 1864 and 1870 statutory provisions were made for the use of stamps on notarial deeds.

Duties of a Notary Public in South-Africa:
Every notary must keep a protocol and a register. The “minutes” (or originals) of every deed passed before him or her must be placed in chronological order and consecutively numbered in the protocol and an entry to that effect made in the protocol register. The documents in the protocol must be indexed and bound from time to time. The protocol must also be kept in a safe place. However, this does not include cases where he or she merely authenticates signatures or the correctness of a copy, or a noting slip in respect of a dishonoured bill of exchange

Notaries must exercise great skill in the performance of their functions, and their office is regarded as one of great responsibility. The notary must observe all the solemnities attached to the execution of documents, exercise more than ordinary skill in drafting notarial documents and supervise every function or step thereof personally.

For documents which are intended for registration in a deeds office certain formalities must be complied with and they are to be observed by notaries (quality of paper, ink, margins, blank spaces, initialling of sheets, alterations and insertions).

The notary must also observe certain formalities in regard to the execution of documents. The document must be read over and explained to the parties appearing before the notary. There must be at least two competent witnesses to a notarial document and the notary must either see the parties actually sign or else the parties must acknowledge their signatures in the presence of the witnesses. The notary must also satisfy himself or herself as to the identity and the competency of the parties, for example where persons are acting on behalf of others, or on behalf of companies, the notary must satisfy himself or herself that they are authorised to do so.

The notary must comply with certain requirements in connection with the contents of documents, such as giving a full and accurate description of the parties, their date of birth and status, if the deed is to be registered, and the ending of the document.

It is the duty of the notary to see to it that the original is stamped with the proper duty and that the copies are also stamped with the duty. If the notarial deed is not properly stamped the notary is personally liable.

The notary must show the highest degree of good faith in his or her dealings with the public and his or her general conduct and behaviour in and outside of work must be of the highest order. He or she must observe the utmost secrecy in regard to the affairs of his client.

The Documents:
This ever-growing and living archives is regularly supplemented by the protocols of retired/deceased notaries in the Cape Division which are transferred by the Registrar of the High Court to this archives repository.

The archives of each notary is listed under his name in chronological order.

By virtue of Proclamation No 408 of 26 November 1974 under provision of the Saldanha Bay Municipal Administration Ordinance No 16 of 1974 and Municipal Ordinance No 19 of 1951, the Municipality of Vredenburg was combined with the Municipality of Saldanha and the name Vredenburg-Saldanha Municipality assigned to it (Province of the Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette No 3808, 29 November 1974).

In terms of the Local Government Transition Act (Act No 209 of 1993), the Municipality of Vredenburg-Saldanha was dissolved and the West Coast Peninsula Transitional Council was established in terms of Proclamation No 104 of 1994, dated 30 December 1994 (Province of the Western Cape Provincial Gazette Extraordinary, No 4914, 30 December 1994) to govern and represent in respect of its area of jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Ordinance, 1974 (Ordinance 20 of 1974).

The Village Management Board of Ritchie was established on 30 April 1909 under Proclamation No 223 of 1909 in terms of the provisions of the Villages Management Act 1881.

Most of the archives were damaged by floods which occurred in the Ritchie District during 1974.

The Village Management Board of Hopefield was constituted on 24 December 1902 in terms of Proclamation No 282 of 1902 under provision of the Villages Management Act of 1881 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette No 8505, 30 December 1902).

According to a declaration signed by the Town Clerk, Hopefield on 3 October 1984, the majority of early archives were not preserved.

The Municipality of Hopefield was constituted on 2 April 1914 in terms of Proclamation No 95 of 1914 under provision of Ordinance No 10 of 1912 (Provincial Gazette of Cape of Good Hope No 134, 24 April 1914).

In terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act 117 of 1998) the existing Municipality of Hopefield together with the Municipality of Langebaan, the Malmesbury Transitional Representative Council and the West Coast Peninsula Transitional Council was disestablished and the Saldanha Bay Local Municipality established (Province of Western Cape Provincial Gazette Extraordinary No 5589, 22 September 2000, Provincial Notice No 484, 22 September 2000). The Saldanha Bay Local Municipality forms part of the larger West Coast District Municipality.

According to a declaration signed by the Town Clerk, Hopefield on 3 October 1984, a certain portion of archives have not remained preserved.

The Village Management Board of Great Brak River was established on 1 December 1943 under provision of section one (1) of Ordinance No 11, 1921 in terms of Proclamation No 135 of 1943 (The Province of the Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette, No 2075, 3 December 1943). The Board ceased to function with effect from 1 January 1975 when the Municipality of Great Brak River was established.

The Municipality of Great Brak River was established with effect from 1 January 1975 under the provisions of Section 5(1) and 8(1) of the Municipal Ordinance No 20, 1974 in terms of Proclamation No 414, 1974 (Province of the Cape of Good Hope Extraordinary Official Gazette, No 3809, 3 December 1974).

In terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act 117 of 1998) the existing Municipality of Great Brak River together with the municipalities of Mossel Bay and Herbertsdale, the Friemersheim Transitional Council, and the transitional representative councils of Mossel Bay and Outeniqua, was disestablished and the Mossel Bay Local Municipality established (Province of Western Cape Provincial Gazette Extraordinary No 5592, 22 September 2000, Provincial Notice No 500, 22 September 2000). The Mossel Bay Local Municipality forms part of the larger Eden (now Garden Route) District Municipality.

The Village Management Board of Niekerkshoop was constituted on 18 June 1906 under provision of Proclamation No 199 in terms of the Villages Management Act of 1881 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette No 8873, 10 July 1906).

Prior to the establishment of the Village Management Board, a Village Commission was chosen by the inhabitants of Niekerkshoop in 1903 when the village was founded. The Commission ceased to exist on the formation of the Board (3/NKP 1/2/1).